Hello Friends,
as you know English isn't my native language, so I have frequently quite a time to understand Yanky-english. A good friend of me from North Carolina made me a very special present 2 weeks ago. "Zen and the art of motorcycle maintenance" from Robert Pirsing.
Now this holy week is the best time to absorb some heavy stuff like this. And I definetly enjoy it (to the misslike of my best half at a certain degree.)
The first 15 pages really caught my attention, because Robert's exposed opinion there fitted exactlly into my philosophy about bikes and machinery maintenance. (the last made me earn the every days beans for the last 18 years and scrapeing bed ways make you meditate quite a bit on subjects/objects like the essence of quality)
Now I am somewhere passed the 3/4rds of the book and must say. 20 years ago I would have been bored so much of the "Gefasell" (bla bla bla) I shurely would have thrown the book into the next corner.
Now I see it's well develloped structure and am fascinated, although I surelly never had a book in my hand that keeps the readers brain so absorbed and "on the track" like this one. There is no hope to strawl away with your imagination. The multiple fascests of Robert's analysis are well done and precise and overlap in many aspects with my life's experience.
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My question's are:
What is "Chautauqua"?
Out of the context it seems to me like an indian story teller style at the fire place of the tribe.
What is gumption?
Both words start to get me intrincated because I cannot find them in any dictionary and they have quite an importance for the understanding of the book.
So I'd appreciate very much some back feed from you.
Sven Peter Pan
´Chautauqua´ usually refers to the traveling tent shows that moved around the US, starting back in the late 1800s and carrying through into the 1950s. The intent was to spread enlightenment, culture, and educational entertainment.
Gumption? Nerve, courage, audacity.
That's the best I can do to define these; perhaps others will correct me if I am unclear or in error...
Thank you very much, that gives me an idea into the right direction.
Sven
My question's are:
What is "Chautauqua"?
Out of the context it seems to me like an indian story teller style at the fire place of the tribe.
Sven,
Chautauqua was the name of a traveling tent show that played to small towns and ouposts in the US in the 1800s and 1900s.
It was a system of education that started at Chautauqua, NY in 1874 originally to teach Sunday school teachers and expanded to include political, social, economic and literary studies.
Later entertainment was included along with educational skills.
What is gumption?
Gumption: Is Get up and go. The power to be self motivated to strive toward the present goal.
Lonnie
When Pirsig wrote "Zen.." it was a time of change in America and the book became an instant best seller. It was insightful. interesting and well written. Many years later Pirsig attempted to write another book along the same lines. Unfortunately it was so obscure as to be impenetrable. The plot wander, was confusing and unclear and eventually made the reader wonder why they had bothered to read as much of it as they might have before giving up on it. That book reaches its highest point of success when used to level a short table leg or as a fire starter. The title of that book is "Lila:an inquiry into morals".
I make this comment in the interest of saving you money. I bought the book in hardcover for less than 1/2 the cover price and regretted the waste of cash that I might have purchased a hamburger with. The hamburger, at the very least, would have provided nourishment whereas "Lila" fed neither my soul or body.
Well I finished the book at midnight when the whole house was deep asleep.
It was good and ordered a little my head. But if it wouldn't had been during the easter week, I would never had neither the patience nor the time to get through it. I'd say for to read it the person has to have a strong interest either in quality, philosofy or logical reasoning combined with a good portion of patience and memory.
Definetely few times I had a book in my hand that is demanding such an amount of attention from the reader and keeps him so concentrated.
Result: genius and madness are very close together.
I for my time think my essay of 35 pages is much easier to read.
Sven
In his case I believe you are correct. He did, in fact, have a nervous breakdown and at one point went through a course of electroshock therapy on his way to overcoming it.
Although he was awarded a Guggenheim fellowship to allow him to write "Lila", it's little more than metaphysical maundering. "Zen..." was his high point.
The motorcycle that Pirsig drove from Minnesota to California in Zen and the Art... was a Honda 305 twin with his son on the pillion. I think that one of the reasons why I related so closely to the book when it first came out is that I had a CB 160 twin and was fascinated with Zen Buddhism and found the story very complicated... so much so that I've read the book cover to cover at least three times. Every time I read it there seems to be a new facet that I didn't recognize earlier. Later readings found my maturity level such that I could fathom the ideas of Phaedrus and where he was coming from. Particularly his quest for quality and his attempt to explain the connections of quality to deeper reality.
When I moved out west I made a point of staying overnight in Bozeman, Montana because that was where Pirsig had one of his many contacts with the ghost Phaedrus and also one of the places he worked at before his psychotic episode that resulted in his electro-shock therapy.
I think it is probably they greatest hieght in literature that motorcycling has reached.
As others have said, based on the glory of Zen and the Art ... I purchased Lila but found it difficult to read and have never finished it yet though I bought it many years ago.
My first bike was a CB125K from 74 and the second CB650 from 1982.
Zen I have not much in my mind, I stay with lutheranian envangelic, but make some reading and discutions about and with people from other religions like judaism, muslims, ... and atheists.
Its allways good to look over the edge of the own horizont.
Seems like Robert looked to far over the edge and dropped on his nose.
Anyway I admire his analytic skill and hard work to put this book in such a neat order and clean logical chain.
Sven
I really had to struggle through that book. It sure wasn't about motorcycle maintenance...
I think of a chautaugua -today- as a rolling story, if you will. Arlo Guthrie's "Alices Restaurant" is an example. It could go on forever if you had the time.
Gumption = true grit ~ ;^ )
