Ryokan who was a Zen monk lived a very simple life in a small hut at the base of a large mountain. One night a thief came to the hut where he found out there was nothing to steal.
Ryokan was awakened and ran after the thief. "You must have travelled far to visit me," he said to the thief, "and you shouldn’t leave without having something. Please have my clothes – this is my gift to you.”
The thief was mightily confused. He took the clothes and vanished quickly into the night.
Ryoken sat in the nude, looking at the moon. "Poor friend," he opined, "I do wish I could have given him this beautiful moon."
The Buddha's Face
