Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind

by Shunryu Suzuki

If your mind is empty, it is always ready for anything; it is open to everything. In the beginner’s mind there are many possibilities; in the expert’s mind there are few.

And when he found himself, he found that everything that exists has Buddha nature. That was his enlightenment. Enlightenment is not some good feeling or some particular state of mind. The state of mind that exists when you sit in the right posture is, itself, enlightenment.

The world is its own magic.

“When you do something, you should burn yourself completely, like a good bonfire, leaving no trace of yourself.”