Gareth Young's Bohemian Lifestyle

Instructions for Taking out the Trash

Taking out the trash is one of the tasks assigned for to individuals within our community to permit the harmonious functioning of the community and to give all members an opportunity to work both for the benefit of the community and themselves. It is a task that can easily raise the senses of attachment or revilement, and as such it is particularly good practice. For taking out the trash in support of the sangha is no different than lighting incense, cooking a meal, or placing flowers in a vase. Dogen instructs us, “In the same way that a parent cares for an only child, keep the Three Treasures in your mind. A parent, irrespective of poverty or difficult circumstances loves and raises a child, ” and “in this same manner, when you handle water, rice, or anything else, you must have the affectionate and caring concern of a parent raising a child,” which is advice that equally applies to handling the trash. But we should also heed Dogen’s caution that “it is vital that we clarify and harmonize our lives with our work, and not lose sight of either the absolute or the practical.”

So it is with the discarded food, waste paper and dust and dirt that are in the trash bags you are responsible for taking out. So it is with the trash bags themselves. Please do not treat them with disdain; rather see them as they are and treat them with the highest respect.

Later Yoka Genkaku said, "Was the speech of these three old Zen masters intimate or not? If Rakan spoke like this, to where had he fallen?"

There are two main trash cans, which are located by the rear door of the building, and in the kitchen. That by the back door is best used with large black bags, whereas that in the kitchen takes tall white kitchen can bags. There are also smaller wastebaskets located throughout the building, including the bathroom, which take smaller bags. Replacement bags for both of the trash cans and the wastebaskets are stored in the porch.

At least once per week you should perform the task of emptying the trash cans and wastebaskets. You should do this one at a time, starting with the wastebaskets, and ensuring particularly among these that you empty the one in the bathroom. You should make a small bow as you approach each wastebasket in turn to empty it. Please carefully inspect the area around the wastebasket for stray bits of trash, and general cleanliness, but do not throw away anything unless you are sure it is trash; rather put it up in a conspicuous place such that anyone who misplaced it has an opportunity to find and retrieve it. If the area is dirty, please use a damp cloth from under the sink, or the dustpan and brush from the porch as appropriate to clean it, cleaning and replacing when finished.

Empty each wastebasket into one of the main trash cans; check the wastebasket for cleanliness and if needed, clean it using soap and water.  Do not toss the bag out with the trash unless it is grungy. Once you have completed the emptying and cleaning for each wastebasket you should replace it, make a small bow, and move on.

Next you should empty the kitchen trash can. Make a small bow as you approach it, and remove the trash bag. In normal circumstances the exterior of the bag will be clean, and you can place it on the kitchen floor while you complete the task up to throwing it out. From time to time, however, you will find that the bag has leaked, or the trash can has no bag and is grungy inside, or it has become otherwise grungy inside. If this is the case, do not leave the dirty bag on the floor, rather take the trash can and bag together outside, and put the trash bag from the kitchen trash can in the large trash can, first making a small bow as you approach the large trash can, and another as you return to finishing up the kitchen trash can.

You should then clean the kitchen trash can with water, using the hose at the side of the building and soap if necessary, and wiping it out with a rag from under the sink, which you should thoroughly wash, wring dry, and replace on completing the cleaning. You should treat this act as any other aspect of this task, in complete mindfulness with equanimity and reverence. When Ummon was asked “What is Buddha?” He exploded, “Kanshiketsu!” This “shiketsu” was a stick used in ancient times instead of toilet paper; “kan” simply means dry. Thus kanshiketsu is both private and polluted, but in Buddhism there is no public or private, no pure or polluted. Kanshiketsu is both Buddha itself, and it can be used to remove the stench of Buddha. It is a word that can be chanted or recited in language samadhi, and as such can help you perform this act in samadhi. Thus should you approach cleaning grunge out of the trash can, and all acts of emptying the trash.

A clean trash bag needs to be placed into the kitchen trash can, which should then be returned to its natural place. You should, regardless of whether the trash can is grungy or not, wipe it clean inside and out with a damp rag from under the sink, thoroughly washing, wringing dry, and replacing the rag when completed. Making a small bow, move on and complete the task with the large trash can. You should complete this in the same manner as the small can, replacing the bag, and cleaning out as necessary, and finishing with a small bow before moving on.

Bagged trash should be put in the dumpster adjacent to 1167B Zonolite Place, which is the large green dumpster clearly visible in the front of the building next door when viewed from the front step of the center. The grass between the buildings stays damp, so please wear sturdy shoes and use caution as you carry the bags over. Make a small bow at the dumpster, lift the lid and heave the bags in, and finish by closing the lid, making a small bow, and departing. You should know that the dumpster is emptied on Wednesday, though trash may be put in it at any time.

Joshu also said, “This old monk uses a blade of grass as a sixty-foot golden statue. I also use a sixty foot golden statue as a blade of grass. Buddha is affliction. Affliction is Buddha.” When a monk asked, “How can affliction be avoided, he said, “Why avoid it?”

We should understand this clearly when performing this task. There is no affliction to avoid, so we must both clean ourselves of affliction and at the same time not avoid it.