Calligraphy reads “No thought, no desire” or, more loosely, “flow.” Inspired by the monks from Tiantai Temple in Hubei Province, China, who have begun to incorporate Western classical music into their daily Buddhist practice and now have begun to use it to bring the principles of Zen Buddhism to the masses through their public symphony orchestra performances.

Learning an instrument from scratch and gaining mastery over it invites an “unfettered mind,” one in which all worries, attachments to outcome, fears, and mundane thoughts fall away, making room for the natural, intuitive mind to respond in real time, instinctively and unhampered, as the situation requires. What we’re really talking about here is “flow.” Martial artists, musicians, artists, and athletes are familiar with the concept of “no mind” and its spiritually cleansing effects. But flow can be brought to any task and is a key living one’s best life.