Found this little piece a while back on the Buddhist blog Ditch the Raft:
A pilgrim was walking along a road when one day he passed what seemed to be a monk sitting in a field. Nearby men were working on a stone building.
"You look like a monk," the pilgrim said.
"I am that," said the monk.
"Who is that working on the abbey?"
"My monks," said the man. "I'm the abbot."
"It's good to see a monastery going up," said the pilgrim.
"They're tearing it down," said the abbot.
"Whatever for?" asked the pilgrim.
"So we can see the sun rise at dawn," said the abbot.
- from Thomas Moore, Meditation
That couldn't help but remind me of this classic haiku:
Barn's burnt down--
now
I can see the moon.
- Masahide (1657? - 1723)
[translation by Lucien Stryk]
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