Zen

... "My own opinion is that the intellect of modern man isn't that superior. IQs aren't that much different. Those Indians and medieval men were just as intelligent as we are, but the context in which they thought was completely different. Within that context of thought, ghosts and spirits are quite as real as atoms, particles, photons and quants are to a modern man. In that sense I believe in ghosts. Modern man has his ghosts and spirits too, you know. The laws of physics and of logic -- the number system -- the principle of algebraic substitution. These are ghosts. We just believe in them so thoroughly they seem real." .... Zen and the art of motorcycle maintenance

Myth-buster! I believe a lot of us inherently hold the belief that we are superior in intelligence to the generations that have preceded us. It is essential that we trash that belief and leave it at just a difference in the context of our thoughts. In fact, this argument has to be expanded to include the discrepancies in cultures and religions. It is a mistake to believe one culture/ religion is superior to another. Context is the key.

Zen # 2

..."That attitude is not hard to come to. You go through a heavy industrial area of a large city and there it all is, the technology. In front of it are high barbed-wire fences, locked gates, signs saying NO TRESPASSING, and beyond, through sooty air, you see ugly strange shapes of metal and brick whose purpose is unknown, and whose masters you will never see. What it's for you don't know, and why it's there, there's no one to tell, and so all you can feel is alienated, estranged, as though you didn't belong there. Who owns and understands this doesn't want you around. All this technology has somehow made you a stranger in your own land. Its very shape and appearance and mysteriousness say, "Get out." You know there's an explanation for all this somewhere and what it's doing undoubtedly serves mankind in some indirect way but that isn't what you see. What you see is the NO TRESPASSING, KEEP OUT signs and not anything serving people but little people, like ants, serving these strange, incomprehensible shapes. And you think, even if I were a part of this, even if I were not a stranger, I would be just another ant serving the shapes. So the final feeling is hostile"...

I have felt this way!

Zen #1

...."You see things vacationing on a motorcycle in a way that is completely different from any other. In a car you're always in a compartment, and because you're used to it you don't realize that through that car window everything you see is just more TV. You're a passive observer and it is all moving by you boringly in a frame.

On a cycle the frame is gone. You're completely in contact with it all. You're in the scene, not just watching it anymore, and the sense of presence is overwhelming. That concrete whizzing by five inches below your foot is the real thing, the same stuff you walk on, it's right there, so blurred you can't focus on it, yet you can put your foot down and touch it anytime, and the whole thing, the whole experience, is never removed from immediate consciousness." ....

It is so true - all of it. When I think back, there have been plenty of places that I have been to in a car but I do not have any recollection of the journey. This does not happen when you are on a motorcycle. One of my favorite trips in the last few years is Goa in Jul 2007. What made it so special was that I rented a bike and went around all of Coastal Goa. We drove those bikes for abt 300kms in a couple of days. Now, almost one year later, I still remember the whole journey - the narrow roads that wind through lush fields, the tea stalls where we hid from the rain, the abandoned forts that we drove by, the markets, everything.

While booking a vacation, my friends prefer to have a detailed itinerary and be chauffeured from place to place. What they don't realize is that a vacation is not meant to be like a visit to an art gallery - see Exhibit A and move on to Exhibit B and record your memories in snapshots. I would advice them to create vague itineraries and improvise as they go along. A vacation is meant to provide you with a moving reel of fond memories of not only the destinations, but also of the journey - because sometimes it is better to travel, than to arrive.

Note to self - Travel on a bike whenever possible.

Zen and the art of Motorcycle Maintenance

While waiting for a delayed flight at the airport, I picked up a copy of "Zen and the art of motorcycle maintenance" by Robert Pirsig. I had listened to the audio version of this book a couple of years ago. I thoroughly enjoyed listening to it and it made my drive to and from work the highlight of many of my days. On some occasions, I was glad I lived in Los Angeles, so that I can be stuck in the crazy traffic and listen to this book. However, the problem with audio books is that you are forced to go at the pace of the narrator.

I have started marking down my favorite passages from his "Chautauqua" - a traveling tale. I will try to post them here ... along with my thoughts on them in the coming days/ weeks :)