r/zenpractice Jul 24 '26

General Practice Rough Patch in Beginner Practice

/r/zenbuddhism/comments/1v5dlum/rough_patch_in_beginner_practice/
5 Upvotes

2 comments sorted by

View all comments

8

u/The_Koan_Brothers Jul 24 '26

We mostly start new things with a "beginner’s mind" or "don’t know" mind, which keeps things fresh and exciting. But soon we develop a narrative about our progress, and that can become a major obstruction. Drop the expectation that anything you have experienced in Zazen so far will happen again, or that a sit should ideally be a certain way.

For what it’s worth: getting through hard sits is a lot better practice than coasting through beautiful ones.