A Monk's Guide to a Clean House and Mind

by Shoukei Matsumoto

  Shoukei Matsumoto

  * * *

  A MONK’S GUIDE TO A CLEAN HOUSE AND MIND

  Translated by Ian Samhammer

  Illustrated by Kikue Tamura

  Contents

  Introduction

  Understanding Cleaning

  Useful Items

  1 The Kitchen, Bathroom and Toilet

  2 Other Parts of the Home

  3 Personal Items

  4 Repairs and Maintenance

  5 Outside the Home

  6 Body and Mind

  When the Cleaning is Finished

  Follow Penguin

  A Monk’s Guide to a Clean House and Mind

  Shoukei Matsumoto is a Shin-Buddhist monk and the representative of the Buddhist Youth Association of Komyoji. He graduated from Tokyo University’s School of Religious Studies and completed his MBA at the Indian School of Business. Selected to attend the Forum of Young Economic Leaders in 2013, Matsumoto has created a ‘temple café’ and an ‘online temple’, Higan-ji, where he offers people a way to rebuild traditional Buddhism through new media.

  Introduction

  I’m a Buddhist monk at Komyoji Temple in Kamiyacho, Tokyo, Japan. I entered Komyoji Temple in 2003, becoming a monk in the Jodo Shinshu Hongwanji sect. 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.

  When you visit a temple, you feel a blissful tension in the tranquil space. The gardens are well tended and spotless, without a single leaf on the ground. Inside the main temple hall, you naturally sit tall and feel alert. These things serve to calm the mind.

  We sweep dust to remove our worldly desires. We scrub dirt to free ourselves of attachments. The time we spend carefully cleaning out every nook and cranny of the temple grounds is extremely fulfilling. We live simply and take time to contemplate the self, mindfully living each moment. It’s not just monks who need to live this way. Everyone in today’s busy world needs to do it.

  Life is a daily training ground, and we are each composed of the very actions we take in life. If you live carelessly, your mind will be soiled, but if you try to live conscientiously, it will slowly become pure again. If your heart is pure, the world looks brighter. If your world is bright, you can be kinder to others.

  The Zen sect of Buddhism is renowned for the cleaning practices of its monks, but cleaning is greatly valued in Japanese Buddhism in general as a way to ‘cultivate the mind’. In this book, I introduce everyday cleaning methods typically employed in temples, while sharing what it’s like to be a monk in training. Regarding Zen practices, I include information gleaned from discussions with Shoyo Yoshimura, a Soto Zen monk who promotes Zen vegetarian cuisine, and an unsui monk (Zen apprentice), Seigaku, who promotes Japanese Zen in Berlin, Germany.

  I hope you enjoy applying the cleaning techniques introduced here in your home. There’s nothing complicated about them. All you need is a will to sweep the dust off your heart. Your everyday domestic chores will become a way to clean your heart. This will improve the condition not just of your own mind, but of the minds of the people around you. I hope readers will discover that daily housework is an opportunity to contemplate the self.

  Shoukei Matsumoto

  Komyoji Temple Monk

  November 2011

  What is Cleaning?

  Japanese people have always regarded cleaning as more than a common chore. It’s normal here for elementary and junior high school students to clean their classroom together, although I’ve heard that this isn’t done in schools abroad. It probably has to do with the notion in Japan that cleaning isn’t just about removing dirt. It’s also linked to ‘cultivating the mind’.

  If you visit a temple, you’ll find the premises to be extremely well tended. Naturally, this is to welcome visitors, but another reason is that the act of cleaning is an important ascetic practice for the monks living and training there. Each space is cleaned, tidied and polished beautifully. While training at a temple in Kyoto, even the slightest error I made in folding or stacking clothes resulted in being given a pep talk by one of my seniors.

  If you ever have the chance, observe how monks clean their temple grounds. Dressed in samue robes, the traditional work wear of Buddhist monks, they’ll be silently engaged in their designated chores and appear cheerful and well. Cleaning isn’t considered burdensome, or something you don’t really want to do and wish to get over with as soon as possible. They say that one of Buddha’s disciples achieved enlightenment doing nothing but sweeping while chanting, ‘Clean off dust. Remove grime.’ Cleaning is carried out not because there is dirt, but because it’s an ascetic practice to cultivate the mind.

  Rubbish

  What is rubbish exactly? Things that are dirty, worn out, unusable, no longer useful, no longer needed, and so on. And yet nothing starts out as rubbish. Things become rubbish when they are treated as rubbish.

  In Buddhism, it is believed that nothing has a physical form (tai). That is, there is no substance in anything in and of itself. Mottainai, the Japanese term for ‘wasteful’, originates from this word. But if something has no substance, how does it exist? Things exist because all things relate with each other to support each other’s existence. Humans are the same. The people and things in your life are what makes you who you are. This is why it’s not for you to judge whether something is useful, or to designate things you can’t use as rubbish.

  They say that the eminent monk Rennyo picked up a scrap of paper lying in the hallway one day and said, ‘Even this scrap of paper is given to us by the Buddha and must not be wasted.’ The Japanese idea of not being wasteful is not just about avoiding waste – it also embodies a spirit of gratitude towards objects.

  People who don’t respect objects don’t respect people. For them, anything no longer needed is just rubbish. A child who grows up watching their parents act this way comes to perceive not just things but friends in the same way as well.

  Within any object can be found the tremendous time and effort put into it – the ‘heart’ of the person who made it. It’s important to remember to feel grateful for this when cleaning or tidying, and not handle things carelessly.

  Yet we cannot store everything in a cupboard because we do not want to be wasteful. Some things, despite being a little old, still have some life left in them. Elsewhere, they would have a place to shine, but instead they are often shut away and forgotten, ending their lives without seeing the light of day. This is rather sad. Be grateful for the things that have served you and give them to people who could use them, where they can have a purpose and shine again. Appreciate the things you have right in front of you.

  When to Clean and Tidy

  Do you think that it doesn’t matter when you clean, and that you should just do it when you find the time? I’ve mentioned that cleaning is a way to eliminate gloom in the mind but, even if you work really hard at sweeping and mopping, it won’t really make you feel refreshed if you do it at night. In Buddhist temples there is no such thing as starting to clean after the sun has gone down.

  Cleaning should be done in the morning. Do it as your very first activity of the day. The daily routine of an unsui monk (a Zen apprentice) starts with waking up early, washing their face and dressing, in readiness to begin cleaning and conducting services for that day. Exposing your body to the cold in the pre-dawn air naturally makes you feel charged, filling you with energy for the tasks ahead. And cleaning quietly while the silence envelops you – before other people and plants awaken – refreshes and clears your mind. By the time everyone else is e
merging, you’ve finished your cleaning and are all set for the day’s work. 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. If, like an unsui monk, all you have to do during the day is cleaning and tidying, there’ll be no need to tidy up at night. As soon as you finish using something, put it away. If you are meticulous about tidiness, there will never be anything just scattered around. This may not be easily accomplished, of course, in a regular home, which is why you should at least try to return things you have used or made a mess of to their rightful places before the day is over. It’s important that your home is tidy so you can kick off the next morning feeling refreshed, as you begin your cleaning for that day. When I was training to become a monk, my roommates and I always recited evening sutras before going to bed. Doing this in a tidy room at bedtime felt refreshing and cleared the mind, leading to a deep sleep.

  Cleaning and tidying are daily tasks, and what matters most is consistency. Even a short amount of time will do, so get into the habit of making a reasonable effort to clean every day. At first, it may be hard to get up early in the morning, but if you make cleaning in the morning and tidying in the evening a habit, your body and mind will feel refreshed each day.

  Air Things Out

  One must-do before cleaning is to open the windows to allow fresh air in. We do this at the temple to purify the air and let the crisp morning breeze in. The cool air of dawn that flows in wakes you up as it comes in contact with your skin, and you feel clean and refreshed. Filling your lungs with this fresh air naturally prepares your mind for the cleaning tasks ahead. Regardless of how much you clean things on the surface, if the air around you is stale, your mind will also feel this way.

  A light breeze during the pleasant seasons of spring and autumn feels lovely. In the middle of summer, however, opening the windows allows in the stifling heat, and on winter mornings, it lets in the piercing cold air. But that’s OK. The act of cleaning is a chance to communicate with nature.

  Without the adjustments made by humans, a house would be covered in dust and its structure would weather. In a hundred years, it would fall apart and return to nature. By cleaning and looking after your home, maintaining a balance with the raw forces of nature, you can preserve it in a state that allows comfortable habitation. Humans are primarily weak creatures who cannot survive long without shelter against the elements. This is why we must make adjustments to the environment we live in.

  Cleaning is a way to converse with nature. If we keep this idea in mind, then it is clear that aspects of modern life such as air-conditioning, which creates the same environment throughout summer and winter, amount to a refusal to communicate with nature. Becoming used to this will surely lead to the weakening of the body and the mind. When it’s hot, it should be hot. When it’s cold, it should be cold. I think that sweating as you clean, while experiencing nature, is the secret to a healthy body and mind.

  Open a window and interact with nature. Become aware that you are too weak to live in the same environment as living things in the wild. Experience the gentleness and severity of nature against your skin, and feel grateful for the preciousness of the life force. Each morning, open the windows that connect you to nature and inhale the fresh air.

  What to Do with Insects

  Buddhists follow five precepts, and the first one requires us to abstain from taking life. All lives are interconnected and must be equally respected. You must not hurt or kill another living thing without reason. But humans have to take lives to harvest meat, fish, vegetables and so on to survive, so we must be aware of this need, and feel both remorseful and grateful.

  It is important to find ways to live that will enable you to avoid killing other living things. The foundation for this is daily cleaning. Insects come out in search of food and places to lay eggs. If you leave crumbs on the dining table and dishes unwashed or don’t take out the rubbish, insects will naturally emerge. Cleaning up properly after each meal is thus the first step towards abstaining from killing insects. It’s important to create an environment that doesn’t allow insects to breed. If you leave a bucket outside, it will collect rainwater and mosquitoes will start breeding there. Turn over buckets and other vessels that might collect water. Keep ornamental water vessels small in size and ensure cleanliness by changing the water often.

  Some insects, such as termites and wasps, are dangerous if left unattended. You can prevent them from nesting by ensuring that the air is always fresh and moisture is not trapped, by pruning plants often, and improving airflow. When cutting grass, first check for leaves and excrement to ensure there are no bees or caterpillars hiding there. For the sake of both humans and insects, please be kind to and respectful of life.

  Vary Your Cleaning Tasks

  The various chores that monks must take care of while in training are divided among them, but these assignments change periodically. This is called tenyaku (role change), in which the designated location of each monk changes. For example, the person in charge of the kitchen yesterday may be in charge of the garden today. Through this system, each monk experiences every chore that must be executed at the temple.

  Ascetic practice may evoke the image of someone performing a task alone and in silence, but in reality cleaning a temple requires teamwork. It’s essential to know what others are doing: for example, what another person is mopping right now. You must understand the overall situation and think about the role you have to play in it, and then take certain initiatives, such as assisting others in their tasks. It is important to do things in an orderly and thorough manner while being mindful of what others around you are doing. You must survey the overall situation before establishing what to do. If others are working in one spot, begin at another spot.

  During our training at the temple, carelessness on the part of one individual becomes the responsibility of the group as a whole. Sometimes the entire team is made to sit cross-legged on a hard wooden floor for long hours. You don’t want to cause problems for others, so you really must ensure that you are doing things properly. This is an opportunity to learn that your existence is not just about yourself. This is true in everyday life, as well. It’s not up to just one person to clean. Everyone must be conscious of it. 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.

  We appreciate our family more when events upset our routine. For instance, a husband may first realize how dependent he is on his wife when she, who always does the cooking, is confined to bed due to illness, and he finds himself unable to make even rice porridge. Becoming aware of our shortcomings in this way is an important opportunity to try to overcome them.

  Changing around household and cleaning duties is also an effective way to teach children what needs to be done. Although initiating children into this may be frustrating at first, because it would be more efficient for an adult to do the task than to help a child to do it, it is important to give children as many chores as possible. Family ties are the strongest of all human bonds. Use household chores as an opportunity to deepen them.

  Be Mindful of the Weather

  There are always chores that need doing at a temple, both indoors and outdoors, but we never work outside when it rains. We wait for a clear day for this. We plan our work each day while adapting to the course of nature. When we can’t work outside in the temple gardens, we focus on our indoor tasks, such as polishing windows, repapering shoji doors, and cleaning the altar and the rooms themselves. Once the rain clears up, the ground remains damp for a short time, making it easier to pull weeds. I recommend doing outdoor work as soon as the rain has stopped.

  They say that one third of an unsui’s day is spent cleaning, but in fact there is no end to the cleaning you can do to cultivate your mind. If you look, you will always find something to clean. On a rainy day, discard the no
tion that there are things to be done outside. Think flexibly and do your cleaning in tune with the movements of nature. In a regular home, it might be a good idea to establish certain arrangements, such as designating rainy days as days to do repair work. If you survey your home, you will always find things that need your attention.

  Don’t Put It Off Till Tomorrow

  ‘Zengosaidan’ is a Zen expression meaning that we must put all our efforts into each day so we have no regrets, and that we must not grieve for the past or worry about the future. In the context of cleaning to cultivate the mind, zengosaidan means ‘Don’t put it off till tomorrow’.

  People today are busy, and we have all experienced going home tired, then leaving dirty dishes and laundry untended as we go to bed. But did you begin the next day feeling refreshed? Was it not depressing to wake up to the new day with yesterday’s chores still to be done? It isn’t just the moment you realize these things are still pending that you feel depressed. When you go to bed thinking, ‘Ugh … I still have to do those things but I’m too tired,’ you retain this gloomy feeling in your consciousness all night. Some people may even dream of working hard to finish their chores before waking up to find they have to do it all over again in real life.

  Zengosaidan. This isn’t just about how you feel. Do what you need to do without delay. Eliminate the seeds that distract your mind with unnecessary thoughts about things you will be dealing with tomorrow, or things that went wrong yesterday. The longer you neglect the impurities of the heart, the harder it is to remove them. Never put off what you need to do until tomorrow, and enjoy each and every day.