Ryokan was a Zen master, hermit, calligrapher, and poet. He was known for his great kindness – he would pick lice out of his robe, place them outside so that they could get some sun and then later put them back into his robe. He smiled continuously, and people said that when he visited they felt “as if spring had come on a dark winter’s day.” He took the name “Great Fool” for himself. When a thief stole his few simple possessions, he wrote this famous haiku:
The thief left it behind:
the moon
at my window.
Notes:
- Ryōkan Taigu (良寛大愚?) (1758–1831) Biography
- Quote Source: Roderick MacIver, A Pause for Beauty
- Moon gif: Pleiadian-starseed
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