TEA-CUP ANALOGY
& a special poem for you
Teacup analogy
A renowned scholar Tokusan- was full of knowledge and opinions about the dharma. He had spent his entire life contemplating the questions about life. One day, in search of answers he came to Ryutan and asked about Zen.
At one point Ryutan re-filled his guest's teacup but did not stop pouring when the cup was full. Tea spilled out and ran over the table.
"Stop! The cup is full!" said Tokusan.
"Exactly," said Master Ryutan.
"You are like this cup; you are full of ideas. You come and ask for teaching, but your cup is full; I can't put anything in. Before I can teach you, you'll have to empty your cup."
This is harder than you might realize at the moment. By the time we reach adulthood we are so full of information that we don't even notice it's there. We might consider ourselves to be open-minded, but in fact, everything we learn is filtered through many assumptions and then classified to fit into the knowledge we already possess.
Most of the time, true wisdom escapes up because we think that we know about it. So our minds filter it out and it never touches the heart.
Ask yourself daily, “Is your cup empty?”
We have grown into beings of imagination and superfluous; totally forgotten about how to go deeper within. The true experiences come from within; when your mind, body and soul dances as one.
In the busyness of everyday life, we forget to experience our consciousness and when we do, we attach it to the “I”. Once attached, every moment loses its purity because it’s attached with an interpretation of I. Let go of “I” “me” “myself”.
Try removing them from your vocabulary & experience life, as it is.
Time for a poem:
Promise yourself
To be strong that nothing can disturb your peace of mind.
To talk about health, happiness and prosperity to every person you meet.
To make all your friends feel that there is something special in them.
To look at the sunny side of everything and make your optimism come true.
To think only the best, to work only for the best, and to expect only the best.
To be just as enthusiastic about the success of others as you are about your own.
To forget the mistakes of the past and press on to the greater achievements of the future.
To wear a cheerful countenance at all times and give every living creature you meet a smile.
To give so much time to the improvement of yourself that you have no time to criticize others.
To be too large for worry, too noble for anger, too strong for fear, and too happy to permit the presence of trouble.
To think well of yourself and to proclaim this fact to the world, not in loud words but great deeds.
To live in faith that the whole world is on your side so as long as you are true to the best that is in you.
-Christian D. Larson
P.S. Read the above poem with your heart. Do it multiple times. As many times as it takes, breathe in the pleasure and reinforce these ideas within you. Honor the words.
“We must unlearn to see the constellations to see the stars”Did you miss these?
Success or failure, always comes down to this one thing.
Keeanu Reeves and his take on life via "quotes"