Clean and uncluttered
a Zen Buddhist monk’s approach to housework and life
What a delightful little book. I read it from cover to cover within an hour and found it calming and fascinating in equal measure.
This bestseller by a Zen Buddhist monk is in the tradition of books about minimalism, mindfulness and decluttering. It draws a line from cleaning your home and living in an uncluttered space, to cleansing your soul and feeling calm and fulfilled. Shoukei Matsumoto explains that in the temple, the monks begin their day by sweeping dust away, not because the temple is dirty or messy, but to take away the gloom in their hearts. And he explains that undertaking household tasks mindfully and with joy will make you happier and more enlightened.
“Life is a daily training ground, and we are each composed of the very actions we take in life.”
I should admit at the outset that while I’m a fan of this aspirational approach, I am not one of life’s naturally tidy people. Rooms in my house frequented by visitors might muster an 8 out of 10 rating — marks detracted for dusty shelves and skirting boards, and a few scattered magazines — but the hidden areas of my home would score far lower; I have messy bookshelves, an untidy desk and a frankly embarrassing wardrobe full of unworn clothes.
Perhaps these messy hidden spaces are symptoms of a cluttered mind and complicated emotions? All I know is that January usually sees me wishing for clean lines and empty surfaces. While I’m a long, long way from owning as few possessions as a Buddhist monk, the spirit of the book spoke to me and there were many practical tips as well as pearls of wisdom for me to take away.
“When ironing, visualize yourself ironing out the wrinkles in your heart.”
How different is this Zen approach to my own! For many years, when my four children were young, Sunday evening was my designated ironing time. Out would come the laundry baskets of clean washing and I would position my ironing board in front of the television set and treat myself to marathon sessions of Dawson’s Creek to get me through the ordeal of school uniforms and work shirts.
I’ll be honest and say that not being a Zen master, I doubt I could have maintained this visualizing of my heart for two to three hours. But now that my ironing pile is smaller, maybe I can manage a mindful and serene twenty minutes?
The book is divided into sections such as Understanding Cleaning, Useful Items, The Kitchen, Personal Items, Outside the Home, and Body and Mind. And the charming line drawings should not go unmentioned — they complemented the book’s message with their pleasing simplicity.
Having no tokonoma or butsuma of my own to tend to, and no shoji paper screen doors to clean or repair, the book provided an absorbing insight into domestic Japanese culture. I imagine people will find it interesting and enlightening on many different levels.
Matsumoto’s parting thought is that spring cleaning is not only a way of clearing the mind of all the year’s grime but that — when undertaken with your family — it can also strengthen the bonds you share. Now if I can just persuade my family to read this little book and adopt its principles…
A lovely book with a simple but effective message — do read it.
