Wisdom is your most powerful weapon against mumyo. Wisdom allows us to know the world around us as it truly is. The light that appears to be shining from behind the head of some statues of Buddha is an expression of His sincere wish to rescue the people of the world from this darkness. By allowing the light of Buddha’s wisdom to shine upon them, people can escape their earthly doubts and misgivings.
Keeping sources of light in your home clear and free of grime will allow the light of wisdom to pour in, vanquishing your mumyo and easing your troubled mind.
How to Clean Your Lights
First, remove the dust with a feather duster. Then, wring out a moist cloth and wipe the surfaces carefully. Do this with a friend or loved one if possible. One person can support the stepladder while the other person works atop it. The person at the bottom can also hand tools and supplies to their partner as needed. Clean the lamps and fixtures gently, as if you are polishing your heart and soul to make them shine their brightest.
Clothes
I heard recently that more and more people don’t change into a different set of clothes with each new season. It seems that this is due in part to the popularity of garments that can be worn all year round, and in part to the availability of inexpensive clothing at the beginning of every new season. Of course, I realize that reducing the burden of having to change into a new set of seasonal clothes has practical benefits. However, just like spring cleaning, changing what you wear when a new season comes is beneficial in another, deeper way.
When you mark the changing of the seasons with a change in your clothes you can also refresh your heart.
If you don’t reflect the seasons in this way, you miss out on an important opportunity to refresh your heart, and put yourself at risk of having a lacklustre year.
To show your appreciation for the clothes which have, up until then, taken care of you, be sure to wash them or send them out to be cleaned. You must not think ‘I’ll just wash the clothes when I wear them next year’, and leave them dirty. To ensure that you can comfortably wear your clothes the following year, be sure to follow the Zen concept of ‘not putting it off till tomorrow’.
At the Pure Land Buddhism Temple of Hongan, monks change into a different set of clothes twice a year on the 1st of June and the 1st of October. When changing into her new season’s clothes, the grandmother of Komyou Temple (actually the chief priest’s mother) always says, ‘Looks like I get to do this again this year’ in a graceful tone, reflecting both on the flow of time and on the turn of the season.
It is important to express gratitude at the changing of the seasons. Only those who do this truly know how to achieve closure in their feelings.
Before changing into the new season’s garments, those from the ending season must be washed. Sweat and dirt that have not been removed can cause odour to develop and stains to form. Since clothes in storage are also prone to being eaten by insects, make sure to thoroughly clean and dry them in the open air before putting them away.
This is also the time to get clothes mended. Since monks wear their robes for a very long time, the thread around the sleeves often becomes loose, while the collar and hemlines tend to slacken. Before we put our robes away we make sure such issues have been addressed.
Laundry
In this day and age, doing the laundry without a washing machine has become unfathomable. It isn’t so long ago, however, that clothes were washed using a washboard, soap and lye.
Though most unsui monks now use a communal washing machine, hard-to-remove dirt and items that cannot be washed in the washing machine, such as setta sandals, are washed by hand.
If there is a stain on your clothes, that spot becomes the focal point of your attention, making you unable to relax for the entire day.
If you do not feel that way about stains on your clothes, this is proof of indifference about the way you present yourself. It is a sign that your heart is confused.
Wearing a pure white shirt allows you to draw in your feelings. Removing stains and black spots helps to keep the heart lively and fresh.
With this in mind, the colour of the underwear worn by monks is white.
Underneath our black outer robes, we wear a white robe and a white inner robe. Both the robe and inner robe must be white. When you become a monk, the white colour of your underwear as well as its cut are predetermined.
Though one of the reasons for choosing white is that it provides a feeling of cleanliness, the primary reason for choosing white is to rid oneself of unnecessary ornamentation. The shaving of our heads, the garments we wear and the things we carry, even the way we perform certain tasks, are all designed as to expel vanity and allow us to remain simple and modest while following the teachings of Buddha.
Putting on white underwear makes me feels as though a fresh wind is blowing over my body. Wearing white clothes over your white underwear seems to communicate to your body a feeling of cleanliness. I highly recommend to those who rarely wear white underwear to try it least once.
Speaking about laundry, when it comes to drying clothes, people now increasingly rely on tumble dryers. And among those who dry their clothes outside, there are many who wear their clothes straight from the washing line without having folded them up and put them away first.
Of course, doing things this way saves time, but cutting corners on one task leads us to cut corners on another and then another, leading to a weakening of the heart.
Use energy from the sun and dry your clothes in a natural setting. Changing your clothes also begins with putting things back where they belong, and then taking them out when they are needed.
Laundry needs to be done every day. Wash. Dry. Fold. Put away.
While doing this requires time and energy, one way to make laundry tasks less onerous is to reduce the amount of clothes you have to wash. However, it is vital that you complete your daily tasks on the day they should be done.
If you put this philosophy into everyday practice, you will soon find a new rhythm to your life, something which will help more than anything else to wipe away impurities. However, if you neglect your duties, you’ll find that your feelings, just like the laundry, have remained unwashed, allowing dirt to accumulate in your heart.
The things you must wash and rinse in your daily life are not limited to clothing. With just the smallest bit of neglect, the heart too can become neglected and begin to fill with worldly desires. This is why we must do the laundry.
How to Do the Laundry
Fabrics made out of cotton can wrinkle easily when wet, so after washing them, immediately pat the wrinkles and hang up to dry. I know that sometimes people think that it’s OK to just let the clothes dry without bothering to do this. However, your task won’t be complete once you have washed the clothes.
For monks, the most common types of stains are ink stains, tea stains and soup stains. Ink and tea stains are usually found in smaller areas of clothing because we have not paid enough attention to what we were doing. To remove a stain, lightly dampen the spot, and then wash it with soap. Once you have rinsed it with water, the stain usually disappears, but in cases when it won’t budge, use baking soda or natural bleaching solutions to remove it. This also works well for perspiration stains or for whites which have lost their brightness. Vinegar makes a wonderful fabric softener.
At temples, we do not dry our laundry where it can be seen from the outside. To avoid embarrassment when guests and parishioners visit, we use an area at the back where the wind blows well.
Do not put off laundry for another day. Even if it is just a small amount, be sure to do a wash every day and dry it immediately. If you do this, you will look neat and no longer require a large amount of clothes.
Ironing
The kinds of clothes that I want to wear in my daily life are clothes that are not wrinkled. Even the white robes that we wear underneath our black outer robes are neatly ironed and pressed. By doing this, our hearts remain crisp and fresh for the whole day.
; Though wrinkles are normally viewed as a sign of age, there are many active monks in their 80s and 90s who not only have young hearts, but look young as well, with few wrinkles to be seen. This can be none other than a sign of the unity of body and mind: the body reflects the heart, and the heart reflects the body.
Always iron your clothes to keep your heart fresh and young. And of course, make sure to fold any clothes you have ironed carefully so as not to wrinkle them again.
How to Iron
When ironing, visualize yourself ironing out the wrinkles in your heart. This is a special way that Zen monks do their ironing.
Spilled wax from a candle can be removed by placing a piece of newspaper over the wax, and then placing the iron on top. Mysteriously, the wax comes off perfectly.
Wax which has been spilled on clothes can be removed in a similar manner. (Please be careful when doing this!)
Storage
Now that we have taken care of washing, drying and folding the clothes, it is time to store them. But first, insect repellent needs to be prepared. The insect repellent we use in temples is either the unscented kind, or incense purchased at a traditional incense shop, perfumed with naturally extracted camphor or else Japanese cypress tree essential oil. (When monks change into their new season’s clothes at Komyou Temple, insect repellent is purchased from a long-established incense shop in Kyoto.)
The best kind of wood for your wardrobe is paulownia wood.
The Best Storage
Paulownia is so good at keeping insects at bay that some temples with paulownia chests go without any insect repellant at all. Of course, wardrobes made out of paulownia wood are not inexpensive so you may hesitate before purchasing one. However, high-quality furniture does last a long time, so if you’re thinking of handing such a piece of furniture down as an heirloom, paulownia wood is worth considering.
Tableware
The tableware used at temples is extremely basic. Monks normally use the same sets of simply adorned tableware over the course of many decades: this consists of earthenware teacups and painted lacquer bowls.
Even if they are a little expensive, we choose classic pieces that can be used day in and day out. Purchasing such items ensures not only that they will last a long time, but also that if one piece should happen to break you will be able to replace it. This makes it possible to purchase only what you need.
Without food we cannot remain alive. The dishes that you eat out of are not merely dishes, but also important vessels that help to support life. They are tools to preserve life, so be sure to take the utmost care of them.
Zen monks use oryoki nesting tableware sets, and in Zen monasteries, meals are taken following strict rules. Pure Land Buddhists do not use such sets, but they are made in such a logical way that practitioners are said to find them deeply interesting.
Oryoki sets consist of six bowls, chopsticks, a spoon and some other items, all of which are wrapped in a fukusa (silk cloth).When it’s time to eat, the bowls are removed from the fukusa, lined up on the table, and then we silently wait to receive our meal. At breakfast, lunch and dinner, we use three of the six bowls. However, depending upon the time of day the size of bowl differs.
The largest bowl, in which all the others are nestled, is called the zuhatsu, and it is supposed to represent the head of Buddha. Because of this, we cannot place it directly on the table, so instead we rest it on top of the smallest bowl.
When the priests serving the meal stop in front of me, I join my hands in prayer after extending out my bowl, and then receive rice, soup and pickles or another side dish. Since the zodo hall is one of the Three Mandas, we eat without uttering a word, keeping our hearts silent.
Unsui monks do not wash their dishes. This is because these are washed naturally during the course of the meal. Monks have a piece of lacquer ware (hassetsu) that comes with a special spatula with 2.5 centimetres of cloth sewn on to the handle. They use the spatula to scrape any leftover food from the largest bowl to the smallest bowl when receiving their tea at the end of the meal. After that, hot water is poured into the bowls for purification. Once the monks have drunk this water, the bowls are clean. They are then dried with a cloth.
In Zen monasteries, to drop a bowl on the ground is such a great sin that the person responsible must go to the residences of all the elder monks to apologize. Dropping a bowl shows that you are not taking care of it. Dishes must be carefully held in both hands. Holding things in this way displays a sense of natural sophistication and shows that you take care of each and every thing you hold. I recommend that you give it a try.
‘A single drop of water left in the ladle can be drawn by a hundred million people’ goes one of our sayings. Just one drop of water can provide us with an opportunity to expand our consciousness of the bigger picture.
The emphasis on conservation which is at the heart of our way of life is not just an effort to be green. In order to remove impurities from the heart, you must reduce wastefulness in your heart.
Even though we use regular dishes when entertaining guests, we still do our utmost to reduce waste. We use small amounts of dishwashing liquid to clean the dishes, and baking soda on our cutting boards and other cooking tools as a bleaching agent. Most importantly, we utilize natural cleaning methods that are kind to both the environment and the body.
Dishes are one of the tools that support life. Please take great care when using them.
Oryoki
In practice, all of our daily meals are eaten out of the six oryoki bowls. Since all the bowls differ slightly in size, they can be nested within one another, making the set extremely compact.
Oryoki sets contain a napkin, a cleaning cloth, a hattan (a place mat to be used under the largest bowl), a small spatula, a spoon, chopsticks, a mizuita (a water board, whose origin and purpose are currently unknown but which is still included in oryoki sets), and a silk wrapper.
Repairs
When using any sort of item over time, it is impossible to prevent it from developing signs of wear and tear. However, since most items usually wear down in specific areas, repairing them will allow you to continue using them for some time.
One of the principles of a Buddhist lifestyle is to take care of things and repair them.
The unsui monks of Eihei Temple designate days that contain the numbers ‘4’ and ‘9’ for mending clothes that have become raggedy and old. This is called shikunichi, literally meaning four and nine days. Even ordinary households should try designating shikunichi days as a time for mending items and performing maintenance around the home.
Nowadays it is very easy to find a wide variety of items that are exactly alike and more or less serve the same function. When something breaks, rather than repairing it, many people buy a replacement because this is faster and cheaper. However, if you continue to live your life in this way, your relationships with others will begin to resemble how you relate to objects. This will only lead to the exhaustion of your heart.
If you use an object for as long as you can carefully, repairing it when necessary, you will find that not only your relationship with objects begins to change, but so will the way you relate to people. This will help return your heart to a pure state.
Rather than chasing after the new, live a life in which you use the same objects for a long time. If you do this, you will naturally be able to care for and treasure the people around you as well.
When you repair a torn seam, you also begin to repair the relationship between yourself and others.
Even if you cannot completely restore an object back to its original state, you should find a new way to use it, and figure out how you can repurpose it within your daily life. A bucket that has developed a bad leak can still be useful as a pot for your garden. If you have a bamboo pole that you no longer use, with the addition of another one you can make a pair of stilts.
People who endlessly chase after new things have lost their freedom to earthly desire. Only those who can enjoy using their imagination
s when working with limited resources know true freedom.
What sort of life do you wish to lead?
How to Repair
Containers and Tools
Pieces of pottery that have developed cracks can be beautifully restored at specialist shops using gold or silver. The screws of pans and kettles should occasionally be tightened, and these items should be sent for repairs if broken.
Clothes
Favourite garments always seem to get damaged the soonest. If you patch up holes, your clothes can become as good as new again. Socks that develop holes should also be darned.
Books
Pages that you frequently read often fall out first, but these can be re-glued and read again. For smaller tears, use tape, while a specialist can deal with damage that is difficult to repair on your own.
Deodorization
There are many people who tell me that the fragrance of the incense burned at temples relaxes them. Though the smell of incense always fills the halls of Buddhist temples, it is because the temple is a simple place that it helps to enhance the scent of the incense.
The basic principle behind deodorization is the exchange of old air for new. Always look for ways to improve the flow of air in your home, and live at one with air. Allow yourself to feel the present. If you put this idea into practice, not only will your heart feel refreshed and new, but you will also become less irritable.
A Monk's Guide to a Clean House and Mind Page 4
