4. Beginner's Mind

Beginner’s Mind

Sometimes, when mindfulness arises it can feel as if we are seeing things for the first time with a freshness that can take us by surprise. This quality of mind has been referred to as “beginner’s mind”, and has some of the qualities of wonder and appreciation that a happy child can have in experiencing new things. When we walk past a tree, we are not stuck with the concept of “tree” that we hold in our minds (“I know what trees look like”), instead, we really see that particular tree with its blossoms, gnarled bark and unique individuality. In this way, mindfulness can help us to engage more fully with life, with its sheer impact and beauty, and can shake us from our habitual thinking, awakening a sense of awe and wonder. Even the most ordinary things can be seen with new eyes and we can appreciate the uniqueness and preciousness of all things.

When we are learning the practice of mindfulness, we are trying to foster this quality of “beginner’s mind”. A meditation teacher, Shunryu Suzuki, said that “in the beginner’s mind there are many possibilities, in the expert’s mind there are few”. He was describing how we can close down our experience when we think we know, when we engage in the world through our habitual thoughts and concepts and when we have a jaded sense that “we have seen it all before”.