Teaching #21: Don’t Know Mind
In meditation and in daily life, practice moving into the state described by the Zen master Suzuki Roshi as “beginner’s mind,” and called “don’t know mind” in the Theravada tradition. Beginner’s or don’t know mind is empty of preconceived notions about what it is supposed to be and expectations as to what it can achieve. To achieve beginner’s mind the ego has to give up the idea of its omnipotence.
Chapter 6, Pg 60-61
For your reflection: Notice in your daily life if you’re comfortable acknowledging when you don’t know what to do or whether what you’re doing is right. Likewise, when you start to deal with an important task with which you have had previous experience, can you approach it with beginner’s mind as though you were seeing it for the first time and open to new possibilities and insights?