cleanliness & hygeine in monasteries

[Babadhari]

greetings,

do standards of cleanliness vary from monastary to monastary?

by cleanliness i mean how often the grounds and kuti's are swept and the personal hygeine of monks and lay residents.
i know in many monasteries there is time dedicated to cleaning specifically to cleaning the kuti's and grounds.
are there authoritive instructions in the suttas or is it at the discretion of the individual of the person or head monk.?
in some settings feet must get dusty and certain climates cause more perspiration than others.

[JacquelineR]

Hi,

There are two main sources of rules relating to cleanliness in monasteries:

1) the Vinaya, especially the Khandakas. http://archive.org/stream/BuddhistMonas ... 2_djvu.txt

2) house-rules, designed to deal with specific problems of individual monasteries or traditions. These rules may come from a variety of sources including from senior monks or nuns, individual monastery custom, local culture or even council by-laws etc.

Many monasteries will have a guidebook (kor wat) which contains rules and guidelines drawn from both canonical and extra-canonical sources. E.g. the kor wat of Wat Pah Nanachat http://vimutti.org.nz/wp-content/upload ... Manual.pdf

Even during the buddha's own lifetime, questions of how to adapt rules about bathing to different climates were considered: for instance, the rule that monks may only bathe twice a month (Pc 57) was relaxed for those outside the Ganges Valley. (Mv.V.13) It is a dukkata offence for a monk to entire a dwelling without cleaning his feet.

While monasteries may have different house-rules or interpretations of the vinaya, any good monastery will emphasise the long-term upkeep of property and facilities & cleanliness as mental discipline.

I hope that helps!

[appicchato]

From personal experience, in Asia (at least where I'm ensconced), depending on the locale of the temple, the degree of support, the amount of interaction with the lay people associated with said temple, the abbot, the monks, the nuns, the temple boys and girls, all factor into the fact that some (temples) are literally five star resorts in every respect, while others are veritable hovels, the total gamut...as a Caucasian living in an Asian temple (with the rare exception), anything beyond sweeping, mopping, or cleaning the head, is completely out of the question, and any suggestion for improvement is simply, and explicitly, ignored, or can be an invitation to find somewhere else to reside...to reiterate, personal experience, and not meant to denigrate, or besmirch, anyone, or anywhere...

[Babadhari]

thank you both for your replies