[MD] humpty dumpty

[david buchanan]

Hey Gents,
My two cents on the topic of activity, which I'd describe as something like Ego versus Zen. 

As with archery and motorcycle maintenance, I think the idea is spontaneous action as opposed to ego-climbing. Bike repair is easy if you have the right attitude, Phaedrus tells his son, but having the right attitude isn't so easy. Elsewhere he humorously says that it's easy to paint a perfect painting. Just make yourself perfect and then paint naturally. This "perfection" entails doing your homework, getting lots of practical experience, caring about the activity and its purpose or goal and then also, every importantly, a sense of Quality to guide the whole operation. This is just as true for intellectual and artistic activities as it is with mechanical repairs or human relations. Activity aimed at mere conformity, motivated by personal ambitions or self-aggrandizement is ego-centered action and, if Pirsig is right, it will very likely end in disaster or some other kind of wrongness. 

 
> [Dan]
> Yes, certainly. And in our work-a-day world this is the norm. No disagreement from me. But Buddhism isn't interested in activity. It espouses non-activity. 
> 
> [Arlo]
> I don't pretend to be an expert on Buddhism, but I think this sounds right. I think I was going off part of the eightfold path (right view, right action) as to the mapping of 'belief' to 'activity' (as opposed to being divorced from activity, as is a general problem of S/O thinking).
> 
> (Ron)
> I would agree and it speaks to the bhuddist notion of 180 degree enllightenment in contrast to 360degree
> englightenment the hero's journey that returns home with a boon to society the moral of the Orphic mythos.
>  
> I do remember that in Bhuddism, inaction is considered a willful act wu wei, doing without doing, is 
> willful intention without direct action, so considered, the act of inaction and is put to practicle use in
> experience.