For those unfamiliar with the works, it's a good reference. In 'Zen in the Art of Archery' Eugen Herrigel uses archery as a metaphor to initially learn, and the

For those unfamiliar with the works, it's a good reference. In 'Zen in the Art of Archery' Eugen Herrigel uses archery as a metaphor to initially learn, and then to teach Zen to a western audience because teaching it directly, intellectually, is indicated to be impossible. Pirsig's novel references this because large sections of the book deal with the inability to express something on a purely 'classical' or intellectual level, the inability to define certain concepts, and the attempt to somehow bridge that intellectual leap of faith and explain things that cannot be explained directly. So he tries to convey his ideas on a more intuitive level, using all the arts of redeemed sophistry through the means of creative writing, a story about travelling on a motorcycle with his son and discussing motorcycle maintenance. It's interesting to me to what extent the huge amount of "Zen and the Art of.." books that exist these days are references to Pirsig's novel or to Herrigel's. My feeling is generally a lot of them are unaware of the existence of Herrigel's novel and the choice of phrasing does suggest Pirsig's. However, even right at the start Herrigel's title was a template for other books: only a few years after its publication his wife Gustie also published a book called 'Zen in the Art of Flower Arrangement' with a similar treatment of Zen through the medium of Ikebana or flower arrangement.