There is a concept in Zen Buddhism known as shoshin, which means “beginner’s mind.” Shoshin refers to the idea of letting go of your preconceptions and having an attitude of openness when studying a subject. When you are a true beginner, your mind is empty and open.
Tag: Zen-related
Each morning we are born again. What we do today is what matters most.
Buddha
Mindfulness – Paying attention to one’s current experience in a non-judgmental way.
Minimalism is about more than getting rid of stuff. It’s a mindset, a way of life. These two qoutes say it well.
At its core, being a minimalist means investing your time in the important things in life.
The first step in crafting a life you want is to get rid of everything you don’t. — Joshua Becker, Becoming Minimalist
The next quote comes from 7 Ways to Live a Simpler Life in a Modern World
Time and money are two of the most valuable resources people have. When life gets simpler, the amount of these two things that a person has available will rise. That is the benefit of a simpler life in today’s world.
Designing a simple life
Despite the how in the title, How to Design a Simple Life is as much about why. There’s good advice in that post (the quote below is just a small part of it).
Designing a simple life doesn’t just mean throwing out all the things. It’s not about a life of most, it’s not about a life of least, it’s about the life that’s right for you.
You don’t have to get rid of things just for the sake of getting rid of them. You remove what you don’t need (in your home, in your thoughts, in your schedule) to make room for the life you want to live.
Designing a simple life means having fewer distractions in your life, so you can focus on what matters. It’s about saying no to everything that gets in the way, but saying yes to what’s right for you.
It means having more of some things: more time, more energy, more space, more flex in your budget, more peace of mind. It means having less of others: less distractions, less frustration, less clutter, less drain on your resources.
Sites about minimalism
Two interesting sites about minimalism are No Sidebar – Design a simple life by Brian Gardiner (has a free weekly newsletter) and Becoming Minimalist by Joshua Becker.
Be like water making its way through cracks. Do not be assertive, but adjust to the object, and you shall find a way around or through it. If nothing within you stays rigid, outward things will disclose themselves.
Empty your mind, be formless. Shapeless, like water. If you put water into a cup, it becomes the cup. You put water into a bottle and it becomes the bottle. You put it in a teapot, it becomes the teapot. Now, water can flow or it can crash. Be water, my friend.
Bruce Lee
The teacup story is around in different versions, here is one version:
Once, a long time ago, there was a wise Zen master. People from far and near would seek his counsel and ask for his wisdom. Many would come and ask him to teach them, enlighten them in the way of Zen. He seldom turned any away. One day an important man, a man used to command and obedience came to visit the master. “I have come today to ask you to teach me about Zen. Open my mind to enlightenment.” The tone of the important man’s voice was one used to getting his own way. The Zen master smiled and said that they should discuss the matter over a cup of tea. When the tea was served the master poured his visitor a cup. He poured and he poured and the tea rose to the rim and began to spill over the table and finally onto the robes of the wealthy man. Finally the visitor shouted, “Enough. You are spilling the tea all over. Can’t you see the cup is full?” The master stopped pouring and smiled at his guest. “You are like this tea cup, so full that nothing more can be added. Come back to me when the cup is empty. Come back to me with an empty mind.”
Here is another version:
Nan-in, a Japanese master during the Meiji era, received a university professor who came to inquire about Zen. Nan-in served tea. He poured his visitor’s cup full, and then kept on pouring. The professor watched the overflow until he no longer could restrain himself. “It is overfull. No more will go in!” Like this cup, Nan-in said, you are full of your own opinions and speculations. How can I show you Zen unless you first empty your cup?
I like the tea story a lot, it is a great reminder that in order to learn we have to be humble, to empty our mind and make room for the new.
I got this classic story from a friend, it’s great and makes us see cracks and flaws in a different way.
A water bearer in China had two large pots, each hung on the ends of a pole which he carried across his neck. One pot had a crack in it, while the other pot was perfect and always delivered a full portion of water. At the end of the long walk from the stream to the house, the cracked pot arrived only half full.
For a full two years this went on daily, with the bearer delivering only one and a half pots full of water to his house. Of course, the perfect pot was proud of its accomplishments, perfect for which it was made. But the poor cracked pot was ashamed of its own imperfection, and miserable that it was able to accomplish only half of what it had been made to do.
After 2 years of what it perceived to be a bitter failure, it spoke to the water bearer one day by the stream. “I am ashamed of myself, because this crack in my side causes water to leak out all the way back to your house.”
The bearer said to the pot, “Did you notice that there were flowers only on your side of the path, but not on the other pot’s side? That’s because I have always known about your flaw, and I planted flower seeds on your side of the path. Every day while we walk back, you’ve watered them. For two years I have been able to pick these beautiful flowers to decorate the table. Without you being just the way you are, there would not be this beauty to grace the house.”
Moral:
Each of us has our own unique flaws. We’re all cracked pots. But it’s the cracks and flaws we each have that make our lives together so very interesting and rewarding.
A Buddhist approaches a hotdog vendor and says: “Make me one with everything.”
He gives the vendor a $20 bill and waits. Finally he says: “Where’s my change?”
Says the vendor: “All change must come from within.”
The monk who sold his Ferrari is written by Robin Sharma. I stumbled upon this book in my favourite online bookstore, got curious and ordered it. Picked it up on Saturday and have finished the book this weekend. I love it!
To enjoy the book I think you need to have a desire to grow, on a mental and spiritual level. A wish to change your life to something better. The book is a mix of wisdom of the East and success principles of the West. You get dejavu feelings now and then when familiar principles and quotes turn up but the great thing about the book is that it is all connected.
The story evolves around a mystical fable from the Sages of Sivana. The fable includes a magnificent garden, a lighthouse, a sumo wrestler, a pink wire cable, a golden stopwatch, fragrant roses and a path of diamonds.