shoshin means An attitude of openness, eagerness, and lack of preconceptions when studying a subject, even at an advanced level. Lexicurio rates it Sui generis — a strength score of 90 out of 100.
Why this word is great
SHOSHIN — [Noun] A cultivated state of openness, eagerness, and lack of preconception when studying a subject, as if for the first time, irrespective of one’s expertise. Borrowed from Japanese 初心 (shoshin), from 初 (sho, "beginning, initial") + 心 (shin, "mind, heart-mind"). Unlike expertise, which builds a citadel of knowing, or prejudice, a closed door, shoshin is the deliberate, vulnerable practice of un-knowing. It is the master calligrapher approaching the blank scroll with a novice’s focus, the scholar reading a canonical text as if the ink were still wet, and the old gardener kneeling in familiar soil to marvel at a new sprout—a quiet rebellion against the tyranny of the known, where every moment contains a first impression, forever lost once named.
noun
- An attitude of openness, eagerness, and lack of preconceptions when studying a subject, even at an advanced level.“Shunryu Suzuki, the first Zen master to establish a Zen training monastery outside of Asia, describes the importance of meditation practice in order to live in the moment and achieve boundless compassion and shoshin, or beginner's mind.”