Old Friends

Some books become old friends: two are here. The first friend is Alan Watts classic "The Way of Zen". I have had this book 40 years, as the pre-decimal price in the top right corner will attest! A good introduction to Buddhism, not just Zen. Audio versions of some of his talks are available.

Robert Pirsig's "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance" was the subject of a recent post by MovingMountain. Despite the title, the book is not explicitly about Zen. I have read the book several times over the years, each time taking something different from it. It is not an easy book, and indeed there is even a book about the book, co-authored by a Jesuit priest no less! But as soon as I read about the shim made from the alloy beer can I knew we were speaking the same language. To this day, I pause when something goes wrong and build up some "gumption" before proceeding. We all know rounded nuts or stripped threads, but there have been several occasions where a pause and a brew has averted disaster. Of course, Phaedrus has more important things to say, not least about Quality.
I have also Pirsig's "Lila, an Inquiry into Morals". That may be his entire output, before he went to Sweden and sailed his boat. A wise man.

I can't imagine anything on my computer being around in 40 years!