5 Ways to Practice the Art of Simple Living at Home
Bring calm and joy to your life and home with tips from a new book by a Japanese Zen monk
In 2014, Marie Kondo showed how decluttering can spark joy and bring life-changing magic, igniting an enthusiasm for organizing and cleaning that continues to burn — perhaps even brighter after her recent Netflix series. Other books and TV series on the topic followed, including Margareta Magnusson’s writings on how an approaching (or distant) death could be the impetus for clearing our homes and minds of the things that overwhelm us. What comes next in our quest for simplification?
In The Art of Simple Living, published this month by Penguin Books, author and Zen monk Shunmyo Masuno shares how small adjustments in our actions, thinking or home’s setup can enhance happiness and tranquillity. “Just subtle shifts in your habits and perspective. That’s all you need to live simply,” he says.
In The Art of Simple Living, published this month by Penguin Books, author and Zen monk Shunmyo Masuno shares how small adjustments in our actions, thinking or home’s setup can enhance happiness and tranquillity. “Just subtle shifts in your habits and perspective. That’s all you need to live simply,” he says.
Make Time for Emptiness
In our everyday lives, do any of us have time to think about nothing?
Any given day, a mere 10 minutes is all you need. Try making time for emptiness, for not thinking about anything. Just try clearing your mind, and not being caught up in the things around you.
Various thoughts will float up in your mind, but try to send them away, one by one. When you do so, you will begin to notice the present moment, the subtle shifts in nature that are keeping you alive. When you are not distracted by other things, your pure and honest self can be revealed.
Making time for not thinking about anything. That is the first step toward creating a simple life.
In our everyday lives, do any of us have time to think about nothing?
Any given day, a mere 10 minutes is all you need. Try making time for emptiness, for not thinking about anything. Just try clearing your mind, and not being caught up in the things around you.
Various thoughts will float up in your mind, but try to send them away, one by one. When you do so, you will begin to notice the present moment, the subtle shifts in nature that are keeping you alive. When you are not distracted by other things, your pure and honest self can be revealed.
Making time for not thinking about anything. That is the first step toward creating a simple life.
Arrange Your Room Simply
If you wish to simplify your inner self, arrange your rooms sparely.
Simplicity is about stripping away what is not useful. Determine whether something is truly necessary, and if it is, then take good care of it. This is different from frugality. Frugality is about subsisting with things of low value. By value, I’m referring not only to its price — it also includes the depth of feeling toward such items.
Living simply means, for instance, that the mug you use every day for coffee is a mug that you really like — one that you take good care of and that you use for a long time. Acquire only good things that will truly be needed. A lifestyle of simplicity is the fundamental practice that will hone the mind.
If you wish to simplify your inner self, arrange your rooms sparely.
Simplicity is about stripping away what is not useful. Determine whether something is truly necessary, and if it is, then take good care of it. This is different from frugality. Frugality is about subsisting with things of low value. By value, I’m referring not only to its price — it also includes the depth of feeling toward such items.
Living simply means, for instance, that the mug you use every day for coffee is a mug that you really like — one that you take good care of and that you use for a long time. Acquire only good things that will truly be needed. A lifestyle of simplicity is the fundamental practice that will hone the mind.
Create a Small Garden on Your Balcony
We monks say, “Beneath a tree, atop a rock.” You sit, alone, on top of a rock or under a tree, and quietly practice zazen [meditative sitting and thinking]. This brings you into communion with nature. You can leave behind whatever thoughts pass through your head and sit zazen with an empty mind. This is the ideal environment for practicing zazen.
It can be challenging even for Buddhist monks to find such a setting. This is why the grounds of Zen temples feature gardens.
Try creating such a garden in your own home. If you don’t have a yard, an apartment balcony will do just fine. And if you don’t have a balcony, a window ledge will suffice. A few square feet is all you need. Within that space, try representing the landscape of your mind. A place where your mind can escape. A place where you can look upon your essential self. It may just become your favorite spot.
We monks say, “Beneath a tree, atop a rock.” You sit, alone, on top of a rock or under a tree, and quietly practice zazen [meditative sitting and thinking]. This brings you into communion with nature. You can leave behind whatever thoughts pass through your head and sit zazen with an empty mind. This is the ideal environment for practicing zazen.
It can be challenging even for Buddhist monks to find such a setting. This is why the grounds of Zen temples feature gardens.
Try creating such a garden in your own home. If you don’t have a yard, an apartment balcony will do just fine. And if you don’t have a balcony, a window ledge will suffice. A few square feet is all you need. Within that space, try representing the landscape of your mind. A place where your mind can escape. A place where you can look upon your essential self. It may just become your favorite spot.
Make Distinctions
We live in a time of constant information, available anytime and anywhere. But in such a world, we have all the more reason to maintain proper on and off switches. This is why distinctions are so important.
Try erecting gates in your mind. For example, the grounds of your home constitute the first gate. When you leave home and cross this first gate, thoughts of work start to form in your head. The door of your car or the train is the second gate; once you cross it, you begin planning out your workday. And finally, when you arrive at your office and cross the third gate, you are ready to focus on your work.
When the workday is over and you arrive back at the first gate, it’s important to leave work behind. What’s left is time to relax. To enjoy your home life. This is surely the best way to relieve stress.
We live in a time of constant information, available anytime and anywhere. But in such a world, we have all the more reason to maintain proper on and off switches. This is why distinctions are so important.
Try erecting gates in your mind. For example, the grounds of your home constitute the first gate. When you leave home and cross this first gate, thoughts of work start to form in your head. The door of your car or the train is the second gate; once you cross it, you begin planning out your workday. And finally, when you arrive at your office and cross the third gate, you are ready to focus on your work.
When the workday is over and you arrive back at the first gate, it’s important to leave work behind. What’s left is time to relax. To enjoy your home life. This is surely the best way to relieve stress.
Don’t Let Things Go to Waste
If I were to describe a Zen mind in just a few words, I would say it is about making good use of everything.
The essence of Zen is in the beauty of simple things. There is beauty to be found in things that are stripped of everything that is unnecessary and that are without ornamentation. In a building, for example, beauty might be found in the structure or the raw materials. Needless ornamentation would destroy its essential beauty. This is how we see things.
Appreciate the basic materials or ingredients, no matter what they are. It is a simple way to hone both your mind and your lifestyle.
If I were to describe a Zen mind in just a few words, I would say it is about making good use of everything.
The essence of Zen is in the beauty of simple things. There is beauty to be found in things that are stripped of everything that is unnecessary and that are without ornamentation. In a building, for example, beauty might be found in the structure or the raw materials. Needless ornamentation would destroy its essential beauty. This is how we see things.
Appreciate the basic materials or ingredients, no matter what they are. It is a simple way to hone both your mind and your lifestyle.
Cover art by Harriet Lee-Merrion
Excerpted from “The Art of Simple Living” by Shunmyo Masuno, translated by Allison Markin Powell, illustrated by Harriet Lee-Merrion and published in April 2019 by Penguin Books.
More on Houzz
Discover more ways to feel good at home
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Excerpted from “The Art of Simple Living” by Shunmyo Masuno, translated by Allison Markin Powell, illustrated by Harriet Lee-Merrion and published in April 2019 by Penguin Books.
More on Houzz
Discover more ways to feel good at home
Find a home design or remodeling professional
Shop for storage and organizing products
In the following excerpt from the book, Masuno describes five ways you can practice simple living in your home and daily life. In the book, the practices are accompanied by simple line drawings by Harriet Lee-Merrion. Here, they are paired with photos on Houzz, which are not included in the book.