[MD] Art and Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance

[Andre]

Joe to Andre:
I do not doubt that there is a physical differentiation between men and 
women. Both are sentient beings. What about angels?.

Andre:
Forget about angels Joe.

Joe:
What is the criteria for the differentiated aesthetic continuum? Language?

Andre:
The MoQ is the criteria Joe. The more I think about it the more I am 
convinced that the MoQ as developed by Pirsig is the most advanced 
metaphysical representation of what is...as we are living it.

In the MoQ Pirsig argues that organic differences are quantifiable and 
measurable...like objectively argued to be 'present'...i.e. 
scientifically established. However, when one moves to social and 
intellectual patterns of value one gets an interpretation of those 
differences i.e. what constitutes them, what is their make up, what is 
their meaning. These appear to be culturally agreed or argued upon. The 
beauty of the MoQ is that it appears to transcend these differences 
TAKEN AS A WHOLE...i.e. from the perspective of Quality (as ONE ...or 
rather not two).

Joe:
Does "undifferentiated aesthetic continuum" contain the experience of 
reality like sentient?

Andre:
Yes. Quality has/contains LILA. Quality contains and thereby manifests 
any and all experiences...even those of the non sentient (if one accepts 
the IDEA of the non sentient existence (and therefore experience) before 
sentience.And the MoQ does.

Quality is the ground from which all experiences manifest.

But read the passage from ZMM page 75: 'From all this awareness (i.e. 
the ground/Quality) we must select, and what we select and call 
consciousness (sq) is never the same as the awareness (Quality) because 
the process of selection( i.e. going from DQ to sq) mutates it. We take 
a handful of sand from the endless landscape of awareness around us and 
call that handful of sand the world.
'Once we have the handful of sand, the world of which we are conscious,a 
process of discrimination goes to work on it'.

And therefore the sentient can never claim his/her experience as 
representing 'reality'.

And so, as my understanding of the MoQ goes it indeed does contain the 
experience of reality like sentient because it is a sq pragmatic 
contribution. But the MoQ puts its qualifications right there...i.e. the 
experience is provisional, fractional and therefore subsumed within the 
whole not able to make any claim about the whole(Quality)or for that 
matter any of its parts (sq).

Hope this helps Joe.

André