The innocence of this first inquiry—just asking what you are—is beginner's mind. The mind of the beginner is needed throughout Zen practice. It is the open mind, the attitude that includes both doubt and possibility, the ability to see things always as fresh and new. It is needed in all aspects of life. Beginner's mind is the practice of Zen mind.
This book
originated from a series of talks given by Zen Master Shunryu Suzuki to a
small group in Los Altos, California. He joined their meditation
periods once a week and afterwards answered their questions and tried to
encourage them in their practice of Zen and help them solve the
problems of life. His approach is informal, and he draws his examples
from ordinary events and common sense. Zen is now and here, he is
saying; it can be as meaningful for the West as for the East. But his
fundamental teaching and practice are drawn from all the centuries of
Zen Buddhism and especially from Dogen, one of the most important and
creative of all Zen Masters.A respected Zen master in Japan and founder of the San Francisco Zen Center, Shunryu Suzuki has blazed a path in American Buddhism like few others. He is the master who climbs down from the pages of the koan books and answers your questions face to face. If not face to face, you can at least find the answers as recorded in Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind, a transcription of juicy excerpts from his lectures. From diverse topics such as transience of the world, sudden enlightenment, and the nuts and bolts of meditation, Suzuki always returns to the idea of beginner's mind, a recognition that our original nature is our true nature. With beginner's mind, we dedicate ourselves to sincere practice, without the thought of gaining anything special. Day to day life becomes our Zen training, and we discover that "to study Buddhism is to study ourselves." And to know our true selves is to be enlightened.
In one of the best and most succinct introductions to Zen practice, the important teacher Shunryu Suzuki discusses posture and breathing in meditation as well as selflessness, emptiness, and mindfulness.