Will_Heath

An old proverb has come back to me from the past that reminded me of some of the recent heated discussions and debates. The following story has been changed slightly to fit the forum.

A bonsaist once sought out the instruction of a master and after many requests that were politely turned down, he finally convinced the master to instruct him.

At the first lesson the master begun to instruct the bonsaist but every time he begun to teach a technique the bonsaist would interrupt him with statements such as, “Yes, I already know that” and “Yes, yes, that is of course basic knowledge.” The bonsaist knowing only one way, set his mind against anything different and debated every point with the master.

After a very short time the master quit instructing and begun to serve tea. He first begun to pour the bonsaists tea and poured until the cup was full. He kept on pouring until the bonsaists cup was overflowing. The bonsaist said, “Enough, my cup is already full!” The master simply replied, “Indeed, so I see, and unless you empty your cup first, how do you expect to taste my tea?”

I think a lot of people tend to forget that the usefulness of a cup is its emptiness. I know that I could use an empty cup; there is one hect of a lot of tea out there that I want to taste.

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