Luang Por Liem: The Ways of the Peaceful - Wat Pah Nanachat

But still, the Buddha wanted us to reflect on the use of these
requisites – although we keep them in a state which society
acknowledges as clean, the Buddha points out that they are
actually not clean. In the same way we usually say that after we
have had a bath we are now clean. But in fact, we’re not. Because
the body itself is a dirty thing. Similarly, no matter how much we
wash and dye – things are not clean 28 . The dirt is right in them. It
is like with our robes: In the beginning they are white pieces of
cloth. Then we dye them with some dirt that is conventionally
known as colour, and stain the whole cloth. And our feelings of
what we consider as clean suddenly flip.
Thinking about these things, the Buddha wanted us to reflect
on the internal and external conditions (ajjhatta- and bahiddhadhamma):
both internally and externally, things are all just
disgusting. He wanted us to see both as disgusting. This will
enable us to experience mind states that are relieved from sexual
desires and the cravings and desires that stain our hearts.
So, washing and cleaning counts as one of our duties. Living
in such circumstances, we need to take care of our things. We
need to look after them, use them and wash or dye them, maintain
and clean them, and also clean up the tools in an orderly fashion.
The Buddha wanted us to keep our dwelling and everything in
the monastery in an orderly state. This is the way that somebody
28 the traditional method of washing the robes with the yellow water of boiled
jackfruit-wood chips is more of a re-dyeing than a washing, since the robes are
not rinsed out, as one wants the wash water to remain in the robes because of
its astringent properties.
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