Zen

 A zen buddhist monk lives in a hut which is simple in aspirations, yet sturdy, durable, and proof against the strongest monsoon.

 The monk has no need of money, trading culinary herbs and his services as a healer for things he cannot make or grow himself.

 He must draw water from a spring some distance from his hut, yet the bucket he uses for this may be a finer and more carefully-crafted bucket than any to be found in the Emperor's employ.  It is because the bucket was made with thought and care for the sake of having a very good bucket, and not for purposes of making money.

 His axe too, seems exceptionally well-made.  The head was a gift from a smith whose daughter's broken leg the monk once set and healed, and a finer axe-head might not be found in many counties.  

 There are as many stories in and around the monk's simple home as there are implements, tools, or  utensils.  Every single thing has a purpose, and to each purpose each thing is uniquely well-suited.

 For these reasons, every daily task which the monk must perform is made light work, and an occasional visitor might wonder at how much one man may accomplish when one pays close attention to the essential nature of the work.

 For these reasons, the monk's name is known to as many people or more than the governer of the precinct in which he lives, and even people who do not know the monk's name will know his face, and he is greeted with hospitality and respect where ever he goes.

 At first glance, there appears to be no ornamentation nor the slightest luxury anywhere in the monk's simple life, yet the eyes of a poet will see beauty within any part of the monk's domain.

 So too are the motions and activities of the monk as pleasing to observe as his few belongings: simple, direct, purposeful, and efficient.  He moves in harmony with the design and limitations of his body, rather than in conflict with them.  One might watch him hoe his garden for an afternoon and afterward, one might swear the monk had been dancing to some music only he can hear.  But it is the music of pure motion, it is only the rhythm of sinew and bone.

 In all these ways, the monk was wealthier than the Emperor, yet neither Emperor nor monk knew it not.

 This is the nature of Zen.