dragoni:

What does it mean to be a Zen programmer? 10 things I learned from Zen buddhism connected to the modern world of a computer programmer

1. Focus

Kodo Sawaki says: if you need to sleep, sleep. Don’t plan your software when you try to sleep. Just sleep. If you code, code. Don’t dream away – code. If you are so tired that you cannot program, sleep.

2. Keep your mind clean

Cut out distractions

3. Beginners mind

Remember the days were you were a beginner. Or memorize, if you still are one. You have never learned enough. Think of yourself as you were a beginner, every day. Always try to see technologies from a beginners mind. You can accept corrections to your software better and leave the standard path if you need it more easily. There are some good ideas even from people who don’t have your experience.

4. No Ego

Programmers with ego don’t learn. Learn from everybody, from the experienced and from the noobs at the same time.

5. There is no career goal

If you want to gain something and don’t care about your life “now”, you have already lost the game. Just act as well as you can, without looking at the goal you might reach after a long time.

Working for 20 years to become a partner? Why aren’t you working as hard as possible just because it is fun? Hard working can be fun. A day without work is a day without food is a Zen saying.

6. Shut up

If you don’t develop an ego it is pretty easy to shut up and care on the things you have something to tell. Don’t mix up your ego with your “experience” and always remember: you are a beginner. If somebody has a good idea, support the idea.

7. Mindfulness. Care. Awareness.

Yes you are working. But at the same time you are living and breathing. Even when you have some hard times at work you need to listen to the signs of your body. You need to learn about the things which are good for you. This includes everything, including basic things like food. You need to care for yourself and for everything in your environment – because after all, the water you drink is the water which runs in the river. Because you are living only for yourself. You live alone and you’ll die alone. World goes on, even without you.

8. There is no Boss

Hardest thing to do is saying No!

I don’t mean to say “No” to tasks like copying CSV Data to HTML. I am speaking of 80 hours weeks and you feel your body breaks. Or if you feel that your kids could need some attention too. Or if you are forced to fire people just because your Boss doesn’t like them. Or if you are a consultant and get the job to develop software for nuclear plants (some might say it is perfectly fine to work for nuclear power companies – it is against my ethics and serves as an example) or for tanks. You can say “No”.

9. Do something else

A hobby is not just a hobby, it’s expression of who you are. Don let anybody fool you, when he says hobbies are not important.

10. There is nothing special

Same goes to your software. The bank is earning money with your software. After you leave, nobody remembers you. There is nothing wrong around it. It is the flow of time. Nothing you should be worried about it. If you are living after the first 9 rules, you’ll see that this last project was a good and funny project. Now it’s simply time to go on and concentrate on something else.