- Openness to everything. By involving your experience in meditation and not trying to "correct" it, you bring yourself into line with the existence that combines everything - light and darkness, good and bad, life and death - without giving preference to anything.
- Absence of expectations. By practicing the consciousness of a beginner, you perceive the world around you with the eyes and ears of a pure baby. Instead of meditating for a future goal, you start meditating with the full confidence that awareness, open to any experience and willing to perceive the world around you, ultimately contains all the qualities you need, such as love, peace, happiness, wisdom and self-control.
- Not constrained by convention, an all-encompassing and spontaneous consciousness. Some of the teachers resemble the consciousness of a beginner in the sky: although from time to time the sky is enveloped by clouds, the boundless space of heaven is not threatened by anything. As for spontaneity, Jesus said, "To enter the kingdom of heaven, you must be like a child. When you are completely free from expectations and open your soul to everything that comes your way, you will inevitably begin to react to any situation directly, at ease and spontaneously.
- An initial, fundamental awareness. One of the famous koan (a puzzle that prompts reflection) of Zen Buddhism is: "What was your face like before your parents were born? This coan indicates an inexplicable, original quality of consciousness that precedes your character and even your physical body. Perhaps the consciousness of a beginner should really be called an initial consciousness!
What you end up with is very similar to where you started
One of the greatest mysteries of meditation is that you inevitably end up where you started. Like Simon in the box "You can find the treasure in your own home", you end up discovering that the treasure you are looking for has been hidden deep in your heart, and the path you have followed leads you straight home.
To clarify this riddle, the Tibetan monks make a distinction between soil, path and implementation. Your confused, fussy and suffering consciousness, they argue, also contains the peace, love and happiness that you need so much. This ground is the basis for awakening. But the clouds of negativity of all kinds (doubt, judgment, fear, anger, prejudice) have become too dense and impenetrable, and the soil sees no light (truth). You need to take the path of meditation to disperse these clouds and learn the truth.
When you finally recognize your true nature, you will realize that the treasure you are looking for has always been with you, within you, in the depths of your heart. This true essence is exactly the same as what Zen Buddhists call the consciousness of the beginner.
Empty your cup
Here's an old story you often hear from Zen Buddhist teachers. One scientist asked the famous Zen master to explain the meaning of Zen-Buddhism to him. The scientist asked a question after a question, but he was so overwhelmed with his own ideas that he did not even let the Zen master open his mouth.
After about an hour of communication, the Zen Master offered the scientist tea. The scientist agreed, and the master started pouring tea into his cup.
What makes you meditate
Perhaps you could say you prefer to do what's customary, useful or interesting. It is clear that motivation has a huge impact on what success you will achieve.
Traditionally, your motivation determines the result of your meditation as well as the methods you use and the time you spend. It is common knowledge that clients who are treated by psychotherapists in Jung, have dreams of young people, and clients who are treated by Freudian dreams. Similarly, Buddhists meditate and see emptiness, and those who seek healing, peace or productivity usually get exactly what they want.
In the spiritual tradition, it is customary to make aspirations and motivations for the strong and the weak. All spiritual traditions are unanimous in the fact that the person who seeks to help others, the motivation is the strongest. However, you should start from the point where you are now, and to be honest with yourself is much more important than pretending that you have motivation that you do not actually have. In any case, the more you meditate, the sooner you will be able to open your heart and demonstrate your natural, inherent concern for the well-being of others. The following sections describe five main motivations. Read carefully and you will understand what drives you. There is no clear distinction between the types of motivation: most people are usually driven by a few factors.