

"It is wonderful to have a beginner’s mind." -Steve Jobs - jmtame
http://www.intrex.net/chzg/hartman4.htm

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cesare
I've read "Zen Mind, Beginners' Mind" sixteen years ago and it really affected
my way of thinking (or, better, it reinforced my temperament).

On the other hand, I believe that living by these teachings can lead to a
certain kind of passivity. Which is not bad per se.

Steve Jobs (not mentioned in the article) is (supposedly) a zen buddhist, but
I doubt you can do what he did and truly follow these philosophies at the same
time.

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endlessvoid94
This reminded me of mindfulness meditation. Like you said, it leads to
passivity, which means that I'll be less motivated to change things because "i
should be happy with the way things are".

This does NOT jive with my ambitions of starting a business, so i'm done with
meditation.

~~~
jodrellblank
It isn't telling you to just be happy with the way things are, it's telling
you to _see_ the way things are before you decide what to do - be present and
aware of your surroundings and thoughts, otherwise when you act it will be
based on what you wanted to see, or what you imagine you saw, or on a habit,
an unknown desire or fear or prejudice, or a lesson you learned via
advertising or an idea you unwittingly picked up from a friend. It wont be
acting, it will be reacting, and you wont even know it.

You are done with mindfulness meditation because of a fear that it will ruin a
desire, which comes from an interpretation. Isn't that a perfect example of
where it could be helpful?

~~~
endlessvoid94
You're right, except that some of those desires are what drive me to excel in
certain areas. If I take those desires away, I won't even want to do those
things anymore.

Coding, for example, comes from my desire to create and mold ideas. If I no
longer have that desire, something I cherish very much will be gone.

It seems to unfeeling for me. Basically I understand that desires are wasteful
but I don't care. I like them.

I'd rather have the highs and the lows.

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asimjalis
I felt tricked by the article. The article does not mention Steve Jobs or the
quote. Slightly ironic that the article pulls in gullible beginner's minds
with this cynical and manipulative approach.

