The Thief

Ryokan (1758-1831) a Japanese Soto Zen Master, returned home one evening to find that a thief had broken into his little hut, and all his possessions were stolen.  He sat down and gazed out the window. In reflecting on what had been taken, and what had not, he composed this haiku:

The thief left it behind:
the moon
at my window.

When it feels as if our circumstances, or life, has taken everything important from us, be it our possessions, significant relationships, what we have attained, or our health, we can nevertheless look out our window at night and see the moon. If we choose it what can’t be taken is our gratitude and appreciation for this gift of life,

Ryokan has lost all his possessions, yet like the moon, who he truly is, Buddha-nature, cannot be stolen.  When it feels as if life itself is the thief and has quietly stolen from us, what always remains is our Buddha-nature, our True nature.

Some nights the moon is clear and bright, others it's covered by clouds. Even though we may not yet see it ourselves, have faith that it is there.