How long has it been since you cleaned the floor?
Not to cope with housework, but to treat the sweep as a “reform”:Sweeping and seeing the dust in your heart is falling.
In the eyes of modern people, sanitation is hygiene, diligence and a habit of life.But with the ancients, cleaning is given greater meaning. It’s body mechanic, it’s a door to heart repair, even a key to the order of the universe.
From the hyena of the Buddhist temple to the Confucian’s study, to the Dow’s, to the Zen’s, “No work, no food,” you will find:Cleaning this little thing is actually a deep philosophical code.
Zheng Zhong: Sweeping the floor is just scavenging.
There’s a public case in the Zheng Dynasty: “The dawn sweeps the void.” It means:As if there was dust in the void, so that the awakening of the heart would cleanse it, and the light of its own soul would be revealed.
Tang Dynasty had even laid down a clean rule: “No day goes by, no day goes by.” The pedagogues cannot sit by themselves, cutting wood, fetching water and cleaning the ground.The most trivial moves are the sharpest heart sharpeners.
So when you sweep a broom, it’s not just the dust that falls on the ground, but perhaps the heart’s heart is loose.
Buddha’s family: A temple is a mirror.
You’re always surprised when you walk into the temple: the floor is clean, the equipment is neat, the wood is stymied.
This is not “clean” for family members, but “clean” for Buddhists.The so-called netty is to be kept clean.
Why are you so serious? It means four things:
- Respect: A clean environment is a respect for the laws of Buddha and a tribute to others.
- Litt: Clean public space is itself an altruistic act.
- Expensive: unremitting cleaning means the pedagogues remain unheeded.
- Watch out: A troubled environment is disillusioned, and a clean space can protect minds.
In other words, the solemnity of a monastery is like a mirror: a reflection of the outside order and a reminder of the inner state of mind.
Confucius: No. No.
Confucius has a famous saying, “No seat, no seat.”
On the surface, it’s a blow job; but deep down, it’s an outside order that trains inner caution.
Imagine a Confucian’s study:It’s clean, it’s square, it’s almost dusty. This is not just a “punishment”, but a “good faith, outside”.
Today’s psychological studies also prove that the more the environment becomes chaotic, the more agitated and the more the environment becomes clean and calmer. Confucius, more than 2,000 years ago, understood that.
Dowlers: net of loss, according to nature
I said, “To learn, to lose.”It’s added, it’s reduced.
Lose what? I don’t know. It’s like emptying a house full of junk, the less stuff, the more space.
By saying “sitting out”, Shoko said that he could not see his pure nature until he had put his mind down and his self down.
Nature cleans itself up: rain washes the dust, the water is self-scrutinizing and leaves are turned into nutrients. The Taoists learned from this:True cleanliness, not obscenity, but submission to nature.
Today we speak of “environmentally clean” “sustainable living”, and many times it seems like a family-style thinking:Reduce damage and restore balance.
Zen Zheng’s downfall, the Buddha’s clean business, the Confucian’s body repair, and the Dow’s on his way. It’s a different tradition. It’s the same thing.
Cleaning, not just hygiene, is the hidden stage of life.
Sweeping, defusing.
Packing up the environment, sorting out the mind.
Throwing away groceries is like abandoning desire.
Next time you bend over again, think like this:You cleaned it out, maybe not just on the floor, but on the inside.