良寬禪師除了外出弘法，平常都是居住在山腳下一間簡陋的茅棚，生活過得非常簡單。有天晚上，他從外面講經回來，剛好撞上一個小偷正在光顧他的茅廬。小偷看到禪師，慌張得不知如何是好。
良寬看到小偷雙手空空，和悅地說：「找不到可偷的東西嗎？想你這一趟是白跑了。這樣好了，我身上穿的這件衣服，你就拿去吧！」
小偷抓起禪師脫下來的衣服就跑，良寬禪師在月光下看著小偷的背影，無限感慨地說：「可惜我不能把這美麗的月亮送給他！」
月亮是偷不去的，自家寶藏的佛性也是偷不去的，大自然的財富都是我們的，何必要偷取一些小利呢？

When he was not propagating the Dharma, Zen Master Ryokan lived very modestly in a crude thatched hut at the foot of a mountain. One night, as he returned from teaching the sutras, he surprised a thief in his hut. The thief was scared and confused.
Ryokan kindly said to the empty-handed thief, “Can’t find anything to steal? I think you made this trip in vain. How about this? Take the robe I am wearing.”
The thief snatched the robe and fled. Zen Master Ryokan, standing with his innerwear in the moonlight, watched the retreating figure of the thief and sighed with infinite regret, “It is a pity I cannot give him this beautiful moon!”
The moon cannot be stolen, nor can we be robbed of our most precious treasure – our Buddha nature. Everyone can enjoy the rich bounty of nature without fear of losing it. Why, then, would anyone degrade himself by becoming a thief?

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