Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind
Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind by Shunryu Suzukiby Shunryu Suzuki
Ranked 2 of 3 meditation books by recommenders
Recommended for its clear take on beginner's mind, which readers say changed how they think; no critics or caveats surfaced.
Recommended for its clear take on beginner's mind, which readers say changed how they think; no critics or caveats surfaced.
4 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 4
- criticize it
- 0
- approval share
- 100%
Recommended in 3 of 13 months
- November 2025: not recommended
- December 2025: not recommended
- January 2026: not recommended
- February 2026: recommended
- March 2026: recommended
- April 2026: not recommended
- May 2026: not recommended
- June 2026: not recommended
- July 2026: recommended
- August 2026: not recommended
- September 2026: not recommended
- October 2026: not recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 4 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, not met.
- Nobody criticizes itNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 3 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, not met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Idea of beginner's mind
“In the beginner's mind there are many possibilities, but in the expert's there are few.”
Comment from 2 Feb 2026 in “They lied to you. Building software is hard” Changed how readers think
“This book changed the way I thought about things”
Comment from 9 Mar 2026 in “Ask HN: How to Be Alone?” Memorable sitting and breathing practice
“I still remember practicing the sitting and breathing like it was a magical tome.”
Comment from 29 Mar 2026 in “Creating West Coast Buddhism (2024)” Seen as worth a look
“seems worth taking a look at”
Comment from 20 Jul 2026 in “The Zen of Parallel Programming”
Other meditation books people recommend
The two most recommended other meditation books, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Mind Illuminatedby Culadasa | 8 | 2 | 80% | 5 | — | — |
| Zen Mind, Beginner's Mindby Shunryu SuzukiThis page | 4 | 0 | 100% | 3 | — | — |
| Seeing That Freesby Rob Burbea | 3 | 1 | 75% | 3 | — | — |
What people said
All 4 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“seems worth taking a look at”
“I still remember practicing the sitting and breathing like it was a magical tome.”
“This book changed the way I thought about things”
“In the beginner's mind there are many possibilities, but in the expert's there are few.”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.