One of my favorite stories concerns a Buddhist scholar and a Zen Master. The scholar had an extensive background in Buddhist Studies and was an expert on the Nirvana Sutra. He came to study with the master and after making the customary bows, asked her to teach him Zen. Then, he began to talk about his extensive doctrinal background and rambled on and on about the many sutras he had studied.
The master listened patiently and then began to make tea. When it was ready, she poured the tea into the scholar’s cup until it began to overflow and run all over the floor. The scholar saw what was happening and shouted, “Stop, stop! The cup is full; you can’t get anymore in.”
The master stopped pouring and said: “You are like this cup; you are full of ideas about Buddha’s Way. 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.”1
This is where I am right now. Patience is not one of my strong suits at all. But I’m learning that you can’t over-fertilize and over-water your garden or you’ll kill the seedlings that are just trying their damndest to poke their heads out of the soil. I sang “The Garden Song” with my kids and my good friends Michael and Denise yesterday at church (along with having played an African guy catching frogs in a puppet show, doing my best Nelson Mandela accent). The song was a great meditation on patience. “Inch by inch, row by row, gonna make this garden grow.”
Also, please go check out The Aftermath of Unicorns and Rainbows. Sam left a comment here a bit ago and I went to check out who she is. She’s a high schooler who lost half her family in the 9/11 attacks. She’s living with her aunt and her siblings in a pretty tough situation. I ended up reading her entire blog. I’m at the point where I’m reluctant to add anyone else to my blogroll since I’m not keeping up on the ones already there very well, but this was a slam dunk to add. Her writing is frank, heartfelt, vulnerable, and full of the hope of a teenager. It’s stunning, really.
This week I’m going to try and be mindful of keeping my cup empty.
1I’d heard this story some time back, but would like to thank The Nebraska Zen Center for publishing it so I could find it and excerpt it here.
bine
| 23-Apr-07 at 8:14 am | Permalink
hey jase, i already read all of sam’s blog after reading her comment here some time ago.
it’s heartbreaking and amazing. she seems to be a tough girl. and it’s incredibly sad how fast she had to grow up.
very thoughtful of you to point to her blog again.
i like the zen story. i think most of us have to remind ourselves to empty our cup before filling it again. speaking of cups - when i was in college and taking a calligraphy class i copied down a buddhist poem without catching the source, but here it is:
better stop short than fill to the brim.
oversharpen the blade, and the edge will soon blunt.
retire when the work is done.
this is the way of heaven.
kassie
| 24-Apr-07 at 4:58 am | Permalink
I just wanted to stop by and say hello. I hope you are having a great day.
kassie
| 24-Apr-07 at 4:58 am | Permalink
I just wanted to stop by and say hello. I hope you are having a great day.
Missy
| 24-Apr-07 at 9:55 am | Permalink
I liked the story. Very nice–thanks for sharing it.
I know what you mean about having difficulty keeping up with other blogs! hahaha–still, it’s nice to be turned on to another perspective. Thanks for pointing out Sam’s blog.
Mardé
| 24-Apr-07 at 8:02 pm | Permalink
Yes, thanks for pointing out Sam’s blog, and the Zen master’s story was very important.
Speaking of blogs, yes, there are too many of them, and not only that they all want to link together and then, it seems, link the links together, not to mention the search engines. Who has time?!? linkety linkety link get those ratings up! But perhaps the cup runeth over.
On the other hand
| 25-Apr-07 at 12:15 pm | Permalink
[...] the other hand, maybe the Zen Master just wasn’t paying attention, spilled the tea, and made up some psychobabble to [...]