The Art of Simple Living

1
MAKE TIME FOR EMPTINESS.
First, observe yourself.

Be with yourself as you are,
but without haste, without impatience.

In our everyday lives, do any of us have time to think about nothing?

I imagine most people would say, I don t have a moment to spare for that.

We re pressed for time, pressured by work and everything else in our lives. Modern life is busier than ever. All day, every day, we try our best just to do what has to get done.

If we immerse ourselves in this kind of routine, unconsciously but inevitably we lose sight of our true selves, and of true happiness.

Any given day, a mere ten minutes is all you need. Try making time for emptiness, for not thinking about anything.

Just try clearing your mind, and not being caught up in the things around you.Various thoughts will float up in your mind, but try to send them away, one by one. When you do so, you will begin to notice the present moment, the subtle shifts in nature that are keeping you alive. When you are not distracted by other things, your pure and honest self can be revealed.

Making time for not thinking about anything. That is the first step toward creating a simple life.

Shunmyo Masuno, the head priest of a 450-year-old Zen Buddhist temple in Japan, is the author of the international bestseller Don’t Worry as well as an award-winning Zen garden designer for clients all over the world and a professor of environmental design at one of Japan’s leading art schools. He has lectured widely, including at the Harvard Graduate School of Design, Cornell University, and Brown University.

Allison Markin Powell (translator) won the PEN Translation Prize for her translation of Hiromi Kawakami’s The Ten Loves of Nishino and is also the translator of Kawakami’s Strange Weather in Tokyo and The Nakano Thrift Shop as well as Shunmyo Masuno’s Don’t Worry and works by Osamu Dazai, Fuminori Nakamura, and Kanako Nishi, among others. She was the guest editor of the first Japan issue of Words Without Borders and maintains the online database Japanese Literature in English. She lives in New York.

Harriet Lee-Merrion (illustrator) is an award-winning illustrator whose work has been published worldwide in such publications as The New York Times, Marie Claire, and The Guardian and exhibited in New York, London, and Berlin.

Even just the title of this book appeals. There are many reasons that a Zen monk might acquire a lifetime of wisdom the least of which is my personal edification but I m grateful for it all the same. Estelle Tang, Elle.com

100 snack-size Zen activities you can do daily to add more calm to your life . . . The Art of Simple Living brings the spirit of Zen Buddhism to everyday life. The Daily Telegraph

Powerful . . . A profoundly beautiful work, easy to read, encouraging deep thought and reflection, but most importantly, acting as a practical guide to Zen action. The Japan Times

This in­ternational bestseller has helped people around the world quiet the chaos of everyday life, stress less and appreciate more. . . . Masuno s tips are easy to execute. . . . Through this inspiring guide, Masuno shows that every step you take on the path of personal growth, no matter how small, can have a major impact. BookPage

A bestseller in Japan, this will certainly resonate with fans of Zen practice, or those simply looking to declutter a busy mind. Publishers Weekly

100 deceptively simple daily practices . . . to help you find, and embrace, the stillness at the center of your existence. Energy Times

Pithy tips on how to increase our feelings of well-being. Lion s Roar: Buddhist Wisdom for Our Time

Living a simpler life is a practice. It s ordinary and it s everyday. Shunmyo Masuno s simple and relevant practices land gently and with the most comforting ordinariness, like a warm breath of familiarity to us, the frazzled masses. Sarah Wilson, New York Times bestselling author of First, We Make the Beast Beautiful

Our mind is blazing in the new dopamine war between alarmist news and attention-hooking apps. The Art of Simple Living is a bucket of water on the flames.