A Monk’s Guide to a Clean House and Mind
£6.70£7.60 (-12%)
Cleanliness is next to enlightenment. In this Japanese bestseller a Buddhist monk explains the traditional meditative techniques that will help cleanse not only your house – but your soul.
Live clean. Feel calm. Be happy.
We remove dust to sweep away our worldly cares. We live simply and take time to contemplate the self, mindfully living each moment. It’s not just monks that need to live this way. Everyone in today’s busy world needs it.
In Japan, cleanliness is next to enlightenment. This bestselling guide by a Zen Buddhist monk draws on ancient traditions to show you how a few simple changes to your daily habits – from your early morning routine to preparingfood, from respecting the objects around you to working together as a team -will not only make your home calmer and cleaner, but will leave you feeling refreshed, happier and more fulfilled.
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Additional information
| Publisher | 1st edition (4 Jan. 2018), Penguin |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Paperback | 144 pages |
| ISBN-10 | 9781846149696 |
| ISBN-13 | 978-1846149696 |
| Dimensions | 12.04 x 1.12 x 18.03 cm |
by Lord Emsworth
I read The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying: A simple, effective way to banish clutter forever by Marie Kondō at the start of 2016 and, when I read about A Monk’s Guide to a Clean House and Mind, I thought it might offer similar nuggets which I could incorporate into my routines.
Shoukei Matsumoto, a Buddhist monk at the Komyoji Temple in Kamiyacho, Tokyo, explains how a monk’s day begins with cleaning, and the various rituals, many cleaning based, which punctuate the day.
This slim, quick-to-read guide offers practical cleaning tips, as well as insights into life in a Buddhist temple, however it is far too weighted towards the daily routines of the monks and so less applicable to those who live in an ordinary home.
That said, I did pick up a few good tips, for example…
– Newspaper will come in handy when cleaning glass. Lightly crumple a piece of newspaper, apply a small amount of soap and water, then wipe your windows until they are squeaky clean. Newspaper is much better than rags or towels when cleaning windows
– Once you learn how to see how your inner turmoil manifests itself through your surroundings, you can reverse engineer this, mastering yourself by mastering the space in which you live
One of the messages is around how you approach cleaning, it’s not what you clean, but how you approach the task. Apparently one of Buddha’s disciples achieved enlightenment solely through the act of sweeping.
OK, but not a patch on The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying: A simple, effective way to banish clutter forever – which I loved and still use many of the techniques.
3/5
by Amazon Customer
I read this book in one afternoon and it gave me the final push to change my life around. I now get up every morning at 5:30 and I am productive. This book alone won’t change your life, but it will give you insight to another way of thinking. It may be about cleaning but I think the principles discussed in regard to cleaning here can be used for life in general. If you remove the Religious bit. the book is a sort of mindful guide to a happier self through self care by cleaning. Also has a lot of good practical tips for a less wasteful way of cleaning for those aiming for a zero-waste lifestyle. Worth the money and worth a read, I spent no more than 3 hours on it.
by BR
I rarely feel guided nor ‘told off’ by books, preferring my reads to be long, technical, and informative. This book is short, non-technical, and very informative. It’s a weird one for me – I kind of feel immersed in the book and want to completely ‘obey’ the spirit and the sentiments. It explains to me why I like cleaning up at night, and certainly explains my need for tidiness – not in an overly compulsive way, but as an exercise in making sure I know where everything is for when I need it next. So, for me, a weirdly satisfying and unusual deviation from my usual read, and a welcome perspective on achieving not a state of calm, but a degree of predictability and clear-minded objectivity. I absolutely love reading this book, and re-reading. I also feel ‘told off’ in places too…
by Amazon Customer
I found this book both spiritual and useful. I have used it to plan my cleaning and to become more mindful.
by Chris Thompson
Having stayed in a Buddhist monastery many times, this is an accurate representation of temple life and the monastic lifestyle. If you’re looking for something more esoteric and fluffy then this isn’t the book for you, but if you’re looking for tips and tools to (literally) clean up your life then this is a perfect start. Some great advice on natural cleaning solutions and how to use them mindfully, as well as how the Buddhist mindset impacts upon the way they move through life each day.
by Wully
I enjoyed reading this book about how Buddhist monks live and their philosophy of life. Much of it cannot be used by Western people in their everyday lives. But some of it can. It really made me look at my home and see the clutter and dust and want to do something about it. I will however be using modern methods and machines. Also it is nigh on impossible to get men in western society to do any cleaning at all. Perhaps if they were brought up in a Japanese home they might not see cleaning as only women’s work.
by Jennifer’s Reviews
My sister got the Monk’s Guide first and, seeing how much she enjoyed it, I followed suit.
I didn’t quite expect to love it so much, but I do.
The author is a Zen monk and it goes without saying that some of his suggestions will not be relevant to me, strictly speaking. However, I am an adult and can substitute ‘make a robe’ for ‘keep a T-shirt especially for cleaning, and by the way, make sure it’s one you actually like.’
The general principles, which are really simple, have changed my whole outlook on life.
If you’re going to buy it, I’d say, beware of thinking the tips are too obvious. It’s easy to read about something, but to do it, and maintain the attitude suggested; a bit more challenging but well worth it.
For me, this book is a winner – charming, useful and spiritual all at once.
by Mike
For the price, it’s worth it. There were a few gems like “clean windows in your house are like clean windows to your soul”
But it was a very literal book, about how the monks clean their monastery and living area, and I found myself half way through going , “Why am I reading this?”
Skim read the rest, and felt the book didn’t know what it wanted to be.
Self help? Spiritual Guide? Semi Autobiographical?
I wasn’t unhappy with it, but felt a bit “meh” about the whole book.