“In the beginner’s mind there are many possibilities; in the expert’s mind there are few.” ― Shunryu Suzuki, Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind
I have written well over two hundred stories on this blog and that is a big number, because two hundred of anything at all is large, you know. I have covered most everything on my mind, historically and contemporaneously. I am also seriously hooked on writing a story every week, mostly because I love it and because a modest number of you actually take it for granted that there’ll be another one. Trust me, I am not stupid enough to be bitching about this, because it is pure choice on my part, always has been and always will be.
I have had my share of adventures, the vast majority already shared in the past six years with you. This time, I wanted to stop the clock and take a look around, which gets me to the intriguing concept of Beginner’s Mind.
I met the Buddha for the first time in my early thirties. I was lost in a big way, wandering around in life’s forest, having no idea where the trail was or where I was going. I’ve had the distinct privilege of having been here for decades after that time, so I can now look back, floating high above in the balloon of experience. Back then, I was so intrigued by what this guy had to say about life, the endless questions he raised and the invisible answers he shared.
I am a really lousy student and have gotten away with it, because my IQ places me squarely within the “bright enough to get away with it” group. What I found most intriguing then and all these years later is that his real message was beyond words or definition, kind of like a magic you either got or didn’t. You could own it, but never explain it.
I have been thinking about this idea of Beginner’s Mind and how it would be if I awoke out of some science fiction coma and looked at the world we are all inhabiting. When I refer to world, I don’t mean the neighborhood, I mean planet earth, the entire neighborhood!
There are a bunch of things I’d want to look at, taking sides being the last thing on Beginner’s Mind. I think perspective is extraordinarily important. I know that we tend to be terribly myopic in terms of placing ourselves onto a larger stage. I think learning that 99% of all species that have lived here have gone extinct is the plot line already written for the Big Story. There are endless examples of us humans thinking the rules don’t apply to us, humility run amuck.
As the world’s population continues to climb, surpassing 10 billion by 2050, ecological disasters and armed conflict will displace roughly 10% of humanity, or around 1.2 billion of us.
34% of all countries will face catastrophic water stress and 22% catastrophic food insecurity by 2050. Disconnected statistics like these don’t come close to touching the suffering we will endure. The idea that we are One has been shuffled and put to the bottom of the deck in the marked cards being dealt by the rich and powerful.
The carnage of September 11th happened 19 years ago and I distinctly remember it being an extraordinarily rare opportunity to stop the machine and take a breath, which is really what Beginner’s Mind is all about. We, all of us, were presented with the rarest of opportunities to restart in a completely new direction, one in complete defiance of our entire history as a species. We did not and the moment passed.
In the beginning of this story, I didn’t want to find myself launching into a too easy tirade about our politics and I will not. What matters to me far more than one man’s pathetic attempts at redemption from a father’s scorn, is where all of us find ourselves. When I say all of us, it is meant to be literal, which is why I included the statistics above. The suffering in this world is incalculable, because there is simply no way to measure it.
In my best Beginner’s Mind, I don’t give a shit about Donald Trump. I am worried about us.
We are living in a time of such divisiveness, anger and suffering. The worst part of this is that it’s purposeful and righteous. We are doing this to each other. I will tell you what else I see. These fires of discord are being instigated and manipulated by social media, the invisible monster. It has turned many of us into pawns in a very dangerous game. It has been the game changer and we are culpable for allowing it to own us.
This afternoon, I was on my Sunday motorcycle sojourn with the Sons of Kauai and this incomplete story was the passenger on my mind. I realized there is a schizophrenic truth to this gift of technology. It is the angel of possibility and the devil of darkness. You know, there really is such a thing as truth and the search for it is one of our most wonderful qualities. Look at how we have allowed the machine to undermine the sacredness of this effort.
I got home and picked up exactly where I wanted. Yesterday afternoon, in the midst of struggling over this piece, I read an interview with Sonny Rollins. If you don’t know him, listen to his saxophone and allow the truth of his pain and redemption burn a hole in your soul.
He talked about two things, completely changing where I wanted to go with this story. He talked about ethics and the Golden Rule, which are pretty much synonymous. I had no idea where I was headed and I was concerned it would end up in the toilet of intention, then I heard the saxophone of Sonny.
Defining the meaning of ethics reminds me of the countless efforts at defining the essence of Zen. It is a word you have to feel to understand. Doing the right thing is ethics and it shouldn’t be confused with morality, because it comes from a higher place. It doesn’t take sides. It is about being responsible and fair. You won’t find it on the web, you will find it inside yourself, always there, patiently waiting for you.
Ethics in action is the Golden Rule. I did some quick research on this singularly, exquisite sentence and found that it is absolutely everywhere and timeless. You will find versions of it in every religion. I hadn’t thought about it in a long time. Until this moment, I never imagined its significance, extraordinarily powerful in its simplicity.
Looking around with Beginner’s Mind, this idea is no where to be found today. I initially thought I would write about what I see and it is where I started out. In a way, it is easy to open your eyes, as if for the first time, responding to the view. Everywhere I look, I see the absence of us treating each other and this planet with the same love and respect we want for ourselves and our children. This is the place we need to begin from if we are to have a future.
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