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The point is not to be bored, but to appreciate each and every moment for what it is, not merely as a vehicle to another more important moment. Thirty years ago, when I was still a novice at Tu Hieu Pagoda, washing the dishes was hardly a pleasant task. During the Season of Retreat when all the monks returned to the monastery, two novices had to do all the cooking and wash the dishes for sometimes well over one hundred monks. There was no soap. We had only ashes, rice husks, and coconut husks, and that was all. Cleaning such a high stack of bowls was a chore, especially during the winter when the water was freezing cold. Then you had to heat up a big pot of water before you could do any scrubbing. Nowadays one stands in a kitchen equipped with liquid soap, special scrubpads, and even running hot water which makes it all the more agreeable. It is easier to enjoy washing the dishes now. Anyone can wash them in a hurry, then sit down and enjoy a cup of tea afterwards. I can see a machine for washing clothes, although I wash my own things out by hand, but a dishwashing machine is going just a little too far! While washing the dishes one should only be washing the dishes, which means that while washing the dishes one should be completely aware of the fact that one is washing the dishes. At first glance, that might seem a little silly: Why put so much stress on a simple thing? But that's precisely the point. The fact that I am standing there and washing these bowls is a following my breath, conscious of my presence, and conscious of my thoughts and actions. There's no way I can be tossed around mindlessly like a bottle slapped here and there on the waves. http://www.abuddhistlibrary.com/Buddhism/G%20-%20TNH/TNH/Fro... |
My current flat has a dishwasher, my last flat did not. Time that I once spent doing the dishes, I now spend on my side project, or engaging with friends, or relaxing with a book. Each of these is more enjoyable, and more meaningful, than concentrating on washing the dishes.
I appreciate each and every moment for what it is, but I appreciate moments of pleasure more than moments of boredom. That should not be a strange thing.
Please stop pretending to be wise: http://lesswrong.com/lw/yp/pretending_to_be_wise/