🍵 A Cup Already Full

A learned professor visited a wise old master to learn about wisdom and peace. But from the moment he sat down, the professor kept talking.

'I have read three hundred books. I have degrees and awards. I have given lectures in many countries...' He spoke and spoke about all that he already knew.

The old master smiled and said, 'Let us have tea first.' He placed a cup before the professor and began to pour.

The tea filled the cup. The master kept pouring. The tea reached the top — and the master still kept pouring. Tea spilled onto the table, then onto the floor.

'Stop! Stop!' cried the professor. 'The cup is already full! No more will go in!'

The master put down the kettle and said gently, 'You are like this cup. You have come to learn, but you are already full — of your own ideas, your degrees, your pride.'

'How can I pour anything new into a cup that is already full? First empty your cup.'

The professor sat quietly for the first time. That day, his real learning began. It is true at twenty, and it is true at eighty: those who keep an empty corner in their cup keep growing all their lives.