Those who think they are learned
are probably the least learned.
Those who know they should learn
will probably become learned.
— Shilashanti
All of us act like those close-minded experts sometimes, and all of us can benefit from a bit more beginner’s mind. This is as true at home as it is at work. It’s true everywhere in life. Parents can learn from their kids, teachers from their students, and (perhaps especially) bosses from their employees. The great Indian Buddhist teacher Santideva knew this way back in the eighth century. He wrote: ‘One should be the pupil of everyone all the time.’
Zen master Dogen was a bit more grandiose in his wording. As he put it, ‘A beginner’s wholehearted practice of the Way is exactly the totality of original enlightenment.’ In simpler terms, the path to awakening is to approach your whole life with beginner’s mind.
Buddha’s Office: The Ancient Art Of Waking Up While Working Well
Dan Zigmond
