If the Buddha Got Stuck_ A Handbook for Change on a Spiritual Path - Charlotte Sophia Kasl [25]
Getting out of the way of oneself is similar to what athletes, musicians, and other creative people often call “being in the zone.” There’s no beginning, no ending, no going anywhere. Essentially, it means you’re not thinking, judging, or critiquing what’s going on; your body is in the flow of the experience and you are responding and reacting based on everything you know, without having to think about it. Thoughts come to you, but without agitation or worry, as if you are not the thinker.
What does this have to do with showing up? It takes us to the question of who is showing up, your ego or your spirit? Shunryu Suzuki, in Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind, addressed this question in talking about meditation:
The most important thing is to forget all gaining ideas, all dualistic ideas. Do not think about anything. Just remain on your cushion without expecting anything. Then eventually you will resume your own true nature. That is to say, your own true nature resumes itself.
Ponder the words, “your own true nature resumes itself.” You don’t make your true nature happen, you step out of the way and feel its presence. It’s always there, like the sun behind the clouds, like the water flowing in wells beneath the surface of the earth. When you go through your day being at one with whatever you are doing, all of life becomes an art form. You feel the sensations of water on your body when you bathe, the taste and texture of the food you eat, the mental focus while driving, the heightened sensitivity when making love. The more your receptors are attuned to your experience, the more you are in contact with your true nature. A string of thoughts may amble through your mind, but you don’t need to grab hold of them; you can let them pass like clouds.
When we do something with a quiet, simple, clear mind, we have no notion or shadows, and our activity is strong and straightforward. But when we do something with a complicated mind, in relationship to other things, people, or society, our activity becomes very complex.
—SHUNRYU SUZUKI, ZEN MIND , BEGINNER’S MIND
Beginner’s mind is free of judgments, dogma, and rules, a mind unclouded by stereotypes, interpretations, and expectations.
Having a beginner’s mind means there’s no agenda for the outcome; you are just following something deep inside. With a beginner’s mind you can show up for where life takes you rather than writing a script. Your interactions or activities will have a freshness to them. Even if you chop vegetables every day, you notice their color, texture, and smell and delight in the composition of putting them all together.
This contrasts with doing things motivated by the ego self—seeking praise, definition, reward, or admiration, which will dissolve like cotton candy because they never truly satisfy. When we’re driven by ego, we are aware of pressing against time, trying to get somewhere, trying to impress someone. When you’re in a beginner’s mind, time may seem to contract and expand. There is motion amid a state of calm. You start working on a project and suddenly five hours have passed. At the same time, everything may slow down or stretch out. For example, if you are playing tennis, you don’t feel frantic; there’s ample time to get in position, stroke the ball, and return to a relaxed state. There can be speed and motion without agitation.
Beginner’s mind doesn’t exclude ideas or thoughts; they arise on their own in the interest of what we are doing, but they are not those conditioned thoughts from the past. When we make love with a beginner’s mind we can explore, touch, feel, attune, whisper, and respond as if making love for the first time, yet with the ancient wisdom of love flowing through