Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance (paperback)

Looking at the reviews here, this book is loved by hundreds and reviled by a small percentage. I wonder what causes so much passion? It's wonderful that we have, among those who gave the book just one star, so many people who are so far above it intellectually -- too familiar with philosophy, too personally enlightened, perhaps -- to find any value in it. But I would like to point out to the subset of our best and brightest, those who tell everyone else not to waste their time reading it, that just because you got nothing out of the book doesn't mean no one else will.One of the complaints I see here is that there isn't much of the title's Zen nor much motorcycle maintenance, either -- and I note that the author says something about this in his introduction, so it must be true, right? -- yet I believe there is plenty of both. If the reader is expecting an introduction to Zen or a How To manual on motorcycle maintenance, those will not be found. It's not even the author sharing his enjoyment of either of the two fields with his audience. But the themes that run throughout the book explore many of the same ideas the Buddha did, and several concepts important to motorcycle maintenance that will not be found in manuals are discussed throughout the work. But the title really represents the duality that Pirsig puts under his microscope: Zen represents the hippie "go with the flow" attitude that is contrasted to the "slice and dice" schemes of technology, via motorcycle maintenance. And in the end, the title doesn't say just motorcycle maintenance; it's the "Art " that's critical, because one thing the book is aiming for is to show us that the science of technology is an art -- or at least should be an art -- and that the two ways of looking at life don't need to be in opposition, but can be quite naturally blended, to the benefit of all concerned.It might seem like the novel is caught in its time, with language about those who see things as "groovy" vs. "the squares" but the dichotomy between the two has been under discussion in various forms for centuries: romanticism vs. empiricism, passion vs. logic, science vs. religion. The same split is found today underlying two sides of the debate over climate change. If the book is not approached as being literally about Zen and motorcycle maintenance, but as using these as stand-ins for concepts that can be much larger -- or even much smaller -- there is a lot to be gained here.Another complaint is that the protagonist is not sympathetic, but that's because this isn't a novel written from the romantic side, nor, really, the empirical side -- it's not even a novel, though it reads a lot like one -- it is a true-enough tale of relationships between two related men, and a father and a son, and a road trip that carries with it time for plenty of slow discussion of philosophy. The book takes its time putting the pieces together, and the author isn't trying to win our love -- if you can approach the book on its own terms rather than with a whole load of expectations about what it should do and how it should do it, you may get something out of it -- but to truly enjoy it, you've got to go with the flow, you know?I know I get a lot out of it every time I read it. I love road stories, and this one is paced just like a real long-distance trip, with long stretches of time to think things through interspersed with short breaks for taking care of the business of life. That what's going on in the environment, relationships, and other encounters reflects what's being thought through in the long stretches is a small bonus. The writing is clean and evocative, enjoyable. For the most part, the carefully constructed introduction to all the elements needed to understand the philosophy is gentle enough to be clear and not overly taxing, at least until the deepest parts, which can be hard to follow (and for good reason). The elements of psychological mystery captivate me each time.I first read ZAMM the year it was released, in the mid-70s, and have read it at least every five years since then, and each time I thoroughly enjoy it. The first time through, I could not follow the philosophy all the way down into the descent into madness it brought on. Five years later -- with time for the ideas to be examined through my own life -- I got it, even agreed with it. This time, this reading, is the first time I ended up doubting the validity of the greatest philosophical insights the story offers. Ironically, it's my deepening understanding of Buddhism that changed my mind.There really is a lot of Buddhism in this book, and not specifically Zen, either, but the deepest themes common to all forms of Buddhism. The questions about the wisdom of dividing the world up into a duality of the physical vs. the mental, of seeing ourselves as somehow separate from everything else, these were explored by the Buddha, too, though the framework he used to discuss these ideas was -- obviously -- nothing to do with motorcycles. In Dependent Arising he, too, considers how it comes to be that we split the world in two. "Name and form" he calls this split, and later thinkers have described what he was talking about as the same subject-object division that Pirsig is mulling over in ZAMM. The Buddha, though, says that it is "desire for existence" -- not quality -- that, to borrow Pirsig's phrase, "is the generator of everything we know". I tend to agree with the Buddha because I can see in our lives, and through our sciences, what that desire for existence is and why it drives us to divide the world up the way we do, and exactly how it leads us into trouble. I can't say the same for Pirsig's metaphysics, but that doesn't stop me from deep enjoyment of the book. I hope to have another half-dozen five-yearly reads, if I'm lucky, and -- who knows -- maybe I will come around again to see it the way he does.

I first read Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance in high school, and reading it then was an amazing discovery. I remember not being able to stop reading it, going on until well past midnight, barely able to stop when it was time to sleep, and finishing it the next day. When I saw that the Kindle edition was down to $2.99, I didn't hesitate and bought it and read it again.Books are different beasts when you read them a second time. The first time I loved the description of the scientific method and it's application to debugging computer programs (in addition to the problems you find when you need to repair a motorcycle):When you’ve hit a really tough one, tried everything, racked your brain and nothing works, and you know that this time Nature has really decided to be difficult, you say, “Okay, Nature, that’s the end of the nice guy,” and you crank up the formal scientific method. For this you keep a lab notebook. Everything gets written down, formally, so that you know at all times where you are, where you’ve been, where you’re going and where you want to get. In scientific work and electronics technology this is necessary because otherwise the problems get so complex you get lost in them and confused and forget what you know and what you don’t know and have to give up. (Loc 1603)This time around, I found another part of the story, the story about a father and son, re-united after a horrifying personal disaster, and the realization that it as his son that brought him out of the psychiatric ward:We’re related to each other in ways we never fully understand, maybe hardly understand at all. He was always the real reason for coming out of the hospital. To have let him grow up alone would have been really wrong. In the dream too he was the one who was always trying to open the door. I haven’t been carrying him at all. He’s been carrying me! (Loc 6249)What's great about the book is that all this is interspersed with a motorcycle trip from Minnesota to California. It's full of little tips about cycle touring that indicate that Pirsig did do quite a bit of motorcycle touring, though he does spend way too much time on a freeway in California instead of riding down the coast. (And much like most tourists, he makes the mistake of visiting the California coast during the summer, when it's mostly fogged in) There are also little interesting observations about people on the road:While we wait for chocolate malteds I notice a high-schooler sitting at the counter exchanging looks with the girl next to him. She’s gorgeous, and I’m not the only other one who notices it. The girl behind the counter waiting on them is also watching with an anger she thinks no one else sees. Some kind of triangle. We keep passing unseen through little moments of other people’s lives. (Loc 4385)Ultimately, the book's a philosophical novel, with lots of explanation of the authors' ideas about the nature of Quality, the split between the arts and the sciences, and his attempts to unify the two by keeping Quality undefined as, "You know it when you see it." For a rhetoric class at the places Pirsig has taught, I think this approach might work. For those of us working in technology, however, I'm not sure that non-definition is useful. There's a certain sense that those who care passionately enough about their work enough to have strong opinions and defend them are better engineers than those for whom engineering is "just work." On the other hand, you could argue that in many ways, the constant arguments over the quality of say, the choice of programming language is well over-blown, and people would mostly be better of getting work done than engaging in the low-Quality flame wars that you find on the internet.Regardless of how you feel, however, the novel is thought-provoking, interesting, and never dull, despite being mostly about ideas, rather than being about characters or plot. It's a great book and well worth reading and re-reading. Highly recommended.

The book is based on true accounts experienced by the author. The book doesn't really talk about Zen, but is more based on Western Philosophy. The author writes, "What follows is based on actual occurrences. Although much has been changed for rhetorical purposes, it must be regarded in its essence as fact. However, it should in no way be associated with that great body of factual information relating to orthodox Zen Buddhist practice. It's not very factual on motorcycles, either."The book is about the author's cross-country motorcycle trip with his 8 year old son Chris, which leads to a journey of self-discovery. It is an examination of the spiritual relationship between a parent and a child, and man's search for reason. During this journey, the author teaches us about life and the human condition in a profound and thought-provoking way. It is a terrific book about philosophy and life, albeit a difficult read. After reading this book, you might reevaluate the way you live, go on a personal quest for the meaning of life, and be interested in reading more books on philosophy. In my case, the book made me want to read more about Kant and Hume, and review some of the books I read before on Plato and Aristotle.Some of the deep philosophical questions and conundrums raised by the author are:(a) Before Newton discovered The Law of Gravity, was there gravity? Did gravity exist before Newton or is it the thought of Gravity that suddenly manifested the Law of Gravity? Is it the thought of something that suddenly creates it?(b) The Arabs and Indians used the `zero' before the Romans and Greeks. Why did the Greeks not invent the zero? How did their societies function for so long without the zero? Could it have continued without the discovery of `zero'? Was the `zero' always there regardless of whether it was discovered or not?(c) All arguments, solutions, and scientific `truths' have already been invented. We simply discover the best solution.(d) How do we define the "present" when everything we're conscious of has already happened, and is already a part of the past?(e) Which self is the real you?(f) What is good and what is bad? The book opens with the following quote:"And what is good, Phaedrus,and what is not good--Need we ask anyone to tell us these things?"(g) "Astronomers would be telling mankind that if he looked long enough through a telescope powerful enough, what he would see is the back of his own head."(h) In life there is no grade, no pass or fail.(i) "Any intellectually conceived object is always in the past and therefore unreal. Reality is always the moment of vision before the intellectualization takes place. There is no other reality."(j) "Religion wasn't invented by man. Man was invented by religion." [No idea who invented women, hihihihihi](k) How can something can be exclusively "material," when our reality is exclusively spiritual(l) We should remain open to the part of the world that is beyond appearances, beyond the so-called matter, and cannot be experienced but only imagined.(m) How do you deal with technology and remain sane?(n) Man searches for something that he can't quite define, identify or reach.Plato and Aristotle, the author argues, conceived a system of thought in which beauty is severed from functionality. Functionality became less attractive to us than beauty. Plato and Aristotle, according to the author, committed a murderous act by this system of thought that is still carried out till today. "Quality" has thus been victimized.The author went insane as a graduate student as he searched for the answer to "what is quality?", and spent considerable time at the asylum. He was subjected to shock treatments that wiped out his personality and most of his memory. He later realized that he was not really insane, but thought in a different level than most people.Pirsig sees the problems in our world as the result of an overemphasis on beauty, when functionality is more essential. One reviewer puts it nicely, "...pure `function' has problems of its own. For example, our bodily organs carry out the function of allowing us to live, but one doesn't really desire for our skin to be translucent so we can watch these functions. In fact, we would have a revulsion to such a thing. Therefore, we have a combination of both "form" [beauty] and "function"; our organs work very well without our having to see them. This is the desirable state. This desirable state is called `Quality'."However, `Quality' is indefinable. It comes before thought, and before actions. Any attempt at describing it is useless, because as soon as you attempt to, you are only talking about one aspect of it.This is one of those books that you either both understand and enjoy or you don't. It is really all about timing, your past experiences and knowledge, and your reasons for reading this book in the first place. If you don't understand it put it down and wait until the time is right. Don't throw it away!Read this book slowly if you really want to understand it. If you like to read thought provoking and intellectually challenging books, you will love it!To close, one reviewer wrote, "Many of the negative reviews are from people who had a preconceived notion of what this book was before they read it (either from the title or from a recommendation) and were upset that it didn't meet their expectations. It seems to me that these folks have received their Zen lesson..."

Not enough space to describe the usefulness of this book. And to just call it a book is a bit hurtful because it is more. The imagery and timeless perspective gives complexity and a sigh of relief because it opens the mind. As a person that appreciates literature that encompass philosophy, the metaphysics, and realism, AZMM delivers a narrative that can and will be appreciated by an endless timeline.

Thought it was for motorcycle maintenance. Good book to read though.

Let me start off by saying that my feelings toward Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance (ZAMM) are deeply conflicted.As a philosophical treatise it is nearly a complete failure, with concepts that are often contradictory, and maddeningly ambiguous at best. Make no mistake about it: the book is a rhetorical device intended to convey the author’s opinions on the intellectual state of the world and his ideas on the direction our lives should take (toward the indefinable ‘Quality’). The result is a soaring narrative that attempts to do no less than reconcile the fundamental conflicts between Eastern and Western philosophies and answer The Question (of Life, the Universe, and Everything). In pursuing such a lofty goal, ZAMM shows glimmers of clarity and insight, but the essay-interspersed-with-novella format leaves many key concepts half-formed and ill-explained. To add to the frustration, there is an underlying conflict between the narrator and Phaedrus (and even past versions of Phaedrus) where each has his own ideas, often contradictory ones, that are never really reconciled. After finishing ZAMM I felt massively intellectually dissatisfied. Attempting to grapple with the ideas presented in the book at any depth brings more uncertainty than certainty, and many more questions than the book has answers for.But, there is also something unmistakably satisfying about ZAMM that has nothing to do with the use of logic and reason to make airtight philosophical arguments. Indeed, rather than rely on Reason to make its point, ZAMM spends a large chunk discrediting the capital R Reason that other philosophical treatises rely on. I think the reason for this satisfaction (and the reason for the book’s popularity) is what Pirsig himself acknowledges in the afterword, that the book offered an expanded version of “success” that went beyond the materialism that still seems to define American culture today. To the average American reader it feels and seems a profound book because it offers an alternative motive for life (Quality) that doesn’t feel shallow or inherited. And it can do this because it doesn’t need or want the shackles of traditional Reason that have prevented philosophy from giving such a satisfying answer to the question of Life.This satisfaction is why my feelings are so conflicted. The abstract Quality of Pirsig feels right, especially when the vast majority of Western analogues are of materialism. But is it right, or am I doing the same thing that Pirsig does with ZAMM, and arranging my facts to make it feel right? Does ZAMM feel satisfying because I’m an American, burned out on materialism, aching for some other analogue to fill the void? These are questions that can’t be answered, and certainly can’t be addressed by the book. And herein lies the ultimate problem with a philosophical book that alternatively rejects Reason and simultaneously tries to appeal to it: there is no resolution. It may feel right, but ultimately that’s all you have with this book: a feeling. And maybe that’s enough.

The value and quality of this book met my expectations.

Robert M. Pirsig's Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance is a great read. I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a non-fiction philosophical novel.Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance is an autobiography, allowing Pirsig to narrate his own life experiences. Along with sharing his motorcycle trip with his son Chris and some friends, he mainly focuses on what quality is. What is quality and how do you define it? He believes that it doesn't exist. In this certain area of the book it is harder to comprehend, but he does prove a good point that I agree with. He goes into great detail explaining his belief that quality is something made up, and he actually gets pretty emotional about it as he struggles to find the truth. On top of all of this, Robert Pirsig is schizophrenic, dealing with his battling alternate personality, Phaedrus.Some weaknesses I found include going into too much detail about some ideas; they seemed unnecessary. He drifted into too much detail about some philosophical ideas and terms that the reader wouldn't be prepared for and didn't explain them well enough. Also, at the end of the book, his Phaedrus personality actually takes over; however, throughout the book he reflects back on how he was a student in India and his experience there, but that was his alternate personality. Since he went through electroshock therapy, there is no way he could have remembered any experiences Phaedrus went through.Though he couldn't have remembered these things as Phaedrus, Pirsig does do a good job at helping the reader understand what he's going through as he battles his alternate personality. As mentioned before, he reflects on his experiences in India and has multiple dreams about those experiences. Though he wants to deny it, his son Chris also struggles as he tries to figure out if there is something wrong with his dad; asking questions and reflecting on good times in the past with his father makes his dad realize that it was Phaedrus that experienced those good times. Along with this, the reader is able to understand how Chris feels about the whole situation: he wants his dad back, you know, the dad that he has great times with and loves so much . . . Phaedrus.This book really makes the reader think about how to find truth and if quality actually exists. It also lets the reader take an adventure inside the narrator's mind as he battles against his schizophrenia disease. I recommend this book to anyone who loves to think. As Pirsig himself writes, "The place to improve the world is first in one's own heart and head and hands, and then work outward from there".

A quick scan of the online reviews available for this book will quickly show you that it provokes strong reactions in those that read it - there aren't many 3* ratings here! While at first glance these ratings might appear to be indications of the inate quality of the book itself, they would better be thought of as indications of the quality of the experience that each reader had when interacting with the book.Each reader will bring something of themself to the book, and so the quality of this experience will be influenced both by the book and also by the reader. When you look at it like this, it is obvious that how much you like this book will depend on yourself as much as on the book itself. However, since people's reactions to it seem generally to tend towards the extremes, it seems probable that you too will either have a great, or a terrible experience.In order to help you make an informed judgement on this, a few observations, in which I will attempt to approach as near to objectivity as possible:- It is not a 'hippy bible', as one earlier contributer suggested. It is a book about philosophy which blends discussions about the nature of peoples interactions with the world around them with a story of a road trip taken by a father and son.- It is entirely rational. There's no new-age mysticism, no real discussion of sprituality - rather a critique on how you look at things and interact with them.- It is fairly intellectual, but necessarily so. The author has a very clear, conversational style of writing, and the ideas he attempts to express are not difficult, but nonetheless the reader is required to think during the reading process.I suggest that you read this book. It has certainly influenced my thinking on the world, probably more than any other single book I've read. However, if you really hate it as much as the contributor 'blowski', I certainly would suggest that you stop reading before you get two thirds of the way through. No point in getting as mad as he did about it.

Ich habe das Buch dreimal gelesen. Einmal als junger Mann auf meiner Muttersprache Dänisch, später nach meiner Auswanderung nach Deutschland auf Deutsch, und jetzt als alter Mann nochmal auf Englisch. Die Übersetzer haben hervorragende Arbeit geleistet und die Übersetzungen sind genau so gut wie das Original. Trotzdem gibt das Lesen auf der Originalsprache den letzten Pfiff dazu. Wer kann, sollte es auf Englisch lesen.Das Buch an sich ist von derart vielen Menschen rezensiert worden, die insgesamt alles erzählt haben, was es darüber zu sagen gibt. Ich kann kaum noch etwas dazu beitragen. Das Buch hat drei Themen.Das erste Thema. Das Buch besteht aus einer Rahmengeschichte, die die Form eines Romans hat, und die beschreibt, wie jemand, der eine Elektrotherapie bekommen hat, nach und nach einen Teil seiner früheren Gedanken und seiner früheren Persönlichkeit wiedergewinnt. Allein diese Geschichte ist interessant auch für Ärzte und Psychologen und gibt Anlass zu allerlei Diskussionen.Das zweite Thema. Eingebettet in dieser Rahmengeschichte ist die Verfolgung der Gedanken, die der Verfasser früher gedacht hat, die sich auf einem sehr hohen intellektuellen Niveau mit Literatur, Rhetorik und Philosophie beschäftigen und ähnlich wie Einstein, der in der Straßenbahn seine allgemeine Relativitätstheorie ausgedacht hat, hier eine allgemeine Theorie beschreiben, über etwas, das der Verfasser Qualität nennt. Dieses Thema ist an sich ein sehr interessantes Thema, das mit der Rahmengeschichte überhaupt nichts zu tun hat, sodass das Buch tatsächlich zwei unabhängige Themen behandelt. Der Verfasser ist ein überaus bescheidener Mensch, der nicht behauptet, den Stein des Weisen gefunden zu haben, obwohl die Gedanken, die hier vorgelegt werden, durchaus völlig neu sind und den Blickwinkel des Einzelnen vollkommen ändern dürften. Dadurch dass er die Gedanken einfach nur so vorlegt, als jemand, der geisteskrank ist und nach sich selbst sucht, spielt er seine Neuentdeckung höflich herunter und stellt sich nicht wie ein philosophischer Erneuerer vor. Obwohl er das eigentlich ist.Wie wir wissen, hat es seit langem Strömungen, zum Beispiel in der "Antipsychiatrie", gegeben, die meinen, dass Schizophrenie aus Erlebnisse oder fehlgeschlagenem Denken entstehen kann und auch mit Gedanken und Gesprächen wieder gebessert werden kann. Andere meinen, dass Schizophrenie eine körperliche Krankheit ist (irgendwelche Verbindungen im Gehirn seien falsch verdrahtet), die mit chemischen oder physikalischen Mitteln behandelt werden soll. Das Buch hat damit als drittes Thema, ganz höflich, vorsichtig und unaufdringlich, wie dieser Mann so ist, und ohne Gehässigkeit, die Verbitterung über die erlittene Elektroschocktherapie. Das Buch versucht aber keineswegs allgemein eine Stellungnahme für oder gegen die Psychiatrie als solche zu machen.

不思議な自伝小説。まずタイトルがミスリーディング。ZENなんてほとんど一瞬しか出てこない（２箇所か）。次にモーターバイク・ツーリングはやってるが、MOTORCYCLE MAINTENANCE程のものでもない。しかも、１章から22章位までは、何を目的で書いてるのか、全然解らない。途中から始まるプラトン、アリストテレス、ソクラテスの話もどこの方向に向かってるのか解らない。そう、バイク・ツーリングでどこに向かってるのか解らないのと同様、本の行き先もわかない。「なんで、この本がこんなに評価されたんだろう？」と読みながら疑問になったりする。でも、読み進める事が出来たのは、私に若い頃に英語を教えてくれた若いアメリカ人女性が学校で与えられた英語教材のテキストを「こんなの読んでも面白くないでしょ？私、ホントは別の本を考えてたのよ。その本の題名はZEN AND THE ART OF MOTORCYCLE MAINTENANCE。高校生の時に読んでショックを受け感動した。それをクラスで使って皆で読んで欲しかった」と言ったことが頭から離れなかったから。実際には、学校の教材に適していたかは疑問ではある。この本を読み切るには普通の学生レベルの英語力以上の語彙力が必要かもしれない。それに場面の展開でなく、思考の展開でストーリーが進んでいくから、著者の独特な英語の言い回しの文章を味わう余裕（丁度、バイク・ツーリングで風切る感触を味わうような余裕）がないと続けられないかもそのように半信半疑ではあったが、なんとなく先の展開を期待していた。そしたら、23章あたりから、私には俄然、面白くなっていった。読後感は「読み切った」という達成感が半分、「結局、面白かった」という満足感が半分個人的な事情だが、この本を読んだ数か月前にBERTRAND RUSSELLのHISTORY OF WESTERN PHILOSOPHYを読んでいて、これも、西洋哲学史というよりはBERTRAND RUSSELLの思想家としての個人的な評価をバンバン書いてる本で、そこにあったギリシャ哲学と比べながら読めたので、良かったかもしれないいずれにせよ、最後まで読み切って損はない、と思う本

I first read this book when I was 18 and it had quite an impact on me. The book contains easily digested philosophical ideas, woven into an intriguing story about a father, son and a motorcycle journey. These ideas are ones I've found myself reflecting upon, time and time again throughout my life. I'm now purchasing it for a younger sibling and would recommend it to any young woman or man. I specifically purchased this version rather than the version available in Australia as this one comes with a much nicer cover - I'm happy with the product delivered.

I read this book for the first time in 1979, when I was 17 and had just taken a road trip similar to the one Pirsig narrates with a group of friends. My very best friend gave me her copy. As I recall I found it difficult to read but somehow it always stuck... I am now about to take a road trip through the States again with my husband, my daughter and my son. It will be very interesting to see how time and life has changed my perception both of the trip and of the book.