Zen mind — Beginner’s Mind
A commentary on what it means to be an eternal student
Introduction
When I was about 22, a friend of mine offered me to read a book written by the Japanese author Shunryu Suzuki. The book was called “Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind: Informal Talks on Zen Meditation and Practice”. Prior to his book, I read Seungsahn Haengwon’s “The Compass of Zen” and was acquainted with the works of the late Alan Watts and to a lesser extent — Daisecu Suzuki.
Of course, as a young 22-year-old, I felt that I am already quite versed in the subject of Zen and Buddhism. Probably that was one of the reasons why I had to read this book in the first place. It reminded me that any thought that correlates with the idea that “This is it!” or “I have arrived!” is a funny trick of a mind which is too much absorbed in its own beliefs to see the reality and the workings of life itself.
Shunryus’s book reminded me that life is not a fixed state of affairs. Rather, it is always changing, morphing, coming, and going, all without any guarantee of playing by the rules of conventional logic. The same applies to our mind, as without it we would not be able to perceive this wonderful and mysterious process about which we — frankly — know close to nothing.
How grandiose and presumptuous it is to say that we have figured it out, that we have arrived at the pinnacle of our expertise. Knowledge (or better said, knowing) is not an end state. Rather, it is a process that started on the day that we were born and will finish only when we will be dead. And we are not going anywhere yet, are we?
“In the beginner’s mind there are many possibilities, but in the expert’s there are few,” writes Shunryu Suzuki.
Any professional that arrogantly presents him or herself as the pinnacle of knowledge immediately raises suspicion. The nonchalance in not listening to other people’s words, ideas, and perspectives is another red flag. By not having a connection to his or her circumstances this type of person lives inside a bubble of his or her ideas, presumed skills, and beliefs. How is this bubble to change if the mind that has formed it is unwilling to admit its own inaptness and narrowness? For this reason, it is best to keep a mindset of a child, a beginner who is always excited and curious about that which is still left to learn, rather than an expert — an old person who has died long before death actually took him. As Master Yi once put it:
“A true master is an eternal student.”
One day in a summer camp
Let me tell you a short story… A few years ago I was working in an English summer camp. At that time, I was in the third year of my career as an English teacher and I felt quite comfortable both in my role and my knowledge. During one of the activities where we had to name animals presented in the pictures I said the word “fishes”. A quiet, introverted 9-year-old boy sitting next to me silently — almost to himself — uttered “fish”. Now, I had two choices… Either to feel like an incompetent fool and beat myself up over not knowing the plural of the noun fish, or embrace this little boy’s wisdom and applaud his competence. Back then I did both, but now for the rest of my life, I will remember how to say this word correctly.
This taught, or rather, reminded me that we should never disregard others as less capable only by their appearance. The 3rd and 4th laws from Robert Greene’s book “The 48 Laws of Power” teaches the reader that appearances are often more tricky than one could expect. A proud and bosting man might hide a mountain of insecurities, while a quiet and humble person might be extremely fierce and competent. For this reason, one should constantly look beneath the surface instead of priding himself over his own abilities. As the author of the previously mentioned book says:
“Never assume that the person you are dealing with is weaker or less important than you are. Some people are slow to take offense, which may make you misjudge the thickness of their skin, and fail to worry about insulting them. But should you offend their honor and their pride, they will overwhelm you with a violence that seems sudden and extreme given their slowness to anger. If you want to turn people down, it is best to do so politely and respectfully, even if you feel their request is impudent or their offer ridiculous.”
Of course, the little boy meant me no harm by pointing out that I don’t know English as well as my title of “a teacher” suggests. Nonetheless, if I had acted arrogantly and punished the boy for saying the truth — especially for doing it in such a calm, self-assured, and humble manner — I would have done a great disservice both to him, and myself as his supposed superior.
As a note of caution, this doesn’t mean that one should always agree to every single piece of advice presented. Many of them might be false, or even worse — plainly ridiculous. Nonetheless, keeping your mind open and receptive can help you extract more merits from any situation in which you happen yourself, while simultaneously saving the face of those who have acted too foolishly for their own sake.
In conclusion
No heights of skill or competence can be achieved without a willingness to learn. A narrow mind does not permit learning just as the sickness of thinking that you already know everything that there is to know. In such a way, the know-it-all’s mind blocks the person from perceiving the world as something fresh, dynamic, and always changing. It tricks him or her into seeing life as something static, dull, and superficial, yet the reality of it is that existence is far more mysterious and elusive than one might think.
For this reason, I suggest always approaching life with a beginner’s mindset. Even though you are a professional or a master of a field, you are still viable to make a variety of mistakes and errors, some of which might be extremely destructive, yet easily avoided.
Feelings of grandiosity are dangerous. They cloud our perception and blind us to our immediate circumstances, catapulting us into an imaginary world of pride and arrogance, instead of settling us in the real one. Our knowledge is never fixed. Movement, growth, and change are the prerequisites to life, and if we want to be the avatars of the living instead of the dead, we should not delude ourselves into the status of experts.
There is always more to reality than the eye can meet. For this reason, let’s train it to the best extent that we can by adopting a beginner’s mindset, which is the prerequisite to the mind of Zen.
Thank you for your time and attention. I hope the article was worthwhile. If you enjoyed this post, be sure to clap or leave a comment expressing your thoughts about the subject. 🎓✨
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