ABSTRACT
The very practice of Zen is about turning the human mind on itself in order to directly experience the ungraspable, non-intellectual, and present-centered nature of being. Dropping off preconceptions, preferences, hopes, knowledge, and the like produces a deep mental cleansing that rescues the self from the grip of conditioning and returns it to its natural beginner's mind: what in Zen is termed the "original" face or nature. The growing recognition of the relevance of contemplative practice, mindfulness, and other related spiritual teachings to education provides further evidence and context to the timeliness and validity of bringing Zen insights to inform beginning design pedagogy and creativity. The beginner's mind condition is very relevant to beginning design pedagogy and creative thinking, and consequently deserves inquiry. For millennia, Zen has been successfully training people in the practice of attaining and maintaining a beginner's mind amidst real life conditions.
