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December 6, 2005
Beginner Mind
My friend and I were talking about paths to awareness recently, and our conversation reminded me of a small book I acquired years ago: “Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind”. It’s a book on Zen practice, but filled with a rich wisdom that I am regularly drawn back to.
I’ve been thinking of “Beginner’s Mind” recently:
In the beginners mind there are many possibilities, but in the experts there are few.
The beginners mind is radically aware of the present, but the experts mind is consumed with the past and future. The beginners mind is open to what may be, the experts mind is focused on what should be.
In Zen tradition, “Begginer’s Mind” is a part of a discipline leading to “buoyancy, vigor, straightforwardness, simplicity, humility, serenity, joyousness, uncanny perspicacity, and unfathomable compassion”.
It’s possible to be highly experienced and yet have a beginner’s mind. Putting this into practice is the work of a lifetime.
Posted by pgutwin at December 6, 2005 8:29 AM