Looking East for a Post-Recession Mindset

Kurt Andersen wrote an excellent piece in Time this week, entitled "The Avenging Amateur." He argues that it's America's supposed amateurs that are "our best hope for thriving after the crisis."

He quotes Shunryu Suzuki, a Japanese Zen master as famously saying, "In the beginner's mind there are many possibilities, but in the expert's mind there are few."

"Beginner's mind" (Sho-shin) is essentially a paradox, Andersen explains. By starting anew, by going back to basics, reinvention and discovery become possible, without the limiting preconceptions that the expert mind develops. Zen Buddhists spend years of devoted practice to achieve states of beginner's mind.

There will always be a need for experts. But historically, amateurs of their respected fields are known to shake the very foundation of what was thought to be an unyielding reality; namely, as Andersen points out, the founding of this country.

That same passionate spirit just might propel the next big thing, whether its sustainable energy or Web 3.0. The capacity for breakthrough already exists within us, according to Buddhist philosophy.

Says world-renowned teacher Yongey Rinpoche: "The essence of Buddhist practice is not so much an effort at changing your thoughts or your behavior so that you can become a better person, but in realizing that no matter what you might think about the circumstances that define your life, you're already good, whole, and complete. It's about recognizing the inherent potential of your mind."

Here we find another paradox: discovering the best of us requires only to look within and believe in ourselves. And yet, sadly, Western Civilization in particular is bent on searching within the realm of the external to solve its problems, even to a dark extreme (greed, excess).

Buddhist teachings describe attempts to control our own fate as an illusion of control, which paradoxically leads to instability. It's when we let go of attachments that we are actually in better command of our lives.

Perhaps there is a valuable lesson here that we can take from Eastern thought as the dust settles from the global recession—that there is much to be gained by going back to living simply, as un-opportunist as it may seem. By spending and controlling more than our share, we've found that it only leads to more gimmicks, rock bottoms and reality checks. It's high time that America continues to look East for help with the complexities of Western life.