1. In a journal entry dated 20 March 1964 (i.e. in the middle of the Vietnam War), Thich Nhat Hanh wrote: “In the current political climate, no independent newspaper lasts long, regardless of how many readers it has. From time to time, Ly [an activist who ran an independent newspaper] asks if I need money. I tell him that even without money, I am not poor. I paraphrase a haiku by Basho and tell him that even though the electricity has been shut off, the moon still shines in my window.” - Fragrant Palm Leaves: Journals 1962-1996, tr. Warren, Mobi
  2. Focusing on that final line, there is beauty in reading it literally: if we keep our needs minimal and attachments few, we can meet challenging times - including a war of incomprehensible devastation - with strength and resilience.
  3. There is also a deeper reading. The moon is used in many Buddhist writers as one metaphor for enlightenment. The 13th century master Dōgen writes: “Enlightenment is like the moon reflected on the water. The moon does not get wet, nor is the water broken. […] Enlightenment does not divide you, just as the moon does not break the water. You cannot hinder enlightenment, just as a drop of water does not crush the moon in the sky. […]” - Shōbōgenzō 3, “Actualizing the Fundamental Point”, tr. Kazuaki Tanahashi et al.
  4. It is not until the electricity is shut off that the moon shines through the window. In other words, it is being in the presence of those who suffer, and working to serve them, that does the enlightening.
  5. As Thich Nhat Hanh wrote in his journal entry dated 12 July 1965: “It does not make sense for students of the Buddha to isolate themselves inside a temple, or they are not his true students. Buddhas are to be found in places of suffering.” I’m reminded of the passage in the introduction to the translation of the Bodhicaryāvatāra by the Padmakara Translation Group, which describes the monk Shantideva: “He is ready to confront suffering in all its horrifying reality, and having abandoned all thought for his own comfort and security, he does not draw back in fear or revulsion. He gazes into the heart of darkness unflinchingly, with an intense fixity of purpose. He is prepared to accompany the damned into the pit.”