I am late today because I had to empty the cup before I wrote this post. There’s this charming Zen story about Nan-in, the Zen master. People visited him from far and near to receive his wisdom. One day, a rather pompous professor came to him to learn about Zen. He bombarded the Zen master with questions. After a few minutes, the master suggested that they continue the conversation over a cup of tea. He laid out the cups and began pouring into the professor’s cup from the teapot. He continued to pour even as the tea rose to the rim of the cup and spilled over. The professor watched this and unable to contain himself, burst out saying, “The cup is overfull. Can’t you see? You can’t add to a cup that is already full.” The Zen master responded, “You are right. Like this cup, you are full of your own thoughts and speculations. How can I show you Zen unless you empty your cup?” ♥ However, you interpret this story, the deeper meaning is—we all need space before we can add to anything, especially to our mind, our schedules, our closets, or our bags…depending on the context. In […]
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