Cultivating Don’t Know Mind

by Carol Russell
An essay adapted from a Dhamma talk given September 9, 2025

This talk is based on the Fifth invitation from the book, The Five Invitations, Discovering What Death Can Teach Us About Living Fully by Frank Ostaseski. I’ve been using each invitation as an inspiration for an exploration about the Dhamma. 

‘Don’t know mind’ is a very Zen expression. Don’t know mind, beginner’s mind. Suzuki Roshi wrote a book called Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind. He famously said, ‘In the beginner’s mind there are many possibilities, but in the expert’s mind there are few.’

That is a quote I have had hanging in my studio for years. It helps me as an artist to remember not to be too certain, not to think I know how a piece will be when it is finished. Sure, I have a vision and I make use of all my skill, but if I also have a beginner’s mind, then I’m open to where a piece might want to go. There’s magic in that and it shows in how often a painting will end up surprising and delighting me. Alternately, if I cling to some image of how it should be and I end up struggling to achieve that vision, the process is often much less enjoyable. 

I’ll mention what don’t know mind is not. Don’t know mind isn’t ignorance. Like many of you, I value my education, my training, my experience. I value learning through my life experiences and putting my knowledge and learning into practice. 

 Frank Ostaseski writes that ‘ignorance is usually thought of as the absence of information, being unaware. Sadly, it is more that just ‘not knowing.’ It means that we know something, but it is the wrong thing. Ignorance is misperception.’

He goes on to offer this beautiful definition of don’t know mind: 

Don’t know mind is not limited by agendas, roles, and expectations. It is free to discover. When we are filled with knowing, when our minds are made up, it narrows our vision, obscures our ability to see the whole picture, and limits our capacity to act. We only see what our knowing allows us to see. The wise person is both compassionate and humble and knows that she does not know.

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