Recently I requested a book from interlibrary loans called "Sweeping Changes: Zen and the art of household maintenance" by Gary Thorpe. (Mandatory link to Amazon here although with a slightly different title(?), but I suggest ILL. Much cheaper, and you won't have the book making more clutter!)
Gary talks about seeing cleaning not as something to be done quickly and then move on to something more fun, but as a small meditation in itself. Did you ever notice how pictures/movies of Zen temples always seem to have a monk or novice outside sweeping up leaves in the garden?
The book is broken up into short chapters, making it a quick and easy read and certainly encouraging me to get up between chapters and do a few things.
We all know the Buddhist concept of fusessho （不殺生/ふせっしょう）: "thou shalt not kill." One amusing moment in the book was when he related the story of a Buddhist teacher and friend in Hawaii who had a problem with cockroaches. Gary writes:
After decades of coping with this problem, he now kills them as he encounters them - with Buddhist compassion - wishing them "better luck next time."
Excellent.
1 comment:
That sounds like a great book!
I try to get into a Zen state of mind when washing the dishes, scrubbing the shower, etc--and actually *appreciate* the act of cleaning. It makes it seem like much less of a chore.
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