A Monk's Guide to a Clean House and Mind

A Monk's Guide to a Clean House and Mind

Cleanliness is next to enlightenment. In this Japanese bestseller a Buddhist monk explains the traditional cleaning techniques that will help cleanse not only your house - but your soul. 'We remove dust to sweep away our worldly desires. We scrub dirt to free ourselves of attachments. 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 today needs it. The Zen sect of Buddhism is renowned for the cleanliness of its monks, but cleaning is greatly valued in Japanese Buddhism in general as a way to cultivate the mind. In this book, I introduce everyday cleaning methods typically employed in temples, while sharing what it's like to be a monk in training. This book will improve the condition not just of your own mind, but also the people around you. I hope readers will discover that cleanliness is an opportunity to contemplate oneself.'
Sign up to use

Reviews

Photo of Evan Gusev
Evan Gusev@evangus
3.5 stars
Feb 12, 2023

Instead of a whole book exploring parallel between cleaning a house and clearing a mind I got an introduction that just states that and then 100 pages of how-to-clean-a-buddist-temple manual. Weird. But with cute illustrations!

Photo of Henri Bredt
Henri Bredt@henri
4 stars
May 31, 2025
Photo of Bashbunni
Bashbunni@bashbunni
4 stars
Sep 1, 2022
Photo of lucy lou
lucy lou@louhardy
5 stars
Aug 19, 2022
Photo of Leo Vogel
Leo Vogel@leovogel
3 stars
Feb 25, 2024
Photo of Andréa Mellalieu
Andréa Mellalieu@dremellalieu
3 stars
Jan 3, 2024
Photo of Duality Diva
Duality Diva@dualitydiva
3 stars
Jun 25, 2023
Photo of Sarthak Verma
Sarthak Verma@0xsarthak
3 stars
Feb 6, 2023
Photo of Daniel Caeiro
Daniel Caeiro@danielcaeiro
3 stars
Feb 4, 2023
Photo of Ary Dias
Ary Dias @ary
4 stars
Dec 28, 2022
Photo of Phuong Do
Phuong Do@donamphuong
4 stars
Sep 12, 2022
Photo of Terry Thomas
Terry Thomas@tenthnazgul
5 stars
Aug 12, 2022
Photo of Kira L
Kira L@krispyk
5 stars
Jul 31, 2022
Photo of Teresa Su
Teresa Su@terisu
3 stars
Jun 14, 2022
Photo of Ben Grey
Ben Grey@wormhag
3 stars
May 24, 2022
Photo of Tomita Militaru
Tomita Militaru@tomitzel
3 stars
Mar 28, 2022
Photo of gizem serçe
gizem serçe@sercegizem
4 stars
Mar 1, 2022
Photo of Celine Nguyen ✿
Celine Nguyen ✿@celinenguyen
5 stars
Nov 11, 2021
Photo of luis martins
luis martins@luismrmartins
4 stars
Sep 29, 2021
Photo of Ash Hoe
Ash Hoe@ash
3 stars
Aug 13, 2021
Photo of Thomas Karstens
Thomas Karstens @tpei
3 stars
Jul 30, 2021
Photo of Ze
Ze@ze
4 stars
Jul 30, 2021

Highlights

Photo of jay
jay@liuterature

i really enjoy this guide but there's a specific page about treating all living things with respect (which i do) but it mentioned that that would also include insects.... i don't know how kind my heart is when it comes to a bug i won't lie.

Page 8

i don't like bugs.

This highlight contains a spoiler

This book appears on the shelf Self help ish

The Midnight Library
The Midnight Library by Matt Haig
Steal Like an Artist
Steal Like an Artist by Austin Kleon
Think Like an Artist
Think Like an Artist by Will Gompertz
Mindset
Mindset by Carol S. Dweck

This book appears on the shelf 2021 read

The Veldt
The Veldt by Ray Bradbury
Think Like an Artist
Think Like an Artist by Will Gompertz
Lock In
Lock In by John Scalzi
A Separate Peace
A Separate Peace by John Knowles
The Argonauts
The Argonauts by Maggie Nelson
The Machine Stops
The Machine Stops by E. M. Forster

This book appears on the shelf Skill & Utility

Ego Is the Enemy
Ego Is the Enemy by Ryan Holiday
Mastery
Mastery by George Leonard
Principles
Principles by Ray Dalio
Bird by Bird
Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott
Shady Characters: The Secret Life of Punctuation, Symbols, and Other Typographical Marks
Shady Characters: The Secret Life of Punctuation, Symbols, a...
Do Design
Do Design by Alan Moore