It was my first discussion of any length with Xhing Ru. We had previously greeted one another with 'O mi to fo' and hello many times. A cheery and wise woman, trained in Pureland Zen.
At the end she related a marvelous parable. (speaking in her charming Taiwanese Mandarine dialect)
"I come here and go into a room. Ah, the room is nice, big, lots and lots of space! I like it! I stay here. Then everyday I go and bring one thing. In one month I have 30 things in the room.
Now the room is small! I want a new room.
I take a shower. Then I need a towel. So I get a towel. Then I want something to keep the towel in. In one year I have 365 things!
This is the creation of desire." she said. "We only need few things."
The more we have, the more desire grows for more, and more is required to maintain those things which came previously. In a minimalist phase of life, I have unloaded a lot of things that take time and energy to maintain. My focal priorities have shifted away from what I once thought I 'needed'. Now I value life experiences and people.
How much do we really need?
Xhing Ru's teachings are profoundly wise in their simplicity. Looking for complex teaching, one may miss the lesson altogether.
Master Xhing Ru is the spiritual leader of Yitung Temple in Kelowna BC at 1370 Lawrence Ave. For more information on Yitung Temple click here
Kelowna Yitung Buddhist Temple
Deborah Pearce has been established in Interiors, Art, Sales and Business for over 20 years in Kelowna. Deborah's blog frequently features community, environmental, and human interests. Also find over 140 ARTICLES on Staging, Art and Interior Design, as well as leads to supply throughout the site at http://living-spaces-design.com
Photo courtesy of Catherine Kennedy
Carole - We are very blessed to have Master Ru as the spiritual leader at the Yitung temple. This kind of opportunity doesn't occur very often or in many places, so always expedient to make the best of such good fortune.
Clearing out is wonderful for creating space - it can sometimes be a challenge to not fill our living spaces! Great for you for maintaining space! ;)
Hello Debbie! Xhing Ru is indeed a wise woman. It is as you say sad because truly life lives within us and not in the things we collect needlessly - or is that needfully, in the sense you relate to ? hmm.
Hi Deborah, This is very timely. I am in the process of updating my home. When we first moved in it was empty. We slowly accumulated and accumulated. Well it's filled now and guess what? It was nicer empty. More space, and life just seemed more simple. I have come to the conclusion that there is a direct correlation between too many things in one's procession and surroundings, and too many things on one's mind. Thanks as usual for another great post.
Kathleen - You couldn't be more correct about the clutter of home reflecting clutter of mind. What an awesome conclusion! I realized this some time ago myself - it was my basement, the clutter of which was always unsettling to my inner peace - I realized my basement was a mirror of where I shoved things I didn't want to deal with.
Great Comment - Thank You!
Hi Jan - it sounds like you have it on straight! Less is truly more, but often takes careful planning to pull off - often times, more things are used trying to compensate for other missing elements to pull together a look.
Thanks for your remarkably open comments!