Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Madness

THERE are two things about Thailand that are totally incomprehensible to westerners:

Buddhism and road rules.

The two are inextricably linked, and by understanding one, you gain insight into the other.

Western religions are burdened with the concept of opposites such as good and evil, heaven and hell, and light and dark.

Buddhism
recognizes the inherent one-ness of all things and sees these supposed
opposites as facets of the unity and totality of existence.

To
follow the way of the Thai driver, you too must cast off these
illusions of duality, such as the duality of two traffic lanes moving in
opposite directions.

The Thai driver sees both lanes as part of the one road, and both directions as an expression of the eternal flow of all things.

When
you have grasped this concept, you will then understand why Thais so
naturally swerve into oncoming traffic to overtake, and why they are
completely serene as they travel along a busy road the wrong way.

It is because there is no wrong way, only ‘The Way’.

It’s the same with traffic lights.

To
the enlightened Buddhist driver, red and green are not different
colours, but simply different ways of seeing the same traffic light.

Unlearn
such deceptive Western notions as ‘right of way’ and your inner eye
will open, which is the only way to proceed through an intersection in
Thailand.

In Thailand, existence is not seen as a linear
progression from birth to death, but rather as an endless cycle of life,
death and rebirth.

As one’s soul gains experience and
enlightenment from each lifetime, that soul is reincarnated into yet
another lifetime until Nirvana is achieved and he, or she, escapes from
this eternal cycle into a state of perpetual bliss.

You never die, because life is a mere Honda Dream.

Instead, you simply pass into another life for another chance to attain the wisdom necessary for enlightenment.

You
should also never fear death, even when careening along a twisty Phuket
highway at 200km an hour with a bottomless chasm yawning right next to
the road.

This life will end when it is time, and no
matter how often you check your mirrors, a pick-up truck can come
screaming up from behind and make that time now.

Accept
this as inevitable, and you will be free to follow the way of the Thai
driver, overtaking on blind corners and driving in the rain at breakneck
speeds without a helmet.

Those who wish to spend a
little longer in this lifetime should be especially careful when driving
past Buddhist temples, because those drivers coming out have probably
just made merit and may be looking for reincarnation while the getting
is good.

Be like the water, which is the essence of all life and, as such, has many lessons to teach us.

Water can fit into any container and seep through even the smallest crack, and so too can the Thai driver.

He
can manouever into any space between two speeding vehicles, no matter
how small or inconvenient it may be, or at what speed he is travelling.

When confronted by an obstacle, water does not stop, but flows around the obstacle, never losing momentum.

So, too must you.

When
someone along life’s highway has stopped in the middle of the road to
smell the roses, or pick up some fried chicken, you must flow around the
obstacle, never stopping your harmonious movement.

Patience is also necessary when leaving a car park and turning across an oncoming lane of vehicles.

You must slowly edge onto the road, keeping an eye out for even the tiniest cracks in the teeming traffic.

What is the sound of one horn honking?

As you travel the road to enlightenment, you will ponder this repeatedly, because it is a sound you will hear quite a bit.

The answer is childishly simple.

It depends on how many times it honks.

One
honk indicate that someone is overtaking or coming through, while a
series of several honks is meant as a warning to anyone stupid enough to
get in the way.

There is also the puzzle of the turn signal.

A
blinking left indicator can mean the driver is about to make a left
turn, or it can mean he is about to make a right turn or no turn at all.

Understanding intractable questions like these is the secret to mastering the way of the Thai road.

poanoi, great you found your way at the end

I think some might see this as satire, but it is very true. Where did you find this? Who wrote it? It explains it well. As chaotic as the roads seem to us, there is a hidden order to it, and the above description is apt. 12 years driving here and the more I learn about Buddhism (at least the Thai brand of it) and the more I drive on the roads here, the more I have realized the connection between the two, particularly the concept of predetermination and the effect it has on what a westerners would perceive as a lack of personal responsibility.

I learned to ride a motorcycle (small and big) in Thailand, then went back home and took the beginner and advanced riding courses in the states and spent a few years riding there in commute traffic. I have been thinking of writing a "how to" on riding here along with some video from my GoPro as I ride around the chaotic roads of Phuket. Some riding and driving habits are important to keep (reasonable following distance, leave yourself an out, keep a good sight-line of the traffic ahead) and others you must discard (especially the western concept of right of way) The most important thing IMO is to be on the same page as the other drivers. That doesn't mean drive like them, but it might mean running the occasional red light in order to keep from getting run over. The only reason why the system works at all here is that most everyone is A) Hyper-vigilant and able to predict the actions of other drivers. The only drivers that scare me now are the tourists because they are trying to follow the rules of the road, and they do things unpredictable to the people that are used to driving and riding here here like panic braking or swerving at the slightest sign of danger, which the rest of the drivers here know is not really a danger but normal behavior.

Like most, the use of indicators was a mystery to me when I first came to Thailand. On the highways a left indicator may mean it is safe to overtake, a right one means unsafe. Both indicators (hazards) means I am going straight. Flashing of brights is a weird one too. It the vehicle flashing headlights or brights is slowing, it means "go ahead" to the other vehicle. If the vehicle is remaining at speed, it means "I am coming through".

One thing I still haven't figured out is what a quick right-left-right or left-right-left indicator means. Same as hazards perhaps?

Edited March 21, 201313 yr by NomadJoe

Very enlightening! And funny too.

Would also be great to shed some light on the use of headlights in Thailand.

One flash means you should get out of my way.

Multiple flashes mean I'm not going to stop so you really need to get of my way now.

One big flash followed by the sound of crumpling steel and plastic means someone did not get of the way fast enough and we can discuss the outcome in the next life.

This is nonsense.

Flowing water when hitting, for example, a rock, will flow around the rock, not gaining or loosing momentum. A natural phenomenon.

A motor bike, which is a machine, controlled by a human, trying to squeeze between 2 pick-ups not gaining or loosing momentum is total stupidity.

The 2 cannot be compared thru Buddhism.

This is nonsense.

Flowing water when hitting, for example, a rock, will flow around the rock, not gaining or loosing momentum. A natural phenomenon.

A motor bike, which is a machine, controlled by a human, trying to squeeze between 2 pick-ups not gaining or loosing momentum is total stupidity.

The 2 cannot be compared thru Buddhism.

didn't do the satire course then?

Hello Poanoi,I've been meaning to ask you "Why is horse sh1t different colours". So, why?

From a physics PoV, the color you see is the wave-length the substance reflect the most,

and this will vary depending on concentration of the various substances.

From a more spiritual PoV, it's Karma, what you radiate will eventually come back at you.

^ Yes! I have always said that the color of a thing is actually every color but the one you see since the colors you don't see are the ones absorbed by the material!

I think some might see this as satire, but it is very true. Where did you find this? Who wrote it? It explains it well. As chaotic as the roads seem to us, there is a hidden order to it, and the above description is apt. 12 years driving here and the more I learn about Buddhism (at least the Thai brand of it) and the more I drive on the roads here, the more I have realized the connection between the two, particularly the concept of predetermination and the effect it has on what a westerners would perceive as a lack of personal responsibility.I learned to ride a motorcycle (small and big) in Thailand, then went back home and took the beginner and advanced riding courses in the states and spent a few years riding there in commute traffic. I have been thinking of writing a "how to" on riding here along with some video from my GoPro as I ride around the chaotic roads of Phuket. Some riding and driving habits are important to keep (reasonable following distance, leave yourself an out, keep a good sight-line of the traffic ahead) and others you must discard (especially the western concept of right of way) The most important thing IMO is to be on the same page as the other drivers. That doesn't mean drive like them, but it might mean running the occasional red light in order to keep from getting run over. The only reason why the system works at all here is that most everyone is A) Hyper-vigilant and able to predict the actions of other drivers. The only drivers that scare me now are the tourists because they are trying to follow the rules of the road, and they do things unpredictable to the people that are used to driving and riding here here like panic braking or swerving at the slightest sign of danger, which the rest of the drivers here know is not really a danger but normal behavior.Like most, the use of indicators was a mystery to me when I first came to Thailand. On the highways a left indicator may mean it is safe to overtake, a right one means unsafe. Both indicators (hazards) means I am going straight. Flashing of brights is a weird one too. It the vehicle flashing headlights or brights is slowing, it means "go ahead" to the other vehicle. If the vehicle is remaining at speed, it means "I am coming through".One thing I still haven't figured out is what a quick right-left-right or left-right-left indicator means. Same as hazards perhaps?

Yeah man! ! A how to and videos would be awesome.

This is awesome... and should be made into a poster or a T-shirt!

THERE are two things about Thailand that are totally incomprehensible to westerners:

Buddhism and road rules.

This is because "westerners " come to Asia with the preconceived idea of superiority. Their way is better when in fact it is simply different. That we don't understand Buddhism is considered to be an opportunity to learn. That we don't understand the road rules is considered an opportunity for derision. Oh and satire!

From a physics PoV, the color you see is the wave-length the substance reflect the most,

and this will vary depending on concentration of the various substances.

From a more spiritual PoV, it's Karma, what you radiate will eventually come back at you.

I knew you would put it into simple terms even a country boy like me would understand!

Here's an old one.

You are following a woman driver who is signalling a right turn with her arm sticking out of the window.

What is the only thing of which you can be certain ?

Edited March 22, 201313 yr by VocalNeal

NO turn!

Here's an old one.

You are following a woman driver who is signalling a right turn with her arm sticking out of the window.

What is the only thing of which you can be certain ?

Easy. Nail polish is not dry yet!