The Way of the Master

Chapter 5 

Empty Yourself 

“A professor came to learn from a Zen master. The master offered him tea and poured the tea into the professor’s cup till it was full.
Then he continued to pour.
The tea overflowed onto the carpet and the professor reacted angrily and told the master that the cup was overfull and that no more would go in.
The master told the professor “You are like this cup. You are full with your opinions, theories and speculations.
How can I pour the Tao into your mind’s cup? You should first empty your cup.
If you are already for something or against something you are not empty and not open.
Nothing will enter Empty yourself,” said Li Yin. 

The Tao is not for or against anything.
The Tao is like the rain that falls 
On every one and everywhere equally.
The Master is not for or against anything. 
He shares equally his wisdom With honest people and with those Who are not honest yet. 
The Tao is like a bag, vase or womb,
Its power and usefulness is Due to its positive emptiness. 
The power of the Tao and of silence Is in their emptiness.
The more we speak The less we understand. 
To think endlessly will not help us. In peace and silence, 
We truly understand.