Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind

⚖The case for it

'In the beginner's mind there are many possibilities, but in the expert's mind there are few.' Suzuki Roshi's talks at San Francisco Zen Center are the most accessible introduction to Zen practice in English. Not Zen as philosophy or aesthetics, but Zen as something you do with your legs crossed and your spine straight. No mystification, no cleverness. Just sit. The simplicity is the depth.

— the canon

✕The case against

Suzuki's talks were transcribed from tapes and they circle: the same point about posture, the same point about effort, approached from a dozen angles. The simplicity that practitioners treasure reads, without a sitting practice underneath it, as pleasant fog; the words are agreeable and gone by morning. A book that tells you to stop reading and sit deserves to be taken at its word.

— the honest librarian