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 (Page 1 of 2)
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
One day a child goes to his mother and asks her, ” Ma, who is that old man sitting on the mountain? ” Mother answers, ” Don’t call him an old man, for he is Lord Buddha, who knows the answer to every question in this universe. ”
” Really, he knows answers to all questions? ” asks the child. ” Yes my dear ” replies the mother.
The child goes to the mountain where Buddha is meditating, catches a butterfly in from the garden, and cupping the butterfly gently in his hands, he approaches Buddha. Keeping his hand behind his back, he asks Buddha, ” Is the thing in my hand alive or dead? ”
The child thinks that if Buddha answers that the thing is alive, he will crush the butterfly in his hand and show the dead butterfly proving Buddha wrong. And if Buddha answers that the thing is dead, he will open his gently cupped hand, allowing the butterfly to fly away showing that the butterfly was alive and again proving Buddha wrong. Thus Buddha did not know the answer to all questions. ” Is the thing in my hand alive or dead? ” repeats the eager child.
The Buddha opens his eyes, nods his head and replies, ” My dear son, the answer lies in your hands!
We are all the same as human beings, we all want to lead a happy life. We can think of every day as a new day. When we wake up we can remind ourselves – ‘I need to be happy, I need to have warm feelings towards others. This builds self-confidence, honesty, transparency, which leads to trust. And trust is the basis of friendship. We are social animals and we need friends.
Text from the Dalai Lama Facebook-page.
Do not use Buddhism to become a Buddhist. Use it to become better at whatever else in your life that you are doing already.
Dalai Lama
Thousands of candles can be lighted from a single candle, and the life of the candle will not be shortened. Happiness never decreases by being shared.
Buddha
Be content with what you have;
rejoice in the way things are.
When you realize there is nothing lacking,
the whole world belongs to you.
Lao Tzu