We offer in-person classes in London
In the beginner’s mind there is no thought, “I have attained something.” All self-centered thoughts limit our vast mind. When we have no thought of achievement, no thought of self, we are true beginners. Then we can really learn something.
Shoshin College is an experimental learning co-operative that’s positioning itself outside of the existing way of how learning and teaching works.
Universal. We embrace all domains and disciplines and invite everyone to teach and learn, regardless of background.
Inclusive. We believe in high quality work but also that anyone can do high quality work. We do not exclude people because of the quality of their work. We include them because we want them to improve.
In-person. There is tons of online learning material. What’s missing is humane interactions in a community of people.
Ever-fluctuating. We embrace iteration and invite change alongside experimentation and impermanence.
Unaccredited. We are trying something new and in order to explore it, we need not be tied down by the existing ways of how learning works today.
High quality. We could succeed in starting a learning institution but what’s interesting is to make it high quality and more importantly: higher quality than the current way of learning institutions.
Low-cost. Wealth inequality contributes to a decreasing average quality of life for the Western resident. We are not interested in adding to this.
Shoshin is the concept of beginner’s mind in Zen Buddhism. A beginner’s mind is open to all possibilities and thus capable of better learning. In the beginner’s mind there is no sense of internal achievement. Instead, there is curiosity to understand. In the beginner’s mind there is no judgement: there is no preconception of how things should be — thus there can be no judgement.
The book that introduced this concept to the West is Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind, written in 1970 by Shunryū Suzuki, the founder of San Francisco Zen Center and a key figure in Western Buddhism.
The concept of shoshin — beginner’s mind — is the foundation of Shoshin College.