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.
-Shunryu Suzuki-roshi
So yesterday I decided to practice my beginner's mind. And a good thing it was.
It started out well enough. I had a morning meeting to attend: one that does not always inspire. As I sipped my pre-dawn coffee, my expert mind not only reminded me that this meeting is often tedious but also predicted that today's meeting would be no different. But my beginner's mind said, " You might be surprised."
Indeed, I was. The meeting was lively, fruitful and informative. Cool. This beginner's mind thing is working.
Next, I headed off to Portland to teach my afternoon class. It's the week before spring break, and one look at the sea of faces in this normally effervescent group told me most of them were in the Bahamas already. My expert mind had a sizable lecture planned, but my beginner's mind said, "Let's just see what arises." A lively discussion resulted, one more valuable than the planned lecture. Beginner's mind works again.
Here are the characteristics of beginner's mind.
1. It is not already made up.
2. It is not compelled to know something ahead of time.
3. It is open to possibility.
4. It is empty of preconceived notions.
5. It is ready to see what arises.
6. It is curious.
7. It is present to the experience at hand.
As I drove home that day, I thought more about beginner's mind in relation to the quilt I just finished. I realized that beginner's mind comes much more naturally to me as a quilter than as a teacher. I suppose the difference has a lot to do with the fact that I've been teaching for 30 years and quilting for less than 2. But the point is well taken: the longer you've been doing something the more essential beginner's mind becomes.
Beginner's mind contributes to mental health. Many of the emotional problems people have are obsessions and ruminations that they gnaw at like a dog with a bone. Somehow they believe that more gnawing will bring the resolution they seek. Actually, what will bring relief is clearing your mind so that you have a chance to look at that bone in a new way.
So as I drew closer to home I came to the conclusion that beginner's mind needs to be part of my daily practice, not just one day's meditation. Good thing, too, because what greeted me upon arrival was a leaking roof and a broken toilet. (I have no choice but to be present to the experience at hand, but I'm not sure I want to see what arises.)
Oh well. I'll let you know what happens on the home repair front. Meanwhile, here's my latest quilt. As I reflect on its construction, I recall that all 7 characteristics informed its creation. That's why I'm calling it, "Beginner's Mind."
copyright starfishdoc 2008
