"The Original Mind of the Zen Master" is an English introductory book written by the Japanese Zen master Shunryu Suzuki for Americans who know nothing about Buddhism. This book introduced Steve Jobs to Zen practice and influenced his life.

Zen gave Jobs the ability to see into the essence, honed his appreciation of intuition, taught him how to filter out any distracting or unnecessary things, and cultivated in him a An aesthetic based on minimalism.

This book on meditation is simple and easy to understand, embodying the eminent monk’s philosophy of only speaking “everyday things”. Even though I don’t have any background knowledge on meditation, I also benefited a lot from the book, which solved some of my doubts:

In recent years, the word "original intention" can be seen everywhere. People always like to say, maintain the original intention, Don’t forget your original intention. What many people understand as “original intention” is the original intention or original idea.

But if the "original intention" is wrong, should we still stick to it? Should the "original intention" also keep pace with the times? I'm a little confused.

The word "Hatsushin" in Japanese means "beginner's mind". It is an empty heart, a heart ready to receive, open to everything. Because of its value, Zen is called "the original intention of the Zen person".

"Stay Hungry, Stay foolish" is Steve Jobs's famous saying, which is also the best explanation of "original intention". The literal translation is: stay hungry, stay foolish.

Many people translate it as, "As thirsty for knowledge, as humble as foolish", which is more beautiful in words, but not as accurate as the literal translation.

It is difficult to maintain our original aspirations, especially when we become adults and achieve certain results, we are more willing to do things in our comfort zone and find it difficult to accept new things. Because beginners are always clumsy and easily laughed at.

There is a well-known old lady in the United States called Grandma Moses. She started learning painting at the age of 77 and held an art exhibition at the age of 80. She is an example of staying true to one's original aspirations.

All the teachings of Buddhism can be condensed into the word "impermanence".

Youth is easy to pass away, but beauty is hard to retain. Relatives and friends will eventually leave us.

All living beings suffer, and the root of suffering lies in our unwillingness to accept impermanence.

"Trouble is Bodhi" and finding happiness in pain is the only way for us to accept the truth of "impermanence".

Youth is gone, at least you can manage your figure well and avoid having a big belly.

There is nothing you can do about your hairline getting higher, but you can learn not to worry about it.

Instead of worrying about your parents who are old and sick, it is better to enjoy the precious time you spend with them...

Modern society advocates "result-oriented". We always set various goals for ourselves and work hard to complete them. If it is completed, you will be happy; if it is not completed, you will be upset.

Take writing as an example. I wrote an article some time ago called "Why should I keep writing?" ——This is the best answer I have ever seen." The click-through rate is surprisingly high. Nothing else, it's just that many people are looking for reasons to persist.

In fact, the benefits of persisting in writing are all things I summed up afterwards, not the original motivation.

The significance of persisting in writing is that writing itself is something that makes you happy. Otherwise, I would not have been able to persist for more than 2 years without making any money or becoming famous.

The best practice is not to pursue results, but to enjoy writing itself.

Of course, it is still necessary to keep improving and improve your writing skills, but you don’t have to insist on results.

In the book, Zen Master Suzuki emphasizes meditation many times, saying that if you persist in meditating every day, you will eventually gain some magical power. Before you gain power, you will think it is really magical, but after you gain it, you will feel that it is nothing special. These magical powers just allow you to be yourself, nothing special.

I used to be very afraid of the cold in winter, my hands and feet were cold, and my feet were still cold when I slept until dawn. I have been meditating for more than three years. After meditating at night, my hands and feet feel warm until dawn. It is said that this is a sign of improved immunity.

I basically never catch a cold again in winter, and my sleep quality has also improved significantly.

Since I use abdominal breathing when meditating, my breathing has become deeper and slower. Not only has my ability to control my emotions improved, but I can also breathe smoothly and evenly throughout the entire climb up Mount Huashan. Not even kicked.

Meditation is not mysterious. It is simple and easy to learn. But if you can persist all year round, you must learn to enjoy the process of meditation. Li Xiaolai calls it "sitting and enjoying".

Those who want to practice meditation should just meditate.

Summary: This is an introductory book on Zen meditation. Zen Master Suzuki uses common language and narrates scenes from daily life to help us learn how to maintain our original intention in life and realize our Zen mind.