ZEN CONCEPT: SHOSHIN — THE BEGINNER’S MIND- A SELF INTROSPECTIVE VIEW

People tend to emulate their mentors. This phenomenon—our tendencies to repeat the behaviour we are exposed to—extend to nearly everything we learn in life. The way we approach our day-to-day work and life is largely a result of the system we were trained in and the mentors we had along the way.

In this way, we become a slave to our old beliefs without even realizing it. We adopt a philosophy or strategy based on what we have been exposed to without knowing if it’s the optimal way to do things. There is a concept in Zen Buddhism known as shoshin, which means “beginner’s mind.”