Pirsig, Robert M. Zen and the art of motorcycle maintenance An inquiry into values. Random House, 1999.

Rober Pirsig’s Zen and Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: Quality, Identity, Duality and Zen

Citation

Pirsig, Robert M. Zen and the art of motorcycle maintenance: An inquiry into values. Random House, 1999.

Quotes

The truth knocks on the door and you say, “Go away, I’m looking for the truth,” and so it goes away. Puzzling (Pirsig, pg. 2)

If someone’s ungrateful and you tell him he’s ungrateful, okay, you’ve called him a name. You haven’t solved anything. (Pirsig, pg. 22)

Peace of mind isn’t at all superficial to technical work. It’s the whole thing. (Pirsig, pg. 72)

If your mind is truly, profoundly stuck, then it might be much better off than when it was loaded with ideas. (Pirsig, pg. 130)

His inner peace of mind occurs on three levels of understanding. Physical quietness seems the easiest to achieve, although there are levels and levels of this too, as attested by the ability of Hindu mystics to live buried alive for many days (Pirsig, pg. 134).