Karma

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.

Desire

I was going to call this post "Envy" but I realised I didn't need to be envious, and if I exerted myself I could actually achieve something similar! A few links today to homes/blogs which encourage simplicity and minimalism:

1. Victor & Soeun's Romantic Loft: http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/ny/small-cool-2007-entries/11-victor-soeuns-romantic-loft-021235

Fabulous use of a very small space (a 518 sq ft apartment in New York).

2. Churchlady's apartment: http://www.flickr.com/photos/churchlady32/sets/72157621814401207/show/with/3786749539/

Want!

3. Miss Minimalist's blog: http://www.missminimalist.com, especially this post: http://www.missminimalist.com/?p=40

Can you imagine how easy it would be to concentrate on meditation or even reading a book, in such uncluttered surroundings? I spend a lot of time wishing my flat were somewhat like these, and generally Not Actually Doing Anything. All thought, no action. I am inspired!

笠羅漢 (kasa rakan) "The statues with straw hats"

...my own completely inadequate translation! A "kasa" is a straw hat, and a "rakan" is in Chinese "luohan" or in Sanskrit "arhat" - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rakan (Am I the only person who sees "arhat" and thinks "asshat"? I hope not!)

In this cartoon version of a Japanese folk story (Manga Nippon Mukashibanashi), the old couple find they have no food or money to buy food, so the old man goes off to town to sell the straw hats he has been making. On the way he is caught in a rain storm, and seeks shelter in a grove with sixteen rakan. He decides they need the straw hats more than he needs food, so gives his hats to them and goes home. [By the way, the old woman is ok with this - he apologises for not bringing back any food and she says that his giving the hats to the rakan is just the sort of thing she likes about him - which makes him blush!] That night, the couple are visited by a ghostly procession bearing a coffin, which the pall bearers leave behind. In it is a treasury of "koban" - gold coins. By the door they find one of the old man's hats, and when they visit the rakan they see that one of them is hatless. So, they know that the riches they received were given by the rakan! And they lived happily ever after...

It's a beautifully illustrated story, and it reminds me of a simpler time when gods seemed closer and more intimately entwined in daily life.

Also, for those seeking the solitude of the mountain hut, the couple's house is perfect - in a bamboo grove, with little by way of furniture or decoration. Something to learn from, in many ways.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=at8JhEgEb8g

Chuffed

Gosh, I seem to have *actual real people* reading the blog. How very kind of you!

Just when I thought peace was reigning upstairs (I think the noisy bloke has been replaced by another less noisy bloke) I now have recurring drama in the form of a young girl who likes to have very public outpourings of drunken grief, especially in the wee small hours. This block used to be so quiet! *sigh*

I've become interested in the case of a missing boy in the US, Hasanni Campbell. Poor mite was reportedly kidnapped back in August and hasn't been found, but the parents (foster parents) never seemed quite right in their protestations. I'm sure it's too late for the lad now, but what a waste of a tiny life. Here's a jizo for you, Hasanni!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jizo

In Japan, Kṣitigarbha, known as Jizō, or Ojizō-sama as he is respectfully known, is one of the most loved of all Japanese divinities. His statues are a common sight, especially by roadsides and in graveyards. Traditionally, he is seen as the guardian of children, particularly children who died before their parents.

Relief

Deeeeep breath.

The conference is over, my paper went well, I survived the slobbering dogs at my friend's house, and got home and retrieved kitty from the cattery. AND I finally got my laptop back from the computer shop - 2 weeks!! I'm caught up on my Facebook responsibilities (FarmTown, Pet Society) and I picked up my dry cleaned coat today, so I can move on with the velvet sleeve and collar things. First day back at work today and am pretty worn out. Now I can concentrate on cataloguing the books which have recently arrived, and have a look at that serials cancellation spreadsheet. *sigh*

It's reasonably quiet here - I think the male half of the upstairs couple is away, and he's most of the problem. Maybe she dumped him? I can only hope.

Still have to put away all the laundry I did when I got back from Sydney, and there's nowhere to put it. Seriously, I need to go through my wardrobe and get rid of about half of it. I don't even know what's in the depths at the back! And the difficulty of searching for one item of clothing when your bag is black and so are all the clothes inside... Something to think about before I travel again!

Exhausted

Dear readers (of which I think there may be none!), once again a month has passed and not much has happened here at The Mountain Hut. Well, I did manage to catch bronchitis and end up staying home in bed for more than 2 weeks, so that's one achievement! *koff* I can't recommend the experience, really.

So I had two and a bit weeks of enjoying even more closeness with my noisy neighbours upstairs, but at least the cat was thrilled I was home all day, every day, and in bed!! Must have been in kitty heaven. Now the house is cold and dark and I leave for hours at a time. Poor puss.

Speaking of which, hasn't it been a week for celebrities shuffling off this mortal coil? Michael Jackson, Farrah Fawcett, Karl Malden, Mollie Sugden.... All rather sad, but Karl was 94 or something, and Mollie 86, so that's a pretty good innings. RIP Mrs Slocombe, and your fabulous collection of wigs!

Yikes!

Doesn't time fly? A few nice posts then: "Blog? What blog?" I can only admit to spending far too much of my time on Facebook (which my 5 year old nephew got me signed up for...) or generally doing things like having the flooring replaced in my apartment, and going to work and occasionally getting sick and staying in bed.

So, not too much happening at The Mountain Hut, especially not in terms of peace and quiet. The Chinese student couple who moved in upstairs earlier in the year are SO DAMNED NOISY I seriously hope they move out when their lease is up. Nothing destroys your Zen-like quiet like this couple yelling a conversation at each other while one is in the bedroom and the other is in the bathroom taking a shower. FFS!

Peace, calm, Zen-like..... **deep breath**