“The practice of Zen mind is beginner's mind. The innocence of the first inquiry—what am I?—is needed throughout Zen practice. The mind of the beginner is empty, free of the habits of the expert, ready to accept, to doubt, and open to all the possibilities. It is the kind of mind which can see things as they are, which step by step and in a flash can realize the original nature of everything.” MindFirstsKindNatureRealizingAcceptingStepsPracticeDoubtPossibilityReadyNeededHabitEmptyOriginalsInnocenceExpertsEmptinessFlashInquiryBeginners Book:Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind Source: Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind
“All empty souls tend to extreme opinion. It is only in those who have built up a rich world of memories and habits of thought that extreme opinions affront the sense of probability. Propositions, for instance, which set all the truth upon one side can only enter rich minds to dislocate and strain, if they can enter at all, and sooner or later the mind expels them by instinct.” IfsWorldMindSoulSidesMemoriesOpinionRichHabitBuiltEmptyInstinctExtremesInstanceSooner Or LaterProbabilityPropositionsStrainAffrontEmpty Souls Book:Autobiographies: The Collected Works of W.B. Yeats Source: Autobiographies: The Collected Works of W.B. Yeats
“The mind of the beginner is empty, free of the habits of the experts, ready to accept, to doubt, and open to all possibilities.” MindAcceptingDoubtPossibilityReadyHabitEmptyExpertsBeginners Book:Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind Source: Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind
“Life is about more than earning a living, and if you're not in the habit of thinking about it, you can end up middle-aged or even older and shocked to realize that your life seems empty.” IfsThinkingEndsSeemsLife IsRealizingMiddleHabitEmptyEarningShockedMiddle AgedEarning A Living Author:Martha C. Nussbaum
“Death doesn't make you sad- it makes you empty. That's what's so bad about it. All of your charms and beliefs and funny habits fall fast through a big black hole, and suddenly you know they're gone because just as suddenly, there's nothing left at all inside.” KnowsBigsFallBeliefLeftBlackGoneHabitEmptyHolesCharmBlack Hole Author:Jonathan Carroll
“Beneath a mask of selfish tranquility nothing exists except bitterness and boredom. I am one of those whom suffering has made empty and frivolous: each night in my dreams I pull the scab off a wound; each day, vacuous and habit-ridden, I help it re-form.” MadeDreamNightSufferingHabitEmptySelfishWoundsReformBoredomEach DayMaskBitternessTranquilityScabsVacuous Author:Cyril Connolly