''Shoshin'' ( ja, text=初心) is a concept from

Zen Buddhism Zen ( zh, t=禪, p=Chán; ja, text= 禅, translit=zen; ko, text=선, translit=Seon; vi, text=Thiền) is a school of Mahayana Buddhism that originated in China during the Tang dynasty, known as the Chan School (''Chánzong'' 禪宗), an ...

meaning beginner's mind. It refers to having an attitude of openness, eagerness, and lack of preconceptions when studying, even at an advanced level, just as a beginner would. The term is especially used in the study of

and Japanese martial arts, and was popularized outside of Japan by

Shunryū Suzuki Shunryu Suzuki (鈴木俊隆 ''Suzuki Shunryū'', dharma name ''Shōgaku Shunryū'' 祥岳俊隆, often called Suzuki Roshi; May 18, 1904 – December 4, 1971) was a Sōtō Zen monk and teacher who helped popularize Zen Buddhism in the Unit ...

's 1970 book ''

Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind ''Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind'' is a book of teachings by Shunryu Suzuki, a compilation of talks given to his satellite Zen center in Los Altos, California. Published in 1970 by Weatherhill, the book is not academic, but contains frank and direct ...

''. The practice of ''shoshin'' acts as a counter to the hubris and closed-mindedness often associated with thinking of oneself as an expert. This includes the

Einstellung effect Einstellung () is the development of a mechanized state of mind. Often called a problem solving set, Einstellung refers to a person's predisposition to solve a given problem in a specific manner even though better or more appropriate methods of so ...

, where a person becomes so accustomed to a certain way of doing things that they do not consider or acknowledge new ideas or approaches. The word ''shoshin'' is a combination of ''sho'' ( ja, text=初, links=no), meaning "beginner" or "initial", and ''shin'' ( ja, text=心, links=no), meaning "mind".

History

The concept was taught in the thirteenth century by

Dōgen Zenji Dōgen Zenji (道元禅師; 26 January 1200 – 22 September 1253), also known as Dōgen Kigen (道元希玄), Eihei Dōgen (永平道元), Kōso Jōyō Daishi (高祖承陽大師), or Busshō Dentō Kokushi (仏性伝東国師), was a J ...

, the founder of the

Sōtō Zen Sōtō Zen or is the largest of the three traditional sects of Zen in Japanese Buddhism (the others being Rinzai and Ōbaku). It is the Japanese line of the Chinese Cáodòng school, which was founded during the Tang dynasty by Dòngshān ...

school of Buddhism. ''Shoshin'' is discussed in his collected works, the ''

Shōbōgenzō is the title most commonly used to refer to the collection of works written in Japan by the 13th century Buddhist monk and founder of the Sōtō Zen school, Eihei Dōgen. Several other works exist with the same title (see above), and it is som ...

''. ''Shoshin'' was popularized outside of Japan by the 1970 book ''

'' by

, a Zen teacher. Suzuki outlines the framework behind ''shoshin'', noting that "in the beginner's mind there are many possibilities, but in the expert's mind there are few" which has become a popular quote when discussing ''shoshin''. ''Shoshin wasuru bekarazu'' (or sometimes variously ''Shoshin wo wasuru bekarazu'') is a Japanese proverb about ''shoshin'' coined by Japanese playwright

Zeami (c. 1363 – c. 1443), also called , was a Japanese aesthetician, actor, and playwright. His father, Kan'ami Kiyotsugu, introduced him to Noh theater performance at a young age, and found that he was a skilled actor. Kan'ami was also skil ...

in 1424. The phrase is typically translated into English as some variation of "never forget the beginner's mind" or "never forget your original intent" and persists as a common proverb amongst practitioners of ''

Budō is a Japanese term describing modern Japanese martial arts. Literally translated it means the "Martial Way", and may be thought of as the "Way of War" or the "Way of Martial Arts". Etymology Budō is a compound of the root ''bu'' ( 武:ぶ), ...

'' and in Japanese business and entrepreneurship. The concept of ''shoshin'' is seen in works such as the eighteenth century book ''Budôshoshinshû'' by Daidōji Yūzan, which is a collection of works about ''

Bushidō is a moral code concerning samurai attitudes, behavior and lifestyle. There are multiple bushido types which evolved significantly through history. Contemporary forms of bushido are still used in the social and economic organization of Japan. ...

'' and the warrior class in Tokugawa-period Japan. The word ''shoshin'' within the title refers to the concept of the beginner's mind.

Other uses

The concept of ''shoshin'' is used in the art of Japanese calligraphy within in the context of Zen, where each stroke is made as though the calligrapher were a beginner to the art. In Japanese calligraphy ''shoshin'' is not an aesthetic choice, but rather a state of mind of the practitioner, one that addresses and counters the paradox within calligraphy where the more one practices, the more the quality of the calligraphy may suffer. ''Shoshin'' is described as the first of the states of mind or stages of ''

''. ''Shoshin'' (beginner's mind) is followed by '' Mushin'' (empty mind), '' Fudōshin'' (immovable mind), and ''

Zanshin ''Zanshin'' ( ja, 残心) is a state of awareness, of relaxed alertness, in Japanese martial arts. A literal translation of ''zanshin'' is "remaining mind".

'' (remaining mind). A fifth state is sometimes also added as ''Senshin'' (enlightened mind). In ''Budō'' the practitioner is advised to retain ''shoshin'' throughout their training and practice of the martial arts; it is not reserved only for those beginning to practice but is maintained even when reaching the higher levels of mastery. ''Shoshin-sha'' is a term used in martial arts to indicate a novice. ''Shoshin'' is an influence on the Japanese Metabolism style of architecture, which incorporates concepts from Zen Buddhism and other Asian philosophical traditions into the architectural process and allows those concepts to help shape the design process. Many businesses and people who work in the field of business have adopted or advocate for practicing the concept of ''shoshin'' in the business environment, including top executives such as

Apple Inc. Apple Inc. is an American multinational technology company headquartered in Cupertino, California, United States. Apple is the largest technology company by revenue (totaling in 2021) and, as of June 2022, is the world's biggest company ...

's founder and CEO Steve Jobs, and

Salesforce Salesforce, Inc. is an American cloud-based software company headquartered in San Francisco, California. It provides customer relationship management (CRM) software and applications focused on sales, customer service, marketing automation, a ...

CEO

Marc Benioff Marc Russell Benioff (born September 25, 1964) is an American internet entrepreneur and philanthropist. He is the co-founder, chairman and CEO of Salesforce, an enterprise cloud computing company. In September 2018, Benioff acquired ''Time (mag ...

. It is also used or proposed as a way of general living or a way to approach specific fields of life including social work, medical care, teaching, computer programming, gardening, sports, and dealing with chronic diseases such as

phenylketonuria Phenylketonuria (PKU) is an inborn error of metabolism that results in decreased metabolism of the amino acid phenylalanine. Untreated PKU can lead to intellectual disability, seizures, behavioral problems, and mental disorders. It may also re ...

References

{{Buddhism topics Japanese martial arts terminology Zen Buddhist philosophical concepts

History

Other uses

See also

References