Zen Story 1: The Tea Cup
"Benjamin, why do you look so
surprised?" said the
soothsayer lady. "Have you never seen a crystal ball before? Put it
down very carefully, please!" "Of course I haven't," replied Benjamin, a tiny bit offended, "and just how do you know my name?"
Ignoring his question, she said, "You can call me Miranda, Benjamin. Tell me, do you remember your first thought when you woke up this morning? And how soon did that thought come to you after your waking up?"
Benjamin was quiet. He always thought of so many things at the same time, how could he possibly remember his first thought? He thought about how he had several tests this week, that an essay was due in two days, that his girl-friend had left him for his best friend, that he needed to save money for a car... Why did she ask him these weird questions? He had a feeling that it wouldn't do much good to argue with Miranda and rather than trying to answer her question, he asked politely, "What can your crystal ball do? Can it show the future, or can it show the present at a different location, like what my mother is doing right now or something? Can you show me some answers to questions I have?"
"Ah, you are learning very quickly," she replied. "I have come to show you some answers to some of your questions, but of course, the crystal ball could do all the things you mentioned. Pay attention now. The answers will appear in the form of stories. Well, Zen stories, to be exact, but the first story will not try to answer any questions of yours at all. It is only necessary to help you understand the future stories. Are you ready?"
"Yes, very ready." Benjamin was getting excited. He had never seen a crystal ball show a story. (He had never even seen a crystal ball in real life.) "That is so cool," he thought. He could almost forget the pain his girl-friend and his best friend had caused him.
"Let's begin," she said, "but you must be quiet until the ball turns dark again. Agreed?"
"Yes, agreed," he replied.
The ball lit up, as if by command, and Benjamin saw a orange-clad monk (it was actually a Zen master) who was pouring tea for another gentleman who wore a suit and was very busy talking about
Zen.
- Benjamin did not really
know what Zen was, but this person seemed to know a lot, in fact the
person
reminded him of a professor he had. - He saw that the monk was pouring
tea
for his
guest until the cup was overflowing and the monk would still not stop
pouring and pouring.
He did
not seem to notice that he was pouring and pouring and
Benjamin could see the visitor getting very frustrated. Suddenly the
visitor called out, "The cup is full; it is overflowing." "Yes," said
the monk and so is your knowledge about Zen. You come here to learn,
but how can I tell you anything, if you prefer to lecture others?"
The visitor looked humbled. "You have my attention," he declared
calmly, but a little defeated.
After that the crystal ball went black."I get it," said Benjamin. "I know people like that. They take up all the time talking and want to show what they know, but have a hard time listening to others."
"Yes," said Miranda, "that may be true, but now only you are here and so this story is for you to remind you to listen well to the stories that are to follow rather than trying to know everything already. Remember when you told your little sister how an intelligent guy like you doesn't need to learn from stories anymore? Well, I welcome your questions about anything in life, if you are ready to listen to the answers and learn from them. Do you want to ask me something?"
"I do have to go now," he said, "but if you will be here when I come back, that would be wonderful. I really do want to learn, even from stories."
"Just come whenever it works for you," she said with a smile. "I will certainly be here for an eager learner."
Author's note:
The original story is extremely short, only 77 words. It can be found with lots of small variations from different storytellers, but one common characteristic is that all stories are very short. I did not change the content of the story, but told it from Benjamin's perspective who observed it through a crystal ball. The goal of the story is not to entertain the listener, but rather to provide some insight, to calm the listener's mind, and to help him or her to be open and without judgment of others. Thus the listener is not meant to analyze the characters or the plot of the story, but rather to apply the new insight. Because of that, Miranda is not interested in having Benjamin recognize other people, that is those who talk too much, in the visitor, but rather to get him ready to listen and learn.
It is obvious why I chose this story as my first one in this storybook. I think that it is a wonderful tale that reminds the reader of the importance of being open to listen. It illustrates that if one is too busy showing off (like the visitor of the Zen master), then there is no space for new learning to occur, because the "cup is already full." Wisdom cannot be attained by studying, and knowledge without wisdom is like a boat without oars.
My homepage
Image Information: A Soothsayer Image Source: E-Tarochi.com
Image Information: A tea cup Image Source: Buddha Chat