A god once asked the Buddha, ‘Don’t you have a little hut…a little nest?’ (kacchi te kuttika natthi…natthi kularaka, S.I,8). The Buddha replied that he did not. I on the other hand, do have a little nest, the emphasis being on the ‘little.’ I live in a three story building located on Balestier Rd, one of Singapore’s main roads. The ground floor is a rather busy food centre. The second story is the shrine room, library, kitchen, toilets, computer/guest rooms and store room of our society, the Buddha Dhamma Mandala Society. This is the society I and a group of friends founded in 1987 and where I live, work, teach and do my writing.
The first picture is of me in my room at my blog, the second is of my bed and the third is my meditation corner on the other side of my room.
The first picture is of me in my room at my blog, the second is of my bed and the third is my meditation corner on the other side of my room.
The next picture shows me watering my roof garden, about as close to nature the average Singaporean can get. Picture number five is of Viraj in the kitchen downstairs being useful as usual. The last picture is of our shrine room during our usual Sunday morning puja.
Tomorrow I will be leaving for Sri Lanka and be there until the 30th. However, I will try to do a posting every day. From the 1st of next month I will be exploring everything the Buddha says about health and physical well-being.
4 comments:
Bhante,
Thanks for showing us where you are.
Have a safe journey.
Bhante, thanks for the invitation to visit your home. You live in a lovely and simple place! Be safe on your travels.
Simple, but beautiful place; everything for a monk, the resting place, meditation cushion area, a library and work station for the blog, and a temple downstairs. I hope to visit some day.
I have enjoyed the direct benefits of living in a small space. I live in a studio apartment, with no bedroom, only an inflatable bed, no chairs or tables, only two meditation cushions and boxes to set my computer and monitor on. The only piece of furniture I have is a small end table serving as an alter. With this setup, I have little to clean, but when something does needs cleaning, it is obvious. I can completely clean my space in an hour. This keeps me from spending my time "puttering" and encourages me to spend my time on meditation.
I can use this living space as a model for my mind: little distraction, and not an inviting space for clutter.
When I first moved into this space, I was disappointed, and longed for the day when I could afford something bigger. But now, I think I was fortunate.
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