Subject: commonplace

From: "J.S." Dorward <[email-masked]>
Date: Tue, 9 Aug 94 10:01:13 BST

Zen And The Art Of Motorcycle Maintenance
                   By Robert M. Pirsig

Note :- words in capitals are in italics in the book.

"All kinds of examples from cycle maintenance could be given,
butt the most striking example of value rigidity I can think
of is the old South Indian Monkey Trap, which depends on value
rigidity for its effectiveness. The trap consists of a
hollowed-out coconut chained to a stake. The coconut has some
rice inside which can be grabbed through a small hole. The
hole is big enough so that the monkey's hand go in, but too
small for his fist with rice in it to come out. The monkey
reaches in and is suddenly trapped - by nothing more than his
on value rigidity. He can't revalue the rice. He cannot see
that freedom without rice is more valuable than capture with
it. The villagers are coming to get him and take him away.
They're coming...closer!...now! What GENERAL advice - not
specific advice - but what general advice would you give the
poor monkey in circumstances like this?
     Well, I think you might say exactly what I've been saying
about value rigidity, with perhaps a little urgency. There is
a fact this monkey should know: if he opens his hand he is
free. But how is he going to discover this fact? By removing
the value rigidity that rates rice above freedom. How is he
going to do that? Well, he should somehow try to slow down
deliberately and go over ground that he has been over before
and see if things he thought were important really WERE
important and, well, stop yanking and just stare at the
coconut for a while. Before long he should get a nibble from a
little fact wondering if he is interested in it. He should try
to understand this fact not so much in terms of his big
problem as for its own sake. That problem may not be as big as
he thinks it is. That fact may not be as small as he thinks it
is either. That's about all the general information you can
give him."

>From p316-317, transcribed by [email-masked].