Moon in the Water – A Zen Story

There was a Zen nun who studied under a competent Zen master, but she was unable to attain the fruits of her meditation for a long time.

At last, one moonlit night, she was carrying water in an old pail bound with bamboo. The bamboo broke and the bottom fell out of the pail, and at that moment she was set free!

In commemoration, she wrote a poem:

In this way and that I tried to save the old pail.
Since, the bamboo strip was weakening and about to break.
Until at last the bottom fell out.
No more water in the pail!
No more moon in the water!


Like many of you, I learned that through pushing through at all costs, I can achieve my goal – that to succeed, I should "hold on" and "not let go". However, there are times when the opposite is true. The mystical act of "letting go" can be the doorway to new understanding and awakening, and over time, I have developed great respect for this act.

- Aaron Gaul