A Cup of Tea

Nan-in, a Japanese master during the Meiji era (1868-1912), received a university professor who came to inquire about Zen. Nan-in served tea. He poured his visitors' cup full, then kept on pouring. The professor watched the overflow until he no longer could restrain himself. "It is overfull. No more will go in!". "Like this cup", Nan-in said, "you are full of your own speculations and opinions. How can I show you Zen unless you first empty your cup?"

I find this passage to be resoundingly truthful. As I go on reading"Writings from Zen masters", I find myself not being able to understand the Eastern philosophy and Zen concepts. A “gateless gate”, being able to “Walk freely between heaven and earth” I find that I can envision it, but am far from actually being able to comprehend these notions. That is why I find that I am like the professor, already full if my own beliefs, and looking upon Zen with a lens that has already decided what it is going to see. If this book has helped me with anything, it is emptying my cup. It has helped to break down my pre-conceived ideas and realize that there is definitely more than one way to think of the world, more than one way to exist, and more than one way to think of the ultimate higher living.