What is Beginner’s Mind?

Zen teacher Shunryu Suzuki said, “In the beginner’s mind, there are many possibilities, but in the expert’s there are few” (Suzuki, 1970).

Beginner’s Mind (Chinese: Chuxin, 初心, Japanese: Shoshin) is a mind that is completely open, without judgment, without expectations. A beginner does not have the baggage of prior experience. Why is prior experience a baggage? Because when we have done something before, we form some kind of idea of how it is and how it should be. Then when we do it again, we judge our new experience with the yardstick of the past.

For the beginner, there are no expectations. And when there are no expectations, there can be more possibilities. Without the hindrance of experience, the beginner is free to explore, discover, make mistakes, and grow.

To be sure, experience can be very helpful. We all learn through experience and repetition. But experience can also hinder us if we’re not careful. It can limit us in how we approach, perceive, and respond to a situation. It can close us down when reality does not match our expectations. If we can learn to keep a Beginner’s Mind, then we can use our experience when we need it, and let go of it when we don’t.

Mindfulness practice is keeping Beginner’s Mind from moment to moment. Our life is just an unfolding of one moment to the next. Yet how often do we approach each moment with a Beginner’s Mind, with a mind that is fresh, open, and without preconceptions? What would it be like to take the next breath with a Beginner’s Mind, like we’re completely new to this breath? What would it be like to look at a budding flower with a Beginner’s Mind, like we’ve never seen anything like it before? This moment, and every moment, we can return to Beginner’s Mind.

Next time we sit down to meditate and find that our practice is not how we feel it should be, we can remind ourselves to return to Beginner’s Mind. What would it be like to approach this particular meditation practice, this next breath, like it’s our very first time?

REFERENCES

Suzuki, S., Dixon, T., Smith, H., & Baker, R. (1970). Zen mind, beginner’s mind.