I know that I have in the past had a tendency toward being a “lead foot” driver. Therefore, long ago I set for myself the firm rule that I would not drive more more than 5 miles over the posted speed limit. Since this means that I am slower than many cars on the road, I have to monitor my speedometer closely lest I inadvertently match speed with those driving faster than I intend to drive. That also means that I am often very aware of just how fast others are driving. Also being aware of my own inclination to drive faster, I'm slow to judge the speeding of other drivers. Nevertheless, as I see the growing number of drivers driving significantly faster than I drive, I have had to question their motivation.
This struck me particularly strongly tonight as I drove to Dharma teachings. A few drivers stood out not only because of their speed but also because of their particularly dangerous maneuvers as they drove. The first was a young man on a motorcycle, the kind that is sometimes called a “crotch rocket,” who passed me so fast that, based on my 74 mph reading on my speedometer, he had to be going faster than 100 mph, perhaps even as much as 110 or 120 mph. Not only was he traveling at such a high speed, but he was also weaving in and out of traffic. Another driver who was in an SUV was driving at an estimated 90 mph or more, but also used an exit ramp to pass other traffic just before the ramp completely split from the highway. Yet another SUV driver took the exit at significantly more than the 65 mph I was doing as I first left the highway, but also passed a couple of vehicles on the ramp before it split in two directions, the last time, so close to the other car that they braked abruptly. It would be hard to estimate that vehicle's speed before I lost sight of it, but I doubt it was close to the 35 mph posted at that point.
Each of these times I thought, “What could make someone drive like that?”
I spent some time speculating on what their reasons might be. Sadly, I could not come up with any rational, reasonable and healthy reason they might have. Every way I pursue the question of motivation I keep coming back to one or more of the following: an inflated sense of I-ness, or Ego ( Asmita ), Grasping or Attachment ( Raga ), Aversion or Dislike ( Dvesha ), and Fear ( abhinivesha), of course leading back to the Ignorance, or Absence of Correct Understanding ( Avidya) from which the se spring. Of course, this is no surprise, because most of what we do can be traced to these mental poisons. However, in cases like these drivers, it would seem that these are at an almost pathological extreme although I cannot seem to see much evidence of Fear ( abhinivesha) , considering the life-threatening character of such driving.
I found myself very uncomfortable with this line of thought which I first attributed to my own familiarity with these mental poisons in my own life. However, I also thought about His Holiness Chetsang Rinpoche's teaching on what compassion feels like. He said it is the feeling that one has when, upon seeing a leper, one finds it very hard to continue to look on the leper because it is painful to see someone in that state. In much the same manner, it is also painful to see in someone's behavior evidence of such a mentally, emotionally or spiritually diseased state. Quite naturally one does not become angry at sick people because of the symptoms of their disease. Rather one would want them to find their way to health or at least to less suffering.
That is another clear understanding that I reached. Such people are suffering at a profound level and to an extreme extent. Isn't their extreme behavior evidence of just how advanced their disease is and how great there suffering must be ?
Of course, I am not saying that such drivers are not responsible for their actions or for the harm that they may cause. However, my aspiration now becomes that they find the “cure for what ails them” before they do great harm to themselves or others. Toward that end, perhaps I can at least chant a few mantras for their enlightenment, because they are some of the “sentient beings” for whom I dedicate practice.