The Story of Maneki-Neko, the Lucky Cat

“Emptiness is form, and form is emptiness,” said the monk as he split his meager meal with his cat. “Little Tama, even after eating this, emptiness is our stomachs, and our stomachs are emptiness. Ha! I don’t know how you stay so fat!”

The cat yowled lovingly at the kind monk who had taken her in.

When the two had finished their meal, the monk stoked the hearth, and they both sat in zazen. Outside, the rain was heavy, and the old temple creaked in the wind.

Tama sensed something out there in the storm. She quietly left her place beside the monk to investigate.

Venturing into the downpour, she peered through the rain. Beyond the gate, at the edge of the pines, a figure stood beneath a tree—tall, still, wrapped in armor and silence. A samurai.

Tama watched him for a moment before deciding to invite him in. She raised one paw and beckoned.

The samurai noticed and said,

“What is it, cat? This storm is nothing to a samurai. I’ve stood through the winds of battle—I’ve stood beneath a rain of arrows. I need no refuge from your little temple.”

Tama raised her paw again—beckoning.

The samurai shifted. His voice softened.

“That is a place of peace. And I… I carry the karma of a warrior. The blood on these hands is more than this rain could ever wash away. It’s better that I remain outside.”

Tama lifted her paw and gestured a third time.

The samurai smiled.

“Three times? You are as insistent as my grandmother—she would call me in from the rain and make me promise to attend temple. All right, then.”

No sooner had the samurai stepped from beneath the tree to follow the cat than the sky cracked open. Lightning struck, destroying the pine where he had stood.

Safely inside, Tama led the soaking wet samurai to a place by the fire.

When the monk finished meditating, he found the warrior and the cat warming together by the hearth.

“She likes you,” said the monk with a smile.

“This lucky cat has saved my life,” the samurai said, bowing deeply. “I vow to become a benefactor of this temple.”

And true to his word, the temple flourished in his care.