[wordup] Serenity in the Face of Chaos

[Adam Shand]

Via: Conrad Schumacher <conrad.schumacher at paradise.net.nz>

I don't know whether this qualifies as happy but at least it's different.

Don't worry about copyright, the writer's my uncle and highly unlikely to
give a damn. A guy who's spent twenty years in the Gambia learning how to
make African drums isn't going to get too upset at others reading his words.

Oh, and Thailand isn't renowned for its strict copyright laws anyway.

From: http://www.chiangmainews.com/ecmn/july/33.php

Serenity in the Face of Chaos

By Steve Schumacher

Warm air envelops me, the breeze masking the strength of the Sun. I am
alerted by a high pitched sound which reminds me of a demented lawn
mower. A Tuk Tuk darts out in front of me - cheeky driver - acrid blue
smoke pouring from his exhaust - I have to hold my breath; back off -
change gear - slow down - sigh of relief as he turns left sharply -
change down again to 2nd - brake slightly using front brake as I pass a
woman carrying a baby wrapped in swaddling clothes. OK. Check mirrors -
nothing coming up behind. Doi Suthep rises in the distance, behind the
steadily approaching Suan Dak Gate. I need to turn left into two lanes
of oncoming traffic. Pull up alongside three young girls. The middle one
is applying eyeliner and holding a mirror in the other hand, and the
third is chatting on her mobile, blithely unaware of all around them.

I make the turn. A boy racer, a large No 18 emblazoned on his back, cuts
in front of me as a four wheel drive hisses past with a gleaming
arrogance more lethal than a cobra.

And so it goes - a challenging kaleidoscope of ever changing
possibilities. A foolhardy, exhilarating and dangerous experience - more
so as I ride with no helmet, no sandals and no insurance. Now the crazy
thing about Chiang Mai is that due to the layout of the old city the one
way system around the moat is shaped like a race track with no stops,
and competing for this space is every known mode of mechanical
transport. The poor pedestrian must somehow transverse this seething
writhing mass, clogging and polluting - from Rickshaw to spanking new
Tourist Bus - the market must rule in probably the most dangerous region
on the planet for road fatalities.

A survival tactic from the old days was to pretend that one was
invisible. This tactic assumed that nobody was aware of my presence and
therefore I was ever vulnerable from other road users and could take
nothing for granted. On the Superhighway, thanon and soi of Chiang Mai I
have employed another tactic to ensure survival. I use what Buddhists
call the three marks of existence-: Impermanence, Suffering, and No
Self.

Impermanence is the basic universal truth of change. When we look
closely we see all experience is changing and therefore is ultimately
unreliable. Experience is rising out of conditions. So on my bike,
sounds, sights, sensations and thoughts are streaming through my body
and continually changing. The more I notice this the less I grasp and
cling. The less I grasp and cling the more freedom there is in the mind.
The more rigid I am the more vulnerable I become.

"I am in the right" has no relevance on a hectic Thai road. With a side
car laden with two gas bottles lurching towards me on the wrong side of
the road or a bus callously disregarding the yellow line to pull out on
a blind corner and head straight for me, the last thing I need to be is
indignant. A flexible sense of self is needed for survival here.

My attention and concentration are easily distracted; I must never
change my lane without checking behind me. One of those dreadfully long
Hilux's or Carryboy's ("what a name" I think to myself) will suddenly
back out, blindly, into the oncoming traffic. Momentary chaos. Suddenly
the situation has changed and I must adapt to survive. The frustration
and pain from this continual refusal of the world out there to stay
still and conform to my wishes is the cause of my Suffering. So I become
angry and stressed and if not careful the red mist of road rage can
erupt from within.

A detuned farang, at the behest of his Thai girlfriend, who is riding
pillion, cuts stupidly across two lanes of mid evening traffic heading
towards Tha Pae Gate. Senses sated and dulled, unaware; he smashes into
another bike carrying three men. Which causes a car to run into the back
of another. The mangled bodies are carted off and the broken glass and
debris a grisly reminder of human frailty. My disgust and shock at what
I have just witnessed allows me to reflect on the truth of suffering. My
reaction is just that - a reaction. When I gain wisdom and insight I
will begin to experience equanimity and, possibly, a sense of freedom.
This Is No Self, the Third Mark of Existence.

A thirtyish woman with a gray blouse and gray helmet on has market
produce in plastic bags hanging from her left handle bar, doing a
stately 25km in the centre of the middle lane serenely unconcerned about
the inferno and chaos raging on all sides of her.  A schoolgirl riding
sidesaddle shading her face with her exercise books is blind to any
sense of direction.  An old lady, taking a rickshaw from Sompet Market,
chatting loudly with the driver, who returns her amicable banter.

A solitary almost silent glimpse of what the East once was.

A pile of people grinning and waving at me from the back of a pick up
truck going down the Super Highway to nowhere - I respond by waving back
with a broad smile on my face.