Long ago, when I started to read about Buddhist mediation practice, one of my favorite phrases was ‘beginner’s mind’. This state of newness, open slate, open mind, was desirable for both new and experienced students and meditators. Beginner’s mind was a beautiful state of being! I felt comforted by this idea. I don’t have to know anything to start and do it right. I can just be. And start right where I am.

The basic instruction is to form a clear intention to meditate. The next step is to deliberately follow this intention and form a container for the practice. With intention and mindful deliberation still present, we then commit to proper placement of our body positioned on cushion or chair, where one is ‘deciding to begin’. We stay open. We keep breathing one breath at a time. We are staying present and simply creating and then following the intention to sit and meditate. Opening one’s mind to the moment of now, with the breath creating another new moment of now with the next breath, was the beginning and middle and end to meditation.

The idea is that being a beginner is a good thing. Practitioners of long-standing try to stay empty of expectations and inhabit their practice and their days with this beginner’s mind. With practice, we then take this unblemished viewpoint into more and more of our other life activities and interactions. We can deliberately empty our minds to more clearly form new intentions. We have dropped preconceived conclusions. We stay fresh to each moment. Our minds and hearts stay new. We allow the unfolding, and if we are lucky, we feel passionately curious to see what happens next.