The Beginner's Mind

According to one Zen Buddhist nun, the beginner’s mind is “innocent of preconceptions and expectations, judgments and prejudices. Beginner's mind is just present to explore and observe and see ‘things as-it-is’." The beginner should see things “like a small child, full of curiosity and wonder and amazement. ‘I wonder what this is? I wonder what that is? I wonder what this means?’ It is avoiding a fixed point of view or a prior judgment. (Abbess Zenkei Blanche Hartman).

In working on this project, I can see that my ups and downs are as a result of my being fixed on an end point. That is having the bike to ride! What I need to keep in mind is the reason why I bought a $300 bike in the first place (Other than the fact that I am cheap!). I bought it to learn. I want to know how the bike works and the reasons why a bike doesn’t work. Keeping the focus on now and not on the end is what I need to do. I need to be innocent of expectations.

By the way, the trip to Crazy Al’s was a waste of time. I bought a helmet to justify the trip, but it really wasn’t worth it. I felt no real disappointment, however, as I had no real expectations that the reality would live up to the advertising. Is that Zen or just plain cynical?