Sunday, July 19, 2009

A Cup of Tea


[Referring to Zen Flesh Zen Bones - Story 1. ]

When a guest comes to visit, with a full cup, is it kindness to serve them more?

Should you speculate that your guest's cup is full, or ask them if they would like more?

How long would you poor tea into a filled cup?

Should a guest tell a host that they must stop pouring?

If the cup has no bottom it will never be filled.

If the pot is truly empty it cannot pour tea.

"How can I show you Zen unless you first empty your cup?" - How do you show water to a fish?

1 comment:

Jeremy said...

Hey man, nice to see that you're still writing!
Zen Flesh Zen Bones is a great little book. I'm not sure if its in that book, but I get inspired by the "is that so?" story too. I think it was Hakuin.