Mindful Moongazing

Photo by Alex Andrews on Pexels.com

There is a story of a thief and a zen master. The thief breaks into the master’s home to rob him, only to discover that the master owns nothing. Seeing the thief has worked hard for nothing, the zen master gives the thief the clothes off his back. After the perplexed thief departs, the naked zen master gazes out of his window.

“I wish I could have given him this moon, too,” he says.

I see the backyard radiated in the glow of a harvest moon. Or I see the bank of clouds brighten behind its hidden, reflected light. How often have I experienced both.

Would that I savored either with the equanimity of a naked zen master, gazing at the full moon.

a distant howl

answered by another

Hunter’s moon

I’m hosting over at dVerse today, where we celebrate the moon. The pub is open! Come join us!

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30 responses to “Mindful Moongazing”

  1. Bjรถrn Rudberg (brudberg) Avatar

    I love how you jumped from the harvest moon to the hunter’s moon in the haiku… it’s a month time to ponder the zen-master

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Frank J. Tassone Avatar

      Thank you, Bjorn! ๐Ÿ™‚

      Like

  2. Shawna Avatar
    Shawna

    There is so much wisdom in this.

    Love:
    โ€œWould that I savored either with the equanimity of a naked zen master, gazing at the full moon.โ€

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Frank J. Tassone Avatar

      Thank you, Shawna! ๐Ÿ™‚

      Like

  3. kim881 Avatar

    Mindful moongazing is something I hope to do once the cloud has broken, Frank. We had a humdinger of a storm that started on Friday afternoon and continued until this morning. Trees, branches, dustbins and other things blocked roads, and we lost power and the Internet. I enjoyed your story of the thief and the zen master. I love the use of sound in your haiku.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Frank J. Tassone Avatar

      Thank you, Kim! ๐Ÿ™‚

      Liked by 1 person

  4. sanaarizvi Avatar
    sanaarizvi

    This is beautifully profound! “Would that I savored either with the equanimity of a naked zen master, gazing at the full moon,” …. I feel this deeply ๐Ÿ™‚ and wholeheartedly agree!

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Frank J. Tassone Avatar

      Thank you, Sanaa! I appreciate it! ๐Ÿ™‚

      Like

  5. rivrvlogr Avatar

    That full moon is indeed a gift.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Frank J. Tassone Avatar

      Yes, it is. Thank you, Ken! ๐Ÿ™‚

      Liked by 1 person

  6. msjadeli Avatar

    Very zenny, Frank. I pictured every bit of it as I read. It brought happiness to read it โค

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Frank J. Tassone Avatar

      Thanks, Jade! ๐Ÿ™‚

      Liked by 1 person

  7. Glenn A. Buttkus Avatar
    Glenn A. Buttkus

    Perfection, Frank; great balance, color, and moral. I like all things Zen. My haiku was about howling too. Add to that some in-depth word-smithing, which rates another hurrah.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Frank J. Tassone Avatar

      Thanks, Glenn! Here’s to the zen we keep in haiku! ๐Ÿ™‚

      Like

  8. wolfsrosebud Avatar

    Only if more people had that attitude!

    Like

  9. Arcadia Maria Avatar

    Well written haiban.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Frank J. Tassone Avatar

      Thank you! ๐Ÿ™‚

      Like

  10. memadtwo Avatar

    The moon belongs to us all. (K)

    Liked by 1 person

  11. lynn__ Avatar

    Thanks for the excellent prompt, Frank ๐Ÿ™‚

    Liked by 1 person

  12. rothpoetry Avatar

    I enjoyed the story in your haibun. Very good!

    Liked by 2 people

  13. Suzanne Avatar

    Your haibun takes me out of thinking about these intense times and leads me to a more soulful appreciation of life’s deeper purpose. Thank you.

    Liked by 2 people

  14. robtkistner Avatar

    A wonderful story Frank, such an expression of caring. Fabulous haiku!

    Liked by 2 people

  15. Jane Dougherty Avatar

    I wonder what the zen master imagined the thief would do with the moon?
    Lovely haiku, from one moon to another.

    Liked by 2 people

  16. hank77 Avatar

    kaykuala

    The ultimate sacrifice one often extends to others may not be expected or anticipated by those receiving them. Human nature is most fortunate to be shown in its caring ways. Classic tale Frank

    Hank

    Liked by 1 person

  17. Mary (tqhousecat) Avatar

    Can we savor each without losing our direction? Great words for pondering!

    Liked by 2 people

  18. Helen Dehner Avatar

    A lovely haibun … we are blessed with both full moons in October. Halloween may be an indoor celebration this year! But the full moon will make it spectacular.

    Liked by 2 people

    1. Frank J. Tassone Avatar

      Indeed! Thank you! ๐Ÿ™‚

      Like

  19. Dora Avatar

    Oh that we all had the equilibrium of a zen master, we wouldn’t find ourselves so disconcerted by unexpected circumstances! Love this meditative haibun, Frank, and thanks for the wonderful prompt ๐Ÿ™‚

    Liked by 2 people

  20. merrildsmith Avatar

    We should all take the time to gaze at the moon.
    Lovely haiku–one full moon to the next.

    Liked by 1 person

  21. purplepeninportland Avatar

    Oh, to be that unselfish as the zen master. Beautiful writing, Frank.

    Liked by 2 people

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Frank J. Tassone-American Haijin by Frank J. Tassone is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 4.0