The Concept of Right Practice - Book Report/Review Example

Rhetorical Analysis Essay

Introduction

The book "Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind," which is written by Shunryu Suzuki, is one of the most influential books and most read by many people. The writer was very much tactical to give insights into people's lives and help them live a better life (Suzuki 5). Suzuki builds on various aspects, such as limiting, emptiness, and calm, to show how people's minds react and create a profound sensation in our lives. From the perspective of limiting the author, many people may assume that without a purpose or goal within people’s practice, individuals might not understand what to do.

There is ever a way to practice without necessarily having a goal, and this can be understood as limiting our activities. Rather than having particular objects in mind, people should restrict people’s activities. From the fact that individuals cannot focus on their crucial actions in the modern world, it may lead people to agree with the author's sense of limits. Suzuki says that if people cannot limit their activities, expressing their ideas becomes very much difficult (Suzuki 8). As noted in the book, an individual can decide anything, for example, harmony, lyrics, guitar sounds, and piano sounds. Upon using the concept of limitation, a person can realize a particular aspect desired like sound. If people cannot feel or express themselves in a specific moment, limiting can help them recognize themselves.

Calmness is another area focused by the author as it brings the environment and setting where an individual can start to develop art either through poems, among others. Throughout the book, the author talks of emptiness as a very crucial part of individuals (Suzuki 10). Without the feeling of emptiness in ourselves, people are not feeling fresh and unable to learn new things. They should set minds to forget and create an emptiness. The book explores how to maintain the beginner's mind through meditation and in life.

Suzuki's concepts and ideas in the book "Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind."

The author's purpose in writing this kind of book is to use Zen teachings and make people wonder and use the most profound expression of people’s nature to answer the same wondering. There are various ideas and concepts which are developed by Suzuki in this book. The concepts are presented in three sections, and they correspond to the mind, the body, and feelings. These concepts include the Right Attitude, Right Practice, and the Right Understanding (Suzuki 20). The book is full of many insights to zazen or the sitting meditation practice regarding posture, focused attention, and breathing. Suzuki claims that having a deep feeling about Buddhism is not everything but going beyond that to have the Zen attitudes toward all things.

The concept of Right Practice, as brought out by Suzuki, is when an individual tries to soften the mind's extremes. This can be achieved through just sitting, being still, and then taking a breath. At this point, thoughts in mind will be seen as waves, and with constant breathing, the waves will take tend to get smaller, and at long last, the mind gets calm. When a person leaves the mind for itself, it will become a great mind or a field of pure being (Suzuki 26). In this aspect, people can understand that sitting and breathing helps them take away ideas of the ego. In this state, the Zen practice helps individuals realize their true nature, which is very different from their perception of being unique. They get to understand the great mind after being taken away from their smaller mind of 'I.' When an individual is attuned to the larger mind, they feel more joyful and compassionate than when in the small mind of ‘I’, which makes people struggle very much. The author is also seen cautioning against attempts to gain from the practice as people should take it just for its sake. The practise requires discipline in its actions when done repetitively, constancy as well as sameness, brings its concept.

The author also explores the practice of understanding or enlightenment. In understanding, individuals try to connect to the many decades of spiritual work. This is when they realize a Zen term known as satori, which shows the understanding of Buddhahood. Suzuki notes that enlightenment is ordinary as it tends to comprehend a particular fact. What happens first is the realization of the presence of the fact, followed by the practice which serves to remind them of it, which in turn expresses it in thought and action (Suzuki 35). This is what is defined as the right understanding according to the teachings of Zen. The act of being sane is experienced when an individual is capable of believing in the creative field of potentiality as a primary reality of life.

Readers should consider the following context of a frog. Frogs are established to sit, without thinking that they are anything special or unique. Their sitting does not deprive them of anything from their identity. They remain to be frogs. In this context, the reader should understand that the author intends to talk about the purity of practice (Suzuki 36). He doesn't mean making us pure or converting something terrible to good but helps people visualize things as they are.

The author's viewpoint in this book is that people can realize salvation by looking somewhere else beyond where we are and who we think we are. Notably, people usually want to escape because of their suffering, but the author has a new version of finding pleasure in the transitory nature of life in action. The author uses high-level thoughts to present his ideas. It is a skill that can inspire introspection, which is captivating for readers and practitioners of mindfulness. The style helps to keep the beginner's mind present to avoid limited potential. Some of the ideas Suzuki presents to the reader include; Zen practices of breathing enable people to realize the true nature while at the same time dissolving space and time. In this aspect, individuals need to have high-level thinking to recognize and understand basic life processes like breathing. It in this state, that Zen breathing has an awareness of people’s true nature (Suzuki 40). The practice of Zen's mind is a beginner's mind. Through Zen practices, the innocence of the first question- ‘what am I?’ is required. The mind of the beginner is always free and empty ready to accept. This is the mind that is capable of seeing things as they are.

The significance of beginner’s mind concept

The relevance of the author's ideas about beginner's mind can be applied in daily life. When individuals want to learn these concepts, people need to drop the mind they term as an expert and start seeing learning as a beginner (Suzuki 50). Beginners' minds entail dropping what individuals expect and preconceived ideas about something and start viewing and approaching things with an open mind and a fresh mind like a beginner. All this knowledge borrowed from the author is crucial when applied in general life situations.

When people see activities with the beginner's mind, they get better experiences. In this manner, an individual is not clouded by preconceptions, prejudgments, and fantasies about an activity's occurrence. When it doesn't happen as expected, there are also no disappointments. The mind of a beginner also creates a good relationship with people (Suzuki 56). Sometimes, when talking to someone instead of getting frustrated, an individual can see them in different dimensions and with fresh eyes and realize that they are happy and have good intentions. This helps in transforming an individual’s relationship with others. Less procrastination is another sign of the mind of a beginner.

Conclusion

Beginners mind is what people practice in meditation. Suzuki was very tactful to use high-level thoughts and help people connect with the larger or great mind. The Zen teachings are crucial in people’s lives as they help them establish the true nature of life (Suzuki 62). Practising them and well as approaching life with the mind of a beginner as Suzuki puts it can help individuals avoid struggling with it. Individuals need only to drop their preconceived ideas and approach any situation with emptiness and readiness to new experiences.