Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind Book Summary - Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind Book explained in key points

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Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind summary

Name: Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind
Rating: 4.4 (204 reviews)
Author: Shunryu Suzuki

Shunryu Suzuki

Informal Talks on Zen Meditation and Practice

4.4 (204 ratings)

15 mins

Brief summary

Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind by Shunryu Suzuki is a guide to Zen Buddhism. It emphasizes meditation and the importance of approaching every moment with a beginner’s mind, free from preconceived notions.

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Table of Contents

Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind
Summary of 7 key ideas

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Key idea 1 of 7

What’s in it for me? Abandon ambition.

Do you feel agitated, stressed, or generally anxious in life? In the modern world, it’s easy to get trapped in ruts that feel impossible to escape. We face a constant slew of work emails and obligations, social events and relationships, fitness and weight goals. We juggle all of these and try to be perfect high achievers.

But what if it doesn’t have to be this way? What if society’s priorities are all wrong, and the goal of achieving a certain social status, job title or income bracket is misguided? What if you could bring your focus back to the activities that make up your day and find peace and contentment from them, with no motive beyond that?

In these blinks, you’ll learn

the wisdom of nonduality;
the idea behind pure activity; and
why a bad horse might be better than a good horse.

The Zen meditation posture is a practice unto itself but also has a deeper symbolic meaning.

Lots of modern health gurus promote a particular body posture as a way to feel more confident and happy. Interestingly enough, so does the ancient practice of Zen Buddhism.

The posture Zen practitioners adopt when meditating promotes spirituality in and of itself. Not just that, but taking a certain posture actually constitutes the entire practice, as it enables your mind to automatically tune into the spiritual realm.

As a result, the sole aim of the practice is to sit in this position. So, what exactly is it?

Sit cross-legged, preferably in the lotus position, with your right foot on your left thigh and your left foot on your right thigh. Your spine should be straight, with your chin pressed gently down.

The center of your body, just below your belly button, should also be aiming down, directly toward the floor. This last shift will help with stability.

But this isn’t a purely pragmatic technique. The lotus meditation posture also has a symbolic meaning that relates to the relationship between life and death.

More specifically, it’s a symbolic expression of non-duality, the notion that all things and beings on earth have the same essence. While people tend to think of themselves as having two legs, those two legs “become one” in lotus, when it’s no longer as apparent which leg is right and which is left.

This concept of nonduality is essential as it applies to every aspect of the Zen worldview. Therefore, “life” and “death” don’t exist. Rather, life ends while remaining eternal. You die, yet you do not die. The body and mind dissolve but remain.

Such seeming contradictions are unified by a single, harmonious idea, which is the essence of Zen.

The Zen practice of breathing makes us aware of our true nature while dissolving time and space.

Most people don’t notice their hearts beating, yet it’s tremendously beneficial to observe such basic life processes. That’s where Zen breathing cultivates an awareness of our true nature.

This practice focuses simply on bringing attention to the breath. It involves following the air as it is inhaled into our bodies and then exhaled back into the world. By noticing this process, we see that the world is one unified whole, free of boundaries.

In life as well as meditation, it’s better to observe than to control.

Western society is dominated by control freaks, but control is overrated. Most people experience their best ideas when relaxed into a state of flow.

Instead of attempting to micromanage the world, step back and observe what happens without your interference. After all, disorder is beyond human control; it cannot be grasped.

The adversity you encounter in meditation feeds your practice.

While meditating, it’s not uncommon for people to grow tired, emotional and discouraged. But actually, all of these responses are good.

That’s because encountering adversity in meditation helps you grow. Just think of the mind as if it were a garden full of both flowers and weeds. The weeds naturally appear unsightly, but if you pull them up and bury them near the flowers, the soil will be enriched.

In Zen practice, excellence is not the aim, and the worst students are often the best.

The Western world values people who succeed, especially if they do so effortlessly, like musical and mathematical geniuses. But Zen has a different concept of success.

In Zen, excellence is not the goal, but rather patient perseverance. Just take an example from the Zen scriptures. The Samyuktagama Sutra speaks of very good horses and bad horses. The good horses obey the will of their riders with almost telepathic obedience, while the bad horses must be whipped into following orders.

Practicing Zen isn’t about excitement or achievement.

Nowadays, most people are more or less addicted to information and entertainment that makes them feel some sense of excitement. The practice of Zen offers the opposite of such a lifestyle.

It probably doesn’t come as a shock at this point, but practicing Zen isn’t about excitement. It’s not about big parties, gallery openings, blockbuster movies or dinner dates. Though it doesn’t entirely exclude such activities, Zen is in many ways opposed to them. It’s about bringing focus to our daily routines and the actions we normally perform on autopilot, like eating, cleaning, working and talking.

Zen entails discovering pure activity, which is, at its core, an act of giving.

Have you ever taken a long walk to relax, only to find that you were lost in anxious thoughts the whole time?

It’s just one example of how frustrating it can be when thinking prevents you from living. Zen is a great tool for overcoming this dilemma. That’s because Zen is a practice of pure activity.

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What is Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind about?

Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind (1970) is a starter’s guide to Zen Buddhism. These blinks explain how Zen is not only a system of meditation, but also a philosophy of life. They describe how to sit, breathe and observe while maintaining a vital connection to the present moment.

Best quote from Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind

To take this posture is itself the right state of mind.

—Shunryu Suzuki

Who should read Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind?

Overachievers and perfectionists
Students of yoga, Zen or meditation
Seekers of equanimity and balance

About the Author

Shunryu Suzuki was a Japanese monk who came to the United States in 1954. In addition to founding the San Francisco Zen Center, he taught countless Zen students and wrote several books on the subject, including Branching Streams Flow in the Darkness.

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