[MD] Subjectivity in the MOQ

[Platt Holden]

Hey Ham, 
 
[Ham]
>  As a consequence, I have
> no 
> real conception of how he views DQ.  Is it the "whole" of reality, the 
> essence of Nature, or the transcendent source of both?

It may be very much like, if not the same, as your Essence. At least, I'm 
leaning that way. Let's cut to the chase:

[Ham]  
> As to your question, "is Essence immanent in you and me?", I would have to
> equivocate and say it is immanent as differentiated Value.  While that may
> disappoint you, keep in mind that Value is also our vital link to Essence.
> If I have you thoroughly confused, let me offer a simple analogy.
 
> Did you ever drop a silver Christmas ball from the tree and watch it break
> into many slivers on the floor?  Each of those shell-like fragments will
> mirror the lighted tree standing above it.  You and I are broken fragments
> from the tree of Essence mirroring the value of our source.  What we
> reflect 
> of Essence differentially, relationally and conditionally, is what we ARE
> (absolutely) in Essence.
 
> Hmmn ... that's not a bad analogy, and I just made it up! 

An example of DQ working its will on you, Ham! Not only is that a great 
metaphor created on the spur of the moment, but very much like
another metaphor that Marsha has referred to from time to time:

The Jewel Net of Indra:
"Far away in the heavenly abode of the great god Indra, there is a 
wonderful net which has been hung by some cunning artificer in such a 
manner that it stretches out infinitely in all directions. In accordance 
with the extravagant tastes of deities, the artificer has hung a single 
glittering jewel in each "eye" of the net, and since the net itself is 
infinite in dimension, the jewels are infinite in number. There hang the 
jewels, glittering like stars in the first magnitude, a wonderful sight to 
behold. If we now arbitrarily select one of these jewels for inspection and 
look closely at it, we will discover that in its polished surface there are 
reflected all the other jewels in the net, infinite in number. Not only 
that, but each of the jewels reflected in this one jewel is also reflecting 
all the other jewels, so that there is an infinite reflecting process 
occurring."

Alan Watts created a similar metaphor:

"Imagine a multidimensional spider's web in the early morning covered with 
dew drops. And every dew drop contains the reflection of all the other dew 
drops. And, in each reflected dew drop, the reflections of all the other 
dew drops in that reflection. And so ad infinitum. That is the Buddhist 
conception of the universe in an image." 

As all three metaphors imply the existence of a central light, I was 
prompted to recall one of my favorites:

 "The spiritual world is one single spirit who stands like unto a light 
behind the bodily world and who, when any single creature comes into being, 
shine through it like a window. According to the kind or size of the window 
less or more light enters the world. The light itself however remains 
unchanged". --  the sufi mystic Aziz Nasafi:

This in turn led to our friend, Mr. Pirsig who describes the Dhamakaya 
light:

"In other cultures, or in the religious literature of our past, where the 
immune system of "objectivity" is weak or nonexistent, reference to this 
light is everywhere, from' the Protestant hymn, "Lead Kindly Light," to the 
halos of the saints. The central terms of Western mysticism, 
"enlightenment," and "illumination" refer to it directly. Darsana, a 
fundamental Hindu form of religious instruction, means "giving of light." 
Descriptions of Zen sartori mention it. It is referred to extensively in 
The Tibetan Book of the Dead. Aldous Huxley referred to it as part of the 
mescaline experience. Phaedrus remembered it from the time with Dusenberry 
at the peyote meeting, although he had assumed that it was just an optical 
illusion produced by the drug and not of any great importance.

"In a Metaphysics of Quality, however, this light is important because it 
often appears associated with undefined auspiciousness, that is, with 
Dynamic Quality. It signals a Dynamic intrusion upon a static situation. 
When there is a letting go of static patterns the light occurs. It is often 
accompanied by a feeling of relaxation because static patterns have been 
jarred loose." (Lila, 26)

I don't know about you, Ham, but I see a connection between Essence, Asian 
mysticism and the MOQ. We probably can't wrap them all up in a neat bow and 
put them under your Christmas tree, but the similarities are striking 
enough to conclude they are all views of the same luminous elephant.(I just 
made that up.) 

What do you think?

Warm regards,
Platt