Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind

“Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind” is in every way and respect a remarkably readable and refreshingly relatable book. Unlike many other books by grand masters of meditation, the Zen practice seems to be extremely open about what meditation is. Meditation is not meditation once you get rid of distractions. Meditation is not meditation once you can sit for hours undisturbed. Meditation is meditation. Sit for the sake of sitting and you have done everything well. This is a refreshing and encouraging change to most literature by grand masters of meditation.

In the beginner’s mind there are many possibilities, but in the expert’s there are few.

Such begins the book with its most central message: That no matter what our skill level, no matter our experiences, the most integral and crucial and at the same time the most difficult part of the Zen practice is to always keep an open mind.
The sentiment in and of itself is rather beautiful if you come to think of it. It does not matter if we are a novice or a master, we all have something to learn. As long as we stay open to new experiences, we experience improvement. This applies to both our practice and all aspects of life. Who is a great leader and mentor if not he who is experienced but at the same time not set in his ways? Who is the most difficult to argue with? He who is stuck with his opinions.

Don’t get me wrong, the book is not just a wave of beautiful quotes to throw around (though, to be fair, it does score quite high on the quoteability scale). In a mix of succinct statements, colorful analogies and sometimes long and confusing paragraphs, “Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind” conveys the central messages of Zen Buddhism in an informal, yet informing way. Split into three parts (Right Practice, Right Attitude and Right Understanding) the book covers everything from posture and distraction, to mistakes in practice, emptiness and enlightenment.

Although sentient beings are innumerable, we vow to save them. Although our evil desires are limitless, we vow to be rid of them. Although the teaching is limitless, we vow to learn it all. Although Buddhism is unattainable, we vow to attain it.

Each chapter reconstructed from a talk by Shunryu Suzuki (who is arguably one of the founding fathers of Zen Buddhism in the US), carefully compiled by one of his students, keeps the author alive to date and gives the book a very informal feeling. It makes you feel like you are right there with him as he tells you about posture and breathing, emptiness, nonduality and the single-minded way. The editors did a wonderful job of keeping the intricacies of his speech in tact: repetition, when appropriate, is kept to convey the lecture-style that distinguishes this book from so many others.

The purpose of studying Buddhism is not to study Buddhism, but to study ourselves.

The book is very much oriented around practical principles of daily life: right practice, right attitude and right understanding, and doesn’t go deep into theoretical or historical Buddhist contexts. Instead it examines the mind deeply and thoroughly, talking about our motivations, our fallacies, our hopes and our sometimes misguided ideas of life.

Key Facts:

• Author: Shunryu Suzuki
• Publisher: Shambhala Publications
• Number of pages: 148
• Target audience: those interested in Zen meditation or meditation in general, interested in leading a more mindful life or seeking for general wisdom on how to life
• Keywords: Morality, Meditation, Wisdom, Zen, Buddhism
• Key ideas: whenever you listen to anyone, forget all you know, only then are you completely open to new ideas; learn to rest mentally; be compassionate, we are all one;