Extended excerpt: [“Novelistic autobiography”]

“The real purpose of scientific method is to make sure Nature hasn’t misled you into thinking you know something you don’t actually know. There’s not a mechanic or scientist or technician alive who hasn’t suffered from that one so much that he’s not instinctively on guard. That’s the main reason why so much scientific and mechanical information sounds so dull and so cautious. If you get careless or go romanticizing scientific information, giving it a flourish here and there, Nature will soon make a complete fool out of you.” (p. 94)

Source: Library – Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance (1974|November 1985 Bantam Book edition) International Standard Book Number (ISBN) 0-553-25748-X

Extended excerpt: [Fictional, philosophical novel; ellipsis is Repeat Right for text edit for brevity.]

“Insanity as an absence of common characteristics is also demonstrated by the Rorschach ink-blot test for schizophrenia. […] The person who responds with the most elaborate lie gets the highest score for sanity. The person who tells the absolute truth does not. Sanity is not truth. Sanity is conformity to what is socially expected. Truth is sometimes conformity, sometimes not.” (p. 384)

Source: Library – Lila: An Inquiry into Morals (1991|Dec. 1992 Bantam edition) International Standard Book Number (ISBN) 0-553-29961-1

Extended excerpt: [“Novelistic autobiography”]

“You climb the mountain in an equilibrium between restlessness and exhaustion. Then, when you’re no longer thinking ahead, each footstep isn’t just a means to an end but a unique event in itself. This leaf has jagged edges. This rock looks loose. From this place the snow is less visible, even though closer. These are things you should notice anyway. To live only for some future goal is shallow. It’s the sides of the mountain which sustain life, not the top. Here’s where things grow.” (p. 183)

Source: Library – Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance (1974|November 1985 Bantam Book edition) International Standard Book Number (ISBN) 0-553-25748-X

Extended excerpt: [“Novelistic autobiography” – Describing a scene inside of a Grangeville, Idaho diner]

“While we wait for chocolate malted I notice a high-schooler sitting at the counter exchanging looks with the girl next to him. She’s gorgeous, and I’m not the only other one who notices it. The girl behind the counter waiting on them is also watching with an anger she thinks no one else sees. Some kind of triangle. We keep passing unseen through little moments of other people’s lives.” (p. 259)

Source: Library – Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance (1974|November 1985 Bantam Book edition) International Standard Book Number (ISBN) 0-553-25748-X

Extended excerpt: [“Novelistic autobiography”]

“You are never dedicated to something you have complete confidence in. No one is fanatically shouting that the sun is going to rise tomorrow. They know it’s going to rise tomorrow. When people are fanatically dedicated to political or religious faiths or any other kinds of dogmas or goals, it’s always because these dogmas or goals are in doubt.” (p. 134)

Source: Library – Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance (1974|November 1985 Bantam Book edition) International Standard Book Number (ISBN) 0-553-25748-X

Extended excerpt: [“Novelistic autobiography”]

“He was insane. And when you look directly at an insane man all you see is a reflection of your own knowledge that he’s insane, which is not to see him at all. To see him you must see what he saw and when you are trying to see the vision of an insane man, an oblique route is the only way to come at it. Otherwise your own opinions block the way” (p. 71)

Source: Library – Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance (1974|November 1985 Bantam Book edition) International Standard Book Number (ISBN) 0-553-25748-X