"Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance" Reading Notes

1#

We deliberately avoid following a fixed itinerary, preferring to wander and pause as we wish, because the journey itself is far more enjoyable than rushing to a destination.
We are always busy, with no time for meaningful conversations, resulting in a monotonous life day after day, so dull that years later one might wonder where all the time went, while also regretting its passage.
We haven't spoken; after traveling together for so long, we are very familiar with each other, and just a glance is enough to know what the other is thinking.
Unless he truly feels the need for help from others, their intervention will only annoy him.
If you've tried to fix a faucet but the problem persists, it means you're destined to have a leaky faucet.

2#

I believe that physical discomfort only becomes apparent when emotions are off; at that time, everything seems wrong. But if emotions are normal, physical discomfort becomes trivial. Look at Siweiya; I don't think she has any discomfort.
Perhaps this endless grassland and long wind can make her understand that when you accept monotony and boredom, you can see the deeper meaning behind it.
That radio is a clue; working while listening to music makes it impossible to think deeply. Perhaps they don't think their work requires any thought; it's just a matter of fiddling with a few wrenches.
I don't want to rush things because haste itself is an undesirable attitude of the twentieth century. When you do something, if you seek speed, it means you no longer care about it and just want to do something else. So I want to take my time, carefully and thoroughly, with the attitude of finding the cut pin. Only with this attitude can one discover the cause; there is no other way.

3#

In fact, modern people may not be smarter than those in the past; human IQ hasn't changed much. Those Native Americans and medieval people are quite similar to us, but they lived in different environments. In their past environments, they believed in spirits, just as modern people believe in atoms, protons, photons, and quanta. From this perspective, I believe in ghosts, meaning modern people also have their own spirits, you know.

4#

Usually, I choose a book he doesn't understand for reference; I read a couple of sentences first, then wait for him to ask a series of questions, and then I answer his questions before reading another couple of sentences. This method of reading classic works is very useful; they must have been written in this way. Sometimes, we spend the whole night reading and discussing, often only covering two or three pages, which was a reading style from a century ago... At that time, Schopenhauer was very popular; unless you did the same, you wouldn't know how enjoyable it was.

7#

Everyone dies eventually, but living is ultimately the purpose of life. So the smartest minds among humanity strive to conquer various diseases, hoping that people can live a little longer. Only a madman would question why this is so. A person's pursuit of longevity is simply to live longer. Life has no other purpose; this is what the ghost sought by Phaedrus says.
They mistakenly believe that personality is a kind of object, like a set of clothes that can be changed. But what else is there besides personality? Just some bones and flesh, perhaps some statistics, but certainly no one is in there. Thus, a person is merely personality dressed in bones, flesh, and some statistics, nothing more.

9#

To solve problems that common sense cannot, one must use the structure provided by your observations and manuals, continuously alternating between induction and deduction to find a solution. The correct application of this intertwined process is formally known as the scientific method.

10#

He once read a passage and repeated it to himself, so now I can recite it verbatim. It begins like this: In the halls of science, there are many deep courtyards... Various people live there, and their motives for living here are diverse and varied. Some are passionate about science because of superior intelligence; science becomes their unique activity, where they gain vivid experiences and satisfy their ambitions. Some, however, are entirely practical, offering their thoughts as sacrifices on the altar. If angels sent by God were to expel these two types of people from the hall, it would obviously become much emptier, but a group of historical figures would still reside there... If the hall originally housed only the aforementioned two types of people, then it would now be nothing more than an empty wooden house, with only climbing vines... Those favored by angels... Some are eccentric, silent, and lonely, with little in common except for being equally unwelcome. What brought them into the hall... The answers vary... Escaping the chaos and hopeless boredom of ordinary life; breaking free from the shackles of their desires. A good-natured person wants to escape the noisy, tense environment and come to the quiet mountains, where you can gaze far and wide, through the serene and fresh air, joyfully sketching the eternal tranquility of the mountain scenery. This passage comes from a speech by the young scientist Einstein in 1918.
However, these laws cannot be obtained through logical reasoning; they can only be achieved through a conscious understanding based on a deep understanding of experience...

11#

He believes that institutions like schools, churches, governments, and political organizations aim to guide others' thinking with specific goals rather than truth, so that their institutions can survive and control others to continue serving these institutions.

13#

It's just a continuous cycle of classes, classes, classes, until your spirit is exhausted and your creativity disappears. You become a machine, endlessly repeating the same dull curriculum to those naive students who come in waves. They don't understand why you've become so dull, thus losing respect for you and making you infamous. The reason you keep having classes, classes, classes is that it's the most economical way to run a school, making outsiders mistakenly believe that students are receiving a real education.
A true university is not material in essence, nor is it a collection of buildings that can be protected by the police.
A true university does not obey any public opinion body, nor is it constituted by any buildings. As long as it declares that this place is no longer a sanctuary, the true university has already disappeared, leaving only some brick walls, books, and various material structures.
A true university has no specific location and no property; it neither pays salaries nor accepts material rewards. A true university is a world of the mind, a rational thought passed down to us over centuries; it does not exist within any specific building. This world of the mind has been transmitted for many centuries by a group of so-called professors, and the title of professor is not part of the true university; the essence of the university lies in the rationality that has been passed down.
They believe that since school professors receive salaries, once given instructions from above, they should abandon their own views and accept the school's directives without question, just like employees in a regular company who must speak for their boss.

14#

Reaching the destination is not as good as the journey itself.
Suddenly, the sun sets, and the entire canyon becomes pitch black.
The art of work relies not only on the material aspect of machines but also on your own thoughts and spirit.
In fact, this idea is not strange; sometimes you only need to compare a novice or a clumsy person with an expert to see the difference. An experienced person does not follow instructions; he makes choices as he goes, so he must focus entirely on the task at hand. Even if he doesn't do it intentionally, there is a natural harmony between his movements and the machine. He doesn't need to follow any written instructions because the nature of the material in his hands determines his thoughts and actions, and at the same time, his thoughts and actions continuously change the nature of the material in his hands. Thus, both the material and his thoughts change together until his inner self and the material reach normality and tranquility simultaneously.
If you keep looking ahead or only see the current situation, it means nothing to you. Once you look back, you will see a pattern emerging. If you start from this pattern, something is likely to burst forth. The insights about science and art just now come from a pattern that has emerged from my own life, representing a transcendence that I believe many others also wish to transcend.
Rational methods cannot solve the problems created by rationality itself.
Whenever the foundation is expanded, the world becomes as confusing as it is now, with unclear goals.
But the problem is that articles often have a god-like tone, as if the subjects discussed could be eternal. However, this is not the case; people should understand that this is merely a person's opinion expressed in a specific time and space context, and nothing more. But you cannot make people understand this within the article.

15#

At this moment, he is himself, not what he or others expect him to be, in a small space, embracing this...

16#

Just like those people in the valley behind us, most look towards the spiritual peaks but have never climbed them in their lives, merely satisfied to hear others' experiences without willing to put in any effort. Others rely on experienced guides who know the safest routes, thus able to reach their destinations smoothly. But there is another group of people who not only lack experience but also do not fully trust others' experiences, wanting to forge their own paths.
In this space age, the meaning of heaven above has gradually faded. Where is above? However, although these old paths are about to lose their everyday significance due to linguistic rigidity, and even become closed off, it does not mean that the mountains have disappeared; they still exist as long as people are conscious.
Everything has infinite assumptions; the more you observe, the more you see.
Imitation seems to be an external oppression; children never do this; it seems to be something added later, likely a result of school education.
If most students come to school for education not for degrees and scores, it is somewhat hypocritical. Of course, some students come purely for education, but the mechanized teaching methods in schools quickly make them abandon their ideals.
Due to years of carrot-and-stick education, he has developed a laziness in thinking. It's like a donkey: "If you don't hit me, I won't work." If no one whips him, he won't work hard. And the civilized cart he is trained to pull may slow down because of this.
This hypothetical student, like a donkey, will continue to wander for a while; he may find another precious learning opportunity, like the so-called "social university," no longer wasting time and money to be a high-class donkey. He may find a job and comfortably be a low-class donkey.
In as short as six months, or as long as five years, changes may occur; he will become increasingly uninterested in his daily mechanized work. The creative instincts that were suppressed by the school's theories and scores may now be awakened due to the boredom of work. He has spent thousands of hours solving mechanical problems, thus becoming more interested in mechanical design. He may want to design machines himself because he believes he can do better, and then he tries to modify some engines. After succeeding, he will want greater success. However, at this point, he may encounter a bottleneck because he lacks a theoretical foundation. Thus, he will discover that the theories he previously found uninteresting and worthless now have some respectability.
He does not need others to force him to learn; his motivation comes from within.
The smarter and more serious students need scores less, likely because they are more interested in the knowledge itself. The lazier and more foolish students need scores more because it lets them know whether they have passed.
It is this experiment that exposes the flaws of the grading system, triggering Phaedrus's inquiry into quality. The grading system obscures the failures of teaching. If a teacher is poor, it is likely that they haven't taught students anything throughout the semester, but instead arranged scores based on some meaningless tests, leading people to believe that some learn well while others do not. However, once scores are eliminated, students will be forced to think daily about what they have learned, what the teacher has taught, what the goals are, how to achieve those goals, and so on. Therefore, after eliminating scores, a very frightening and vast vacuum zone emerges.

17#

Students who write entirely according to his rules are destined to lose creativity or fail to produce articles that reflect their true level.
Cromwell once said: "Only a person without goals can climb to the highest."

18#

There is a branch of philosophy that specifically discusses the definition of quality, known as aesthetics, which poses the question of what constitutes beauty.
"Worth" is a term for quality; life will no longer have any value or goals.
This world is dominated by knowledge, but its fundamental principles are not merely knowledge. The basic attitude towards how this world operates is that it relies on laws—rationality—human progress lies in discovering these laws and applying them to satisfy one's desires.
If you take reaching the mountain top as a goal, you will struggle much more; this is merely a nominal goal. The true goal is to experience every minute of climbing, and reaching the top is much more pleasurable. We slowly climb up, not carrying resentment on our backs.
Romantic people appreciate quality itself, while classical people try to break it down into cognitive modules for their own use.
Quality is the hub of knowledge, around which knowledge can be arranged in various styles.

19#

Those physical properties can be measured with instruments, but his quality—excellence, value, goodness—does not belong to the physical realm, so it cannot be measured.
Adults train children not to do what they like, but... but what? Of course! To do what others like. And who are others? Parents, teachers, supervisors, police, judges, bosses, kings, dictators—these are all authorities. Once you are trained to belittle your own preferences, you will naturally become more obedient to others—becoming a good slave. Once you learn not to do what you like, you will be accepted by the system.
According to Phaedrus's view, this world consists of three things: mind, matter, and quality.

21#

Now we can at least know that the roots of quality and Buddha in Old English are actually the same (Good and God).

24#

Quality is Buddha. Quality is the reality of science. Quality is the goal of art. These concepts still need to be integrated into daily life for understanding. And the most practical and relevant method is what I have always mentioned—repairing motorcycles.
True knowledge trains are not in a state of rest, so they cannot be stopped or disassembled.

25#

There are a group of people who have never known the existence of quality in the world, who, to create beauty and profit, cover the ugly exterior of technology with a thick layer of romantic hypocrisy.
When a person does not feel alienated from the work they do, it can be said that they care about their work; this is the true meaning of caring—having a sense of identity with the work in their hands. When a person develops this sense of identity, they will see another side of caring—quality.

26#

If a person can maintain long-lasting silence, seeing, hearing, and feeling the true universe, rather than some rigid thoughts, they will inevitably be filled with ambition. Ambition is not some strange thing.
Quality relationships are the relationships between machines and people.
If you cannot humble yourself for a moment, one method is to pretend to have this attitude no matter what. Because if you deliberately assume that you are not performing well, then once the facts prove that this is indeed the case, your ambition will actually increase. You will continue to do this until the facts prove your assumption wrong.
When you feel very bored, you must stop! Put down your work to watch a performance, turn on the TV, or finish work. Do anything but touch that machine. If you don't stop, you are likely to encounter major problems next. All the boredom and issues will accumulate to a certain extent and then suddenly explode, leaving you truly unable to move.
The vehicle you are truly repairing is actually "yourself." The external machine and the person inside are not unrelated; they will either draw closer to quality or drift away from it together.

30#

An incompetent person is easy to teach. A truly capable person will always bring a sense of threat to others.
The life of sheep is determined by the shepherd.
Now the shadow of the city looms over him; in his peculiar views, this city has become the opposite of his faith, not the stronghold of quality, but rather the stronghold of form and essence, like reinforced concrete docks and roads, bricks, asphalt roads, parts, old radios, railway tracks, animal corpses—form and essence, devoid of quality. This is the soul of this city. Blind, enormous, evil, and inhumane; at night you can see a great furnace in the south blazing with flames, while between the beer, pizza, and laundry shop signs is thick coal dust, with many unknown and meaningless signs along the street.
This poem also mentions, "No one can walk for you." Its connotation seems to exceed the literal meaning, "You must go through that valley of the shadow of death alone."

31#

I live by pleasing others, so I can escape. You guess what others want to hear and then pretend to say it actively and naturally to escape. You must convince others. If I hadn't betrayed him, I might still be in the hospital now. He, however, has always remained faithful to his beliefs, which is the difference between us; Chris knows this. This is also why sometimes I feel he is a living person, while I am the ghost.

32#

As long as a person is alive, unpleasant and unfortunate things will happen. But I now have a feeling I never had before, a feeling that goes beyond the surface and penetrates deep inside: we have won. The situation is slowly improving. We can almost expect it this way.

Dialogue with Phaedrus#

If readers want to understand thoughts more deeply, they might as well read the sequel "Lila."
Quality is the common foundation of art and technology.

About this book#

Ultimately, this is a book about living and how to live, making you ponder why.