The Moon Cannot Be Stolen

     Ryokan, a Zen master, lived the simplest kind of life in a little hut at the foot of a mountain. One evening a thief visited the hut only to discover there was nothing in it to steal.
     Ryokan returned and caught him. "Your may have come a long way to visit me," he told the prowler,"and you should not return empty-handed. Please take my clothes as a gift." The thief was bewildered. He 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."