Work Classification Layer
Compare Works
Pick two or more works to set their attribute fingerprints, dimension-by-dimension passages, and shared school embodiments side by side. Especially useful for author-stage comparisons (Wittgenstein early vs late) and for setting a single tradition's foundational texts against each other.
Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind
Shunryu Suzuki's 1970 foundational text — "In the beginner's mind there are many possibilities..."
Attribute Fingerprint
Rows where works disagree are highlighted in gold. The full ontology grid is shown.
| Attribute | Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind (Late) |
|---|---|
| Time · Extent | Infinite |
| Time · Ontological Status | Substantival |
| Time · Grain | Continuous |
| Time · Freedom | Non-Deterministic |
| Time · Traversability | Linear |
| Time · Dimensionality | One |
| Time · Direction | Uni-directional |
| Space · Extent | Infinite |
| Space · Ontological Status | Substantival |
| Space · Curvature | Flat |
| Space · Dimensionality | Three |
| Space · Locality | Local |
| Matter · Extent | Infinite |
| Matter · Ontological Status | Substantival |
| Matter · Conservation | Conserved |
| Matter · Dimensionality | Three |
| Matter · Locality | Local |
| Observer · Time Instance | Plural |
| Observer · Space Instance | Single |
| Observer · Knowledge Extent | Partial |
| Observer · Knowledge Retainment | Total |
| Observer · Physicality | Embodied |
| Observer · Agency | Both |
| Observer · Number | Plural |
| Observer · Metaphysical Agency | None |
| Observer · Moral Authority | Experience |
| Observer · Theological Method | — |
| Energy · Extent | Infinite |
| Energy · Ontological Status | Substantival |
| Energy · Conservation | Conserved |
| Energy · Dispersibility | Irreversible |
| Information · Ontological Status | Substantival |
| Information · Cosmic Conservation | Conserved |
| Information · Personal Conservation | Conserved |
| Information · Granularity | Continuous |
Dimension-by-Dimension Evidence
What each work's passages reveal about its stance on each of the six dimensions.
Time
Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind
The temporal practice-time of beginner's mind.
Space
Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind
The shikantaza ("just sitting") space.
Matter
Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind
The embodied just-sitting practitioner.
Observer
Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind
The beginner's-mind subject.
Energy
Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind
Energies of "just sitting" (shikantaza).
Information
Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind
Foundational American Sōtō Zen practical framework.
Internal Tensions
Where each work's argument pulls against itself.
Suzuki-rōshi's teaching foundational for American Sōtō Zen (San Francisco Zen Center, Tassajara).