A Beginner's Mind Discussion

Carrying over from the "Off Topic" area...


Roomy --

To me the term "beginner's mind" has alays meant having an open approach/feeling/orientation to life. It doesn't refer to how much of "me" I put out there, but actually to the opposite. It means getting past the "me" and opening to the universe in a way that allows for truth to be revealed... the truth that isn't dogmatic or based on beliefs or preconceptions but is instead based on what is immediately present in every second of existence. Does that square with your definition?


Jake then asked --

"... do you think it is normal for a practitioner at a certain point to drop some of their personality defenses and present their "positive" and "negative" traits in a more direct way, without immediately trying to cultivate positive traits and reject "negative" ones? Or do you think that this is an approach which is too dangerous?"

In my experience it's very normal for a practitioner to go through protracted periods of angst over one's own negative traits. This is a lot of what the proverbial "Dark Night" is all about. So assuming I understand the question - and I may not -- I think I would risk the patience and understanding of those around me. There have been times in my practice when I felt I was a completely open book, a raw, exposed bundle of nerves, foibles and faults. And I was -- to me. One of the objectives of my practice has been to be able to see myself directly, accept my faults -- all the bad along with the good, and then try to manage all of that skillfully. There is indeed a lot of freedom in revealing ourselves in a completely open way, but as I see it there is a cost to letting our negative "stuff" have its way. I think it risks the patience and understanding of those around us, at least in my humble opinion.

"
Carrying over from the "Off Topic" area...


Roomy --

To me the term "beginner's mind" has alays meant having an open approach/feeling/orientation to life. It doesn't refer to how much of "me" I put out there, but actually to the opposite. It means getting past the "me" and opening to the universe in a way that allows for truth to be revealed... the truth that isn't dogmatic or based on beliefs or preconceptions but is instead based on what is immediately present in every second of existence. Does that square with your definition?


Jake then asked --

"... do you think it is normal for a practitioner at a certain point to drop some of their personality defenses and present their "positive" and "negative" traits in a more direct way, without immediately trying to cultivate positive traits and reject "negative" ones? Or do you think that this is an approach which is too dangerous?"

In my experience it's very normal for a practitioner to go through protracted periods of angst over one's own negative traits. This is a lot of what the proverbial "Dark Night" is all about. So assuming I understand the question - and I may not -- I think I would risk the patience and understanding of those around me. There have been times in my practice when I felt I was a completely open book, a raw, exposed bundle of nerves, foibles and faults. And I was -- to me. One of the objectives of my practice has been to be able to see myself directly, accept my faults -- all the bad along with the good, and then try to manage all of that skillfully. There is indeed a lot of freedom in revealing ourselves in a completely open way, but as I see it there is a cost to letting our negative "stuff" have its way. I think it risks the patience and understanding of those around us, at least in my humble opinion.

"

Thanks so much for capturing the essential questions-- or some of them-- tangled up in the previous somewhat gnarly discussion. Here's a story that demonstrates beginner's mind in practice by a master teacher:
Many years ago a woman called Sono lived in a little town in Japan. Her devout heart and compassionate spirit had won her the respect and admiration of many followers, and fellow Buddhists often traveled long distances to seek her advice. One day a weary traveler approached Sono to ask what he could do to put his mind at peace and his heart at rest.
Sono's advice was simple and straightforward. 'In the morning and in the evening, whenever anything occurs to you, keep on saying, '˜Thanks for everything; I have no complaint whatsoever!' '

[cont.]
For an entire year the man faithfully followed her advice, repeating from morning until evening, '˜Thanks for everything; I have no complaint whatsoever.' But still his mind was not at peace nor was his heart at rest. Thoroughly discouraged he again made the long journey to see Sono. 'I've done everything you suggested,' he said, 'but my mind is not at peace and my heart is not at rest. Tell me'”what should I do now?'
At once Sono replied, 'Thanks for everything; I have no complaint whatsoever!' Hearing these words, the traveler was enlightened and returned home, his mind at peace and his heart at rest."
This story also demonstrates that delicate moment when practice actually catches fire, stops being the attempt, and is the reality. The 'bad [good] news' is there's no 'time-out', no resting on delusive laurels. Every situation presents a fresh opportunity/challenge.

'Thanks for everything; I have no complaint whatsoever!'

That's got to be a Zen story. I like it. Zen seems to capture better the idea that awakening is something that sort of just happens, and for almost random reasons. Theravada is different because it's all about working on focus, concentration, and investigation. It's great and I love doing it, but it easily misses the serendipity of those "crazy" Zen stories.

This all reminds me of Korean Zen Master Seung Sahn, whose favorite aphorism was "only don't know," which has always captured the essence of beginner's mind, too (at least for me). And then there's that other famous aphorism by Suzuki Roshi about "the worst horse."

As you can probably tell, I like the short ones

Alan Watts said something once about Zen being 'Indian Buddhism with Chinese jokes.' That must be why I like it so much. I'm a great big old Dogen fan, too.