[MD] Respect for the "Design" (Zen and All That)

[ARLO J BENSINGER JR]

[Platt had said]
I think he's saying that we can find some good in ancient and primitive
cultures. 
 
[SA]
This goes along with my questioning on the other thread.  What is good about
these ancient and primitive cultures?

[Arlo]
Hi, SA. It goes probably without saying that, for me, the first lesson is one of
"being in the world" (to borrow a Heideggerism). Of course, I'm not using it in
a strict Heidegger interpretation*, but rather to "being part of the world", as
Pirsig reminds us non-S/O cultures demonstrate.

* Several, including Matt and Ant and likely others have posited a similarity
(or some similarity) between Pirsig and Heidegger, but I am no expert in that
regard.

As such, I'd think this constitutes the "respect for the design" lacking in
S/O-dominant cultures. The hippies, beatniks, bohemians et al. were on the
right track in this regard, but they faltered due to their own S/O proclivity.
I've proposed many times that the way forward should begin looking at where
this "moral revolution" went right. In fact, I think this was a "moral
revolution" in precisely the way it pointed to these non-S/O cultures, the
Amerindians of LILA or the Zen Buddhists of ZMM.

Somewhere I read recently (I think it was Ant's site, but I just checked and a
cursory glance couldn't locate it) something Pirsig said about Japanese people
he meets wondering what "all the fuss" is about (regarding ZMM). Its not a
breakthrough book for them because its just common-sense in their tradition.

Ah, but for the day when it is common-sense in our own...