A Monk’s Guide to a Clean House and Mind

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Think of your house as an allegory for your body. Keep cleaning it every day.

Introduction
- A monk’s day begins with cleaning. We sweep the temple grounds and gardens, and polish the main temple hall. We don’t do this because it’s dirty or messy. We do it to eliminate the gloom in our hearts.
- We sweep dust to remove our worldly desires. We scrub dirt to free ourselves of attachments.
- Cleaning is greatly valued in Japanese Buddhism in general as a way to ‘cultivate the mind’.
Understanding Cleaning
- Cleaning isn’t considered burdensome, or something you don’t really want to do and wish to get over with as soon as possible.
- Things become rubbish when they are treated as rubbish.
- People who don’t respect objects don’t respect people.
- Cleaning should be done in the morning. Do it as your very first activity of the day.
- Cleaning in the morning creates a breathing space for your mind so you can have a pleasant day.
- At the end of the day, make sure you tidy your surroundings before going to bed.
- Cleaning and tidying are daily tasks, and what matters most is consistency.
- The act of cleaning is a chance to communicate with nature.
- Each morning, open the windows that connect you to nature and inhale the fresh air.
- It is important to find ways to live that will enable you to avoid killing other living things (insects) – daily cleaning.
- Divide chores up among family members and change them around sometimes. The entire family should work as a team, conscious of each other as they perform the tasks.
- On a rainy day, discard the notion that there are things to be done outside. Think flexibility and do your cleaning in tune with the movements of nature.
- Zengosaidan – “Don’t put it off till tomorrow”
The Kitchen, Bathroom and Toilet
- If a kitchen is kept in good order, anybody who needs to work there can immediately begin to do so with comfort and ease, keeping preparation times short and allowing delicious dishes to be served while they are still hot.
- Once You become used to a diet based on mild vegetables, the ability to identify even the most subtle of flavours with your tongue enhances the joy of eating, greatly improving your sense of taste.
- Dishes that feature seasonal ingredients and highlight their natural flavours are also key in a monk’s diet.
- It is essential to leave as little cooking waste as possible.
- If you enter a damp bathroom, your heart also becomes damp. If mould grows in a bathroom, then mould also grows in your heart. If the body is washed sloppily, then impurities of the heart cannot be removed.
- “The highest excellence is like water.” These words from the Tao Te Ching convey that the ideal way of life is like water: flexible and calm.
- As the bathroom is one of the Three Mandas, why not try from time to time cleaning it in complete silence instead?
- Regardless of how many toilets there are, cleaning should, at the very least, be done in the morning and at night.
Other Parts of the Home
- For many monks, a day does not go by that they don’t clean the floors of the temple corridors.
- When you are polishing the floor, you are polishing your heart and your mind.
- Mastering yourself by mastering the space in which you live.
- Cleaning is training for staying in the now.
- Keeping sources of light in your home clear and free of grime will allow the light of wisdom to pour in, vanquishing your mumyo and easing your troubled mind.
Personal Items
- Laundry needs to be done every day. Wash. Dry. Fold. Put away.
Repairs and Maintenance
- If you use an object for as long as you can carefully, repairing it when necessary, you will find that not only your relationship with objects begin to change, but so will the way you relate to people.
- Rather that chasing after the new, live a life in which you use the same objects for a long time.
- Even if you cannot completely restore an object back to its original state, you should find a new way to use it, and figure out how you can re-purpose it within your daily life.
- People who endlessly chase after new things have lost their freedom to earthly desire.
- Only those who can enjoy using their imaginations when working with limited resources know true freedom.
- Always look for ways to improve the flow of air in your home, and live at one with air.
Outside the Home
- Buddhist teachings stress the importance of shattering the blurry filter of the self, and viewing the world around you as it truly is.
- See and accept things the way they are. Learning to do so will help you achieve a state of enlightenment.
- Clean your windows and window screens.
- Your garden is a place where you can get in touch with nature.
- One important thing about gardening is to decide on a sensible amount that you would like to get done on the day. Don’t push yourself too much.
- Gardening work is done mornings and evenings at temples.
- Avoid using weedkiller. It can be harmful to creatures such as earthworms and moles, and can negatively affect the quality of the soil.
Body and Mind
- Correcting your breathing will have a positive effect on your mind, allowing you to feel more balanced.
- Clean your face and your mind will become clearer. No matter how early you get up, you will be able to feel refreshed.
- Brushing your teeth is a way to keep you main channel for communicating with others clean.
- You should try eating a meal deliberately, enjoying each individual bite to the fullest.
- Know just how much food is enough. Aim to stop when you are about 80 percent full. If you make sure to truly enjoy each bite of food, you may find that you feel full and satisfied much sooner. Learn to do this and you will never overeat again.
- Using the toilet is one of the most basic, primal behaviours that we engage in. Let’s do it mindfully every time.
- As long as you don’t stay up too late, you will be able to remain active throughout the day regardless of how early you may have woken up.
When the Cleaning is Finished
- A life free of possessions is very comfortable.
- You only keep things with good quality.
- Having fewer possessions in your home will make cleaning it much easier.
- “Where there is nothing, there is everything.” By letting go of everything, you can open up a universe of unlimited possibilities.
- Every item is stored in its proper place.
- Listen to the voice of the object.