The Japanese Zen Hermit

[Pravin Kumar]

The saintly Japanese Zen hermit Ryokan lived austerely and simply in a little hut below a mountain.
One evening a thief visited the hut only to find nothing there to steal. So he went off into the night. Ryokan caught up with him: “You may have come a long way to visit me, and you should not return empty handed. Please take my clothes as a gift.” The bewildered thief took the clothes and slunk away. Ryokan sat naked, watching the moon. “Poor fellow,” he mused, “I wish I could give him this beautiful moon!”


Source: spiritual forum