Shoukei Matsumoto

In Japan, cleanliness is next to enlightenment. In this book a Zen Buddhist monk draws on ancient traditions and experience to show you how to your daily habits. These range from cleaning to preparing food and everything else inbetween.

I picked this up on a whim as I liked the cover and the fact that its quite a small book. I read through it in an evening and although I wouldn't say that it inspired me to change any of my habits I did enjoy it. The explanations behind the monk's methodologies were interesting and the book is well written.… (meer)

I don't enjoy cleaning. I try to avoid it if I can. Life's too short, you know? It's definitely a chore for me, with all the negative connotations that word now carries. My mum was the opposite to me. She rose early every morning before work and cleaned a room of the house. She ironed everything after washing it - clothes, handkerchiefs, towels, bedsheets, underwear. Reading this book made me realise that she would have made a good Buddhist monk. Not me, though. After reading an interview with the author, I'd hoped it might unlock for me the secret of making housework less of a chore and more of a joy. There are some ideas in it that have helped me rethink my attitude to housework, such as thinking of it as taking care of my living environment, which is something that helps keep me alive. Mostly, though, I felt as though I was being judged and told off. The author is very particular, because he's a monk and it's part of his chosen lifestyle, but not everyone is cut out to be a monk, and not everyone has space in their life for daily cleaning that involves contemplation. He didn't seem prepared, for the most part, to make allowances for that. It was the monk's way or being condemned to a life of degradation and a dirty heart. I found some of it funny, which I'm sure wasn't the intention. Buying a handmade Japanese feather duster to clean your tokonoma with was my favourite, but also wearing white socks to do the gardening.… (meer)