“A great Japanese master received a university professor who came to his home, to enquire about wisdom. The Japanese master served tea. He poured his visitor’s cup full, and then kept on pouring. The professor watched the overflow until he could no longer restrain himself. ‘It is overfull. No more will go in!’
‘Just like this cup,’ the master replied, ‘you are full of your own opinions and speculations. How can I show you wisdom unless you first empty your cup?’
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How many of us need to be reminded to empty our cups first? At times our own knowledge and past experience becomes a hindrance to learning other new things. We think that we know enough and yet we still have the desire to get more wisdom and yet, our cups remain full of the past.
We go for advice with a closed mind or rather with a pre-formed perspective (a cup already full). We cannot learn if it’s an ‘overflow’ of what we have inside. We cannot get something new if we have clogged our minds with what we know. Let not our speculations and perspectives be a hindrance from learning new things and gaining more wisdom. Be it from friends, parents, mentors etc. you cannot go with a full cup (full of your own pre-conceived ideas and speculations), and expect to gain more or indeed,anything new.
If you really want to learn, empty your cup first. This sounds simple, but it is something we often forget. Is your ‘overflowing cup’ preventing you from gaining more? To read more posts by Mercy, click HERE
