A Monk's Guide to a Clean House and Mind
Shoukei Matsumoto
Top 10 Best Quotes
“nothing starts out as rubbish. Things become rubbish when they are treated as rubbish.”
“We sweep dust to remove our worldly desires. We scrub dirt to free ourselves of attachments.”
“it is important to give children as many chores as possible.”
“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.”
“Zengosaidan is a Zen expression meaning that we must put all of 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, zengosaidan means “Don’t put it off till tomorrow.”
“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 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 suffering in our hearts.”
“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.”
“Cleaning is carried out not because there is dirt, but because it’s an ascetic practice to cultivate the mind.”
“CLEAN THE LAMPS AND FIXTURES GENTLY, AS IF YOU ARE POLISHING YOUR HEART AND SOUL TO MAKE THEM SHINE THEIR BRIGHTEST.”
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Book Keywords:
shine
