[MD] A formalised Code of Art

[Squonkonguitar at aol.com]

Mark, Marsha and all MOQers:

dmb says;
I tried to reply to  Marsha's post a few days ago, but apparently my post 
didn't make it through.  If memory serves, here's how I translated it...

While sustaining  biological and social patterns
(don't kill yourself, quit your job or leave  your family)
Kill all intellectual patterns.
(Just stop thinking for a  while)
Kill them completely
(Silence your mind completely)
And then  follow Dynamic Quality
(Then you will be genuinely free)
And morality will  be served.
(And life will be served)

Mark said:
I think Pirsig may  have got this wrong.  ...I don't know? I may have a word 
with someone  in the philosophy department - there are two Indian 
philosophers there so i  could ask both of them for an opinion. Maybe i could 
write to Mr. Pirsig and  explain what i think i mean and see what his 
response is? If anyone else  reading this has a view i would love to hear 
from them.

dmb  says:
Good idea. I'd like to know what you find out, but at this point I  think I 
agree with you. As I see it, there is a tendency to read this sort  of thing 
to mean that intellectual static quality is the only kind of static  quality 
that we need to worry about. But I think that any kind of static  quality 
gets in the way. I think the idea here is to let go of all the  patterns, but 
without being destructive or degenerate. And I think you are  right to 
suggest that the original trap, the one that the Buddha warned  about, are 
the static patterns of one's culture be they social, intellectual  or any 
combination. There is also the matter of biological drives and  desires. 
These can be a trap too. And I think that's really what the code of  art is 
all about. Creativity occurs in physics and philosophy and all sorts  of 
intellectual activities, of course, and need not have anything to do with  
the fine arts as such, which may have no intellectual component at all and  
instead can be purely aesthetic.

It seems some people interpret this  to mean that the body and the social 
values do not need to be transcended  and this has the effect of turning the 
saying into an anti-intellectual  statement. But actually, its about 
transcending all static patterns. It  contrasts all static quality with 
Dynamic Quality, not just the intellectual  kind.

It also seems to me that social quality, in some sense, liberates  us from 
biology. And intellectual patterns can liberate us from the social  level in 
the same sort of way. That's pretty much the definition of  intellect. It 
begins when people become skeptical about the existence of the  gods and the 
opinions of the public. It begins when people are willing and  able to 
question the validity of their own cultural values. But, of course,  this 
type of evolutionary or developmental transcendence, despite the fact  that 
this growth is driven Dynamically, is not exactly the same as a  personal 
meditative or enlightenment experience.

Anyway, please let  me know what you find out. Maybe you'll even start a new 
thread name or  otherwise make it conspicuous. School has me so busy that its 
easy to miss  lots of posts these days and I'd really hate to miss that  one.

later,
dmb

Mark 15-10-06: Hello dmb.
I will try to get those opinions ASAP. It may be best if i see these people  
in person so i can ask a few questions, and this may take a little while.
If that proves to be a problem, (pinning these people down when they are  not 
teaching can be hit and miss) i will send off a couple of e-mail's.
 
Meditation (dhyåna) is part of Western social rituals, as you know -  
vacations, places and times when we can be ourselves to clear away static  clutter.
I've spent a great deal of my life doing this, (for most of that time not  
understanding why) and it's mostly been concerned with music. This is  my dhyåna.
 
For Marsha it's painting i believe.

I've always regarded Motorcycle maintenance discussed in ZMM to be  dhyåna.
This is a core message of ZMM - follow your own dhyåna, whenever you  can.
I've spent a long time arguing this form of dhyåna - dhyåna followed in  
mundane life - can be elevated to the Code of Art or DQ, because art and  morality 
are the same thing. But our culture says dhyåna doesn't exist, so  it can't 
begin to elevate dhyåna to DQ (unlike some Eastern cultures).
Let us recognise dhyåna exists and follow the consequences...
It seems clear to me, although i may have this completely  wrong, that 
intellectual dhyåna is appropriate for those who are  talented in this area. Which 
means intellectual patterns may be  used for vacation? Chess may be an example; 
loads of people use chess as a  hobby and find it relaxing.
It sounds paradoxical - intellectual activity is dhyåna?
Intellectual activity brings one closer to DQ?
Yes, ritualised dhyåna reveals DQ. It follows from the above  premises.
 
I don't know how different this is from esoteric meditation, which seems to  
bypass utilising patterns to directly reveal DQ by ridding sq  altogether.
 
Love,
Mark