What if I told you riding a motorcycle and meditation are quite similar? Anyone who hasn't ridden before would be skeptical. What are you saying? Comparing deep meditation with riding a 200 kg machine that is unstable! They are about to find out how riding is closer to meditation than they thought.
It All Starts With the Machine
It all starts with a person finding a motorcycle that catches their eye, disrupts their attention with that cranky engine sound, and offers the freedom to visit places.
It feels like an enigma. What is this machine that feels closer to an extension of the body? That initial excitement propels some into taking classes, while others end up buying their first one.
Learning to Ride
Once you hop on your first motorcycle, you quickly find out that riding it isn't as sexy as they portrayed it to be. With all the controls screaming for your attention and you trying to balance it all, the first few days will be about managing the throttle and braking on a straight path. Once you get the hang of it, then the fun starts to unravel.
Then one will be switching gears and taking turns, mastering the corner. One by one, the rider begins to grow closer to the machine.
The Freedom of Riding
After those initial few weeks, they will start taking it to the road. The freedom of riding starts to whisper in their ears, and they'll be checking out new helmets and gear for riding.
After the initial months, closing in on a suitable helmet and gear, every trip starts to bring home a new adventure, and riding becomes second nature.
Then the real Zen of riding starts. You start to enjoy riding for the sake of riding, not to move between places. The machine feels effortless in handling and execution.
The True Zen
In the middle of the road, one revving up and switching gears finally finds the true Zen of riding. The body feels light, and the voices in your head start to disappear. There is a silence. You become one with the machine, with your attention entirely on the road and on the horizon. The riding feels close to a flow state. That's when you realize that riding is often the Zen of moving around.