Japanese Shoshin: From the Beginner’s Mind to the Art of Unlearning
Learn. Unlearn. Relearn.
You can’t fill a cup that is already full
Said the Zen master when the scholar came to him asking for advice. You might have heard of this story, but it’s becoming more and more relevant in this chaotic world.
Life might either be a half-full or half-empty glass. But no one has ever thought that most of us are carrying an almost full glass.
That glass is full of misleading and redundant information. Our crowded minds are analogous to that box at home full of junk. We say that we’d need some of it someday, but most of them are useless.
This irrelevant knowledge stays long enough to stick in our brains. What we have learned and cannot unlearn determines how we live our lives.
The Japanese Shoshin (初心) translates into “new heart” or a beginner’s mind. This idea embraces an attitude of openness when approaching a new subject.
It’s like how a child learns about the surrounding world for the first time. Open-minded, inquisitive, and an emptiness of preconceived notions.
When a beginner and an expert study a new subject, will it be the same way? Of course, it will never be. The expert will…
