ZEN
TEXTS
112
Meditations
Heart Sutra
On Believing in Mind
Song of Enlightenment
Song of Zazen
Vimilakirti
Ox-Herding Pictures
Zen Daily Service Sutras
Manual of Zen Buddhism
Awakening of Faith
MODERN TEISHOS
Dana: The Way to Begin
Teisho
Collections
DOGEN ZENJI
Actualizing
One Bright Pearl
PSYCHOTHERAPY
Christopher
LINKS
Zen Links
The Buddhist Way
MODERN TEISHOS
Shunryu Suzuki
BEGINNER'S MIND
"In the beginner's mind there are many possibilities, but in the expert's there are few."
People say that practicing Zen is difficult, but there is a
misunderstanding as to why. It is not difficult because it is hard to sit in the
cross-legged position, or to attain enlightenment. It is difficult because it is hard to
keep our mind pure and our practice pure in its fundamental sense. The Zen school
developed in many ways after it was established in China, but at the same time, it became
more and more impure. But I do not want to talk about Chinese Zen or the history of Zen. I
am interested in helping you keep your practice from becoming impure.
In Japan we have the phrase shoshin, which means "beginner's
mind." The goal of practice is always to keep our beginner's mind. Suppose you recite
the Prajna Paramita Sutra only once. It might be a very good recitation. But what would
happen to you if you recited it twice, three times, four times, or more? You might easily
lose your original attitude towards it. The same thing will happen in your other Zen
practices. For a while you will keep your beginner's mind, but if you continue to practice
one, two, three years or more, although you may improve some, you are liable to lose the
limitless meaning of original mind.
For Zen students the most important thing is not to be dualistic. Our
"original mind" induces everything within itself. It is always rich and
sufficient within itself. You should not lose your self-sufficient state of mind. This
does not mean a closed mind, but actually an empty mind and a ready mind. If your mind is
empty, it is always ready for anything; it is open to everything. In the beginner's mind
there are many possibilities; in the expert's mind there are few.
If you discriminate too much, you limit yourself. If you are too
demanding or too greedy, your mind is not rich and selfsufficient. If we lose our original
self-sufficient mind, we will lose all precepts. When your mind becomes demanding, when
you long for something, you will end up violating your own precepts: not to tell lies, not
to steal, not to kill, not to be immoral, and so forth. If you keep your original mind,
the precepts will keep themselves.
In the beginner's mind there is no thought, "I have attained
something " All self-centered thoughts limit our vast mind. When we have no thought
of achievement, no thought of self, we are true beginners. Then we can really learn
something. The beginner's mind is the mind of compassion. When our mind is compassionate,
it is boundless. Dogen-zenji, the founder of our school, always emphasized how imponant it
is to resume our boundless original mind. Then we are always true to ourselves, in
sympathy with all beings, and can actually practice.
So the most difficult thing is always to keep your beginner's mind.
There is no need to have a deep understanding of Zen. Even though you read much Zen
literature, you must read each sentence with a fresh mind. You should not say, "I
know what Zen is," or "I have attained enlightenment." This is also the
real secret of the arts: always be a beginner. Be very very careful about this point. If
you start to practice zazen, you will begin to appreciate your beginner's mind. It is the
secret of Zen practice.
From Zen Mind, Beginners Mind by Shunryu Suzuki
