Zen and the Art of De-cluttering

Zen and the Art of De-cluttering

The Wa-Dō Mind: Moving Toward Simplicity

How to De-clutter

One of the major foundations of Wa-Dō, The Way of Wa (Peace and Harmony) is Zen and its tenet of simplicity in life and aesthetics. Zen suggests that one should take care of themselves and those around us, just as Wa-Dō suggests the encouragement of harmony and peace within ourselves and our communities.

For most people, however, taking care of ourselves tends to be somewhere near the bottom of our “grocery list of life.” We have become used to chronically mistreating ourselves and we assume that stress is just part of what we are dealt in life. Nevertheless, we can control our lives and we certainly can control our levels of stress and distraction. To accomplish this, one has but to simplify their lives in whatever ways they feel are most needed. For myself, a major cause of stress and distraction was, and remains, clutter.

For decades, I had been a packrat. My house was cluttered, my office even more so. As I grew older (and hopefully wiser), I found that it was becoming increasingly difficult to live and especially to work in a cluttered environment. I could not find things, and that caused me stress. Visually things were disorderly and confused, often making it difficult for me to work well. Yet, I have found that one of the things that gives me the most peace, tranquility and clarity of thought is having a clean, simple home. I found that waking up in the morning and walking out into a living room that had been de-cluttered, that had a minimalist look and was not full of “stuff” laying round, was a calming experience that helped set the mood for the day. Before de-cluttering, when I walked into a room littered with toys, mine and the cats, books, papers, and plenty of extra “stuff”, the feeling was one of chaos: again setting the mood of the day.

I have also found that one must revisit their clutter from time to time, because, no matter what, it will creep up on them again.

Here are some de-cluttering tips:

n De-clutter in small portions. Set aside just 15 minutes a day to de-clutter just one shelf, one corner, one spot and when that place is cleaned up, celebrate a victory. Then tackle another place or spot for 15 minutes the next day. In addition, celebrate that victory. To conquer an entire room can be overwhelming, and certainly one does not want to “attack” an entire house in one day. First, it is impossible, secondly, it is too overwhelming, frustrating and discouraging. The end result would be that one would be inclined to put de-cluttering off forever. It is far better to approach the task of de-cluttering in “baby steps.”

n Set aside a couple of hours to do it. Yes, this is a contradiction of sorts of the idea of doing things in small steps; however, this suggestion is made as an alternative. One should do what works best for them. For many people, it is good to set aside part of a morning or afternoon to de-clutter a room or closet, but certainly not more than that. The feeling of accomplishment when the job is complete is quite gratifying.

n Take everything out of a shelf or drawer at once. Whatever approach one chooses, a “baby step” approach or to set aside one part of a day, one should focus on one drawer or one shelf or one spot and empty it completely. Then clean that shelf, drawer, or spot. Then, one should take the pile of “stuff” and put back just what they want to keep. After that, tackle the next shelf , drawer, or spot.

n Sort through your pile of stuff, one item at a time. Make quick decisions. One should bring with them to the task, a trash bag – at least one. Part of Wa-Do is to take care of the needs of friends, family, and the community. One should also consider bringing to the job at hand, a give-away box; a box for things which one feels they no longer need or want, but which may be of some benefit to others – especially the poor in your community. We should always consider our good fortune and our neighbors in deed. When one pulls everything out of a drawer or shelf, for example, sort through the pile one item at a time. Pick up an item and make a decision: trash, give-away, or keep. Do not put it back in the pile; this is simply putting off a necessary decision. Be decisive. Do this with the entire pile and soon, you ewill be done. If you keep sorting thorugh the pile and resorting, it will take forever. Put back only what you really want to keep and arrange things nicely.

n Be merceiless. One may be a pack rat, just as I am, but truth be known, one will never use most of the stuff they have accumulated. If something has not been used in the last year, consider getting rid of it. It is as simple as that. If one has only used something once or twice in the last year, but they know that they will not use it in the next year, it should be gotten rid of. Toss it if it is unsalvageable. Give it away if someone might be able to use it.

n Papers: Show no mercy, unless it is important. Magazines, catalogues, junk mail, bills more than a year old, notes to one’s self, notes from others, old work papers: toss them! The only exception is with tax-related stuff, which should be kept for at least seven years and other important documents like warranties, birth, death, and marriage certificates, insurance papers, wills and other important documents like that. Such documents are easily recognizable, otherwise, get rid of them.

n The “maybe” box. If one cannot bear to toss something because they truly think that they might need it later, then they should create a box labeled “Maybe,” put those things that one cannot immediately decide on into the box, close the box, and put it in storage out of sight. Chances are that one will never open the box again. If that is the case, take the box out after six months and throw or give away the contents.

n Create a system to stop clutter from accumulating. There is usually a reason one has stacks of papers all over the place and big piles of toys, books and clothes. It is because one does not have a regular system to keep things in their place and to get rid of things they do not need. This is topic in and of itself and will be approached again. For now, it is something to consider as one goes about the process of de-cluttering. There is no perfect system, but if one will think more intelligently about how their house (or office) became cluttered in the first place, perhaps they can find ways to stop it from happening again.

n Celebrate when done. This should be a generally rule of life: always celebrate your accomplishments, no matter how small. Even if one de-cluttered only one drawer, that is an accomplishment. One should treat themselves to something nice: maybe something delicious. Open the drawer, closet, or look at the place just de-cluttered. Admire it and its new simplicity. Breathe deeply and know that one has done a good thing. Enjoy the peaceful feeling.

UNCLE HAYATO'S TEA TALES

Morata Shuko,
Founder Of The Tea Ceremony

Shuko’s real name was Murata Mōkichi and he was the son of Moku-ichi Kenko of Nara. Even as a young man he had a taste for, if not an appreciation of, tea and an obsession with gambling at tocha, tea-tasting tournaments. Shuko, with a number of his friends and other delinquents, would gather at some nearby inn or roadhouse where they would hold impromptu parties and drink large amounts of tea, competing to see who could identify the “true” tea from Uji, a village on the southern outskirts of Kyoto, and which was not. These parties were often wild, decadent affairs where large sums of money or lavish prizes would go to the winners. Needless to say, this was not what his family had intended for him.

His addiction to tocha eventually was so out of hand that his family sent him away to the priesthood at the Shōmei-ji monastery where he lived for almost ten years. But being that he was young and lazy, he was eventually expelled from the temple. From there he journeyed to Kyoto where he entered the Daitoku-ji at Murasakino, where he studied under Ikkyu Sōjun[i]. His one great fault was that he would always fall asleep in the daytime (as well as nighttime) to the detriment of his studies and the amusement of his fellow students. Some clever fellow even went so far as to remark that if his teacher was Ikkyu (one slumber) then the Shuko should be called Hyakkyu (a hundred slumbers).

That he was a source of entertainment to his fellows and that his studies were indeed suffering did not go unnoticed by Shuko. He went so far as to go to a doctor to ask for a prescription to keep him awake so that he could study. The doctor, after listening to Shuko’s sad tale, suggested that tea was the best stimulant for the mind and told the hapless student to drink lots of it - and often. He took up drinking the tea of Toga-no-ō[ii] and found it very effective indeed. Soon he was not only drinking the tea by himself but whenever anyone came to see him he would offer them some as well, accompanied by considerable ceremony.

By some way or means, the Shōgun, Ashikaga Yoshimasa, heard of this and took an immediate interest; in fact, he was so interested that he summoned Shuko to the palace and ordered him to arrange a ceremony for drinking tea. Assisted by two friends, Nō-ami[iii] and Sō-ami[iv], Shuko compared the tea etiquettes already in use and selected parts from several to use. Yoshimasa was quite pleased by the young man’s efforts. He instructed Shuko to give up the monastic life and to build a hut for himself near Sanjo. The Shōgun also gave him a plaque, written in his own hand to be placed over the gate, which read Shu-kō-an-shu or “Pearl-Bright-Cell-Master.”

From then on, Shuko devoted himself only to the arts of cooking special meals, eating them, infusing tea and of course drinking it. He also took to entertaining his friends with these special meals, and of course preparing tea. In time at such gatherings, he and his friends started to entertain themselves by composing and reciting Japanese verses. Anyone who was anyone competed for the honor of his friendship and thus, cha or tea, began to increase in popularity.

Shuko was the first in Japan to whom the title of Tea Master was ever given. He died and the ripe age of eighty-one on the fifteenth of May in 1503 and was buried at the Shinju-an of the temple of Diatoku-ji at Murasakino in Kyoto, where he had been a student. To say that he was sorely missed would be an understatement; for after his departure, it did not take long for his friends and associates to realize that the quality of his “tea meetings” did not stem from the utensils he used or the pictures and writings on the walls but instead came directly from him and that, could never be replaced.

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[i] Ikkyu Sōjun (1394-1481) was an eccentric, nonconformist Japanese Zen Buddhist priest and poet. He had a great impact on the infusion of Japanese art and literature with Zen attitudes and ideals. He also had a strong influence on the development of the formal Japanese tea ceremony.
[ii] Toga-no-ō was the first place that tea was grown in Kyoto, which was designated as real tea verses the other places where it was grown in Japan. Yosai brought tea seeds and the processing technique from China along with Renzai Zen in about 1192 A.D. He gave some seeds to his disciples who planted them at Toga no O, at his temple Kozan-ji. Thus, Toga no O is considered the starting place for tea, followed by Uji.)
[iii] Nō-ami (Nakao Shinnō) (1397 – 1494) was a poet, painter, art critic, and the first non-priest who painted in the suiboku (water-ink) style of the Chinese. He was also the grandfather of Sō-ami.
[iv] Sō-ami (1472 – 1525) was a true renaissance man of the Muromachi Period of Japanese history. He was a painter, art critic, pot, landscape gardener, and master of the tea ceremony, incense ceremony and flower arrangement, and a leading figure in the development of Japanese aesthetics.

Copyright 2009 by Hayato Tokugawa and Shisei-Do Publications. All rights reserved.

AKI APPROACHES

aki approaches
crickets sing, cicadas cry –
trees begin to blush

-Tokugawa

IS GLOBALIZATION CHANGING JAPAN?

Is Globalization Changing Japan?

2006.04.26

I have many questions, which I really don’t expect answers to but which I bring up here in the hopes of opening some discussion or debate on the subject.
Historically, Japan has in modern history, undergone two, maybe three significant periods of change. The first period of change was in the ending stages of the Tokugawa Shogunate, when the “barbarians” came out of the East and West, and forced the opening of Japan to the rest of the world, followed by the Meiji Era. I think in this case, at this point in history, Japan had no choice but to change and it’s people made drastic and wonderful achievements at becoming a member of the world nations.

The second period was that following WW2. What can one say about that, except that it happened and Japan again did marvelous things to rebuild and to, in many ways, re-invent itself?

Perhaps the third period was during and immediately after the “Bubble Economy.” Now there is a trend toward “world globalization”: instant communication and commerce anywhere in the world - instant exchanges of information, instant business. I am wondering if this could (or is) having a negative effect on Japanese culture and the Japanese people.

I wonder if the Japanese government and the people in the Diet haven’t gone about things wrong, at the sacrifice of its people and culture. The government has done things so quickly, so rapidly that it makes me question whether they have really thought about what they are doing. Has the government in its diplomatic and economic decisions, really considered or thought about Japan and the people, instead of only catering to the wants and desires of their political friends. I am concerned that there has been little thought given about the people and the culture and that in the long-term, the ordinary Japanese people will suffer and pay for the effects of government decisions.

Everything is done these days in such a hurry – rush, rush, dash, and dash. I think that this has potentially done great damage to Japanese culture and society. One of the things that made Japan great, that enabled it to make so much wonderful progress in the Meiji Period and after, was Japanese diligence. Japan was famous for its quality craftsmanship and industrial ability because Japanese people (even the “little people” – artists, crafts people, etc.) took the time to do good planning, and to properly investigate things before doing something. They took their time and did not rush. It would seem that the Japanese government, Japanese business, and now even the people themselves, no longer take the time, the thought, the care, that made them so special and unique in the world.

Politicians are not connected to the lives of the real people – to the real world. There is now a vicious cycle of the people paying more, for example gasoline, and then having to work more to pay for things, and because they are working more and are earning more, the prices go up once again. It is potentially a never-ending cycle. It is like a dog trying to catch its own tail – it doesn’t happen. And because they are caught up in this cycle, there is not time for anything else – no time for art, for culture, not even to be kind (which is something else that made Japan and the Japanese people stand out in the world).

The good news is that it all can be changed, while Japan still maintains its place in the world. Greed and the seeking of power I think, drive globalization. There is no vision of tomorrow, unless it is only about how profits will appear on the next quarterly report. No one, from the top and now progressing downward to the average person, things about the future. It is, in my mind, becoming more a world of only “now” and of “self”, which I will admit is the way of things in the US now. Most sad.

I am wondering if such things as Bushido have even more relevance now in the life of Japan, on all levels. Should it come back? Can it come back? I think so. I think everyone it is an important consideration – to be accountable or responsible for our mistakes and to move forward from them with discipline. It is something that is missing in American culture and is disappearing from Japanese culture, and I think it is necessary.

Today we play the “Blame Game.” It used to be if there was something wrong, you stopped, thought about the problem, fixed it, and then moved on. The “American Way” has been to find someone to blame, punish him or her, and then move on. That is becoming more of a “global” attitude towards things. It saddens me.

I come from an older generation that had a respect for the land and for other people. In Japan, people felt a responsibility, a duty; to do not only what was asked of them, but in addition, what was not asked of them. It gave strength of character that is lost in the US and is being lost here. We no longer take the time to sit and talk to our children, and they do not take the time to sit and listen, and to learn from older generations with the result that American culture has slipped away, and Japanese culture is rapidly slipping away.

I an American, not a Japanese, and while I love and embrace many things of Japanese society and culture, I will always be an American. But with globalization I see a trend for young people (especially) to try so hard to be “non-Japanese” and I worry about there becoming a “non-Japanese Japan.” Englishmen are Englishmen, Americans are Americans – there is nothing wrong with that. What is so wrong with being Japanese? We don’t expect Japanese people to be like us or us to be like them. It is one of the things that makes us all unique, makes Japanese unique, and makes the world a sometimes fun and interesting place. I think young Japanese people should enjoy being Japanese. This is from someone who is on the “outside” looking in. Sometimes I think (especially young people) are on the “inside” looking out, and forget to see themselves. Be yourself! It’s nice!

Lastly I am wondering, does it fall on people of my generation to teach again, how to be Japanese or to be the preservers of Japanese culture? Is that right or is it wrong? Is there a place for such people as myself, who studies the old ways and teaches the old ways, and practices the older arts, in Japan? Should fathers and mothers take the time to teach their children, or make it possible for their children to learn about what makes Japan a most unique place in the world?

I wonder.