Zen and Getting Your Hands Dirty
Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance by Robert M. Pirsig is not the easiest book to get into. In fact, the ideas of romantic versus classical, while mind-bogging in its own metaphysical way, does not necessarily add much value for the reader, unless you happen to be on that kind of philosophical journey. There are many other ideas introduced by the author that were fresh and original at the time the book came out.
If there was one idea from the book that I think is worth passing on. The author talked about the difference in attitudes between him and his friend, when it came to motorcycle maintenance. His friend was totally hands off – just pay the man at the shop to take care of everything. For Robert himself, he learned maintenance for the sake of learning it and so that he can take care of mechanical issues should anything disastrous happen in the middle of Nowhere, USA.
Certainly both point of views are valid. I have a friend who is perfectly capable of doing all the maintenance on his car. Even changing the brakes! As for myself, I’d be lucky if I get around to checking the air pressure in my tires.
So, does Alfred not care about the proper running condition of his vehicle? Perhaps yes, perhaps no. If one truly does not care about the outcome in a Zen kind of detachment, then both, “learning” and “not learning” are essentially equal. In which case, we should select the path that would lead to growth and value.
I really suspect that my attitudes towards car-maintenance is really more about me caring too much. Specifically, I would care about keeping my hands clean. Am I lazy when it comes to dealing with the car? Maybe. Well actually, I prefer to be spending my time and efforts on something else that turns my crank. Like doing a little reading and writing.
Tags: maintenance, motorcycle, zen
