In Suzuki’s presentation of Zen, regular practice is the quiet, steady means by which beginner’s mind is continually renewed rather than treated as a passing mood or a one-time attainment. The mind naturally tends to accumulate fixed ideas, judgments, and expectations; over time these solidify into what might be called “expert mind,” which relies on past experience and conceptual understanding. Consistent zazen interrupts this drift by bringing attention back, again and again, to simple posture and breath, returning the practitioner to direct experience. In this way, practice functions as a continual reset, dissolving the mental habits that cloud the fresh, unburdened quality of beginner’s mind.

Each period of sitting is understood as beginning anew, without leaning on what happened yesterday or on hopes for special experiences today. This repeated “starting from zero” cultivates a genuine not-knowing, where one approaches the cushion without predetermined ideas of progress or attainment. Such regularity also guards against subtle forms of spiritual pride, the tendency of the ego to claim ownership of insights or to turn practice into an identity. Through faithful, ongoing effort, the mind is gently guided back to humility, openness, and immediacy.

Over time, this steady discipline allows the qualities of beginner’s mind—freshness, receptivity, and lack of preconception—to permeate not only formal meditation but moment-to-moment awareness in daily life. Regular practice thus becomes less about achieving something extraordinary and more about sustaining a way of being that does not cling to concepts, even spiritual ones. By balancing sincere effort with non-attachment to results, the practitioner learns to meet each moment as if for the first time, allowing beginner’s mind to be continuously actualized rather than merely remembered.