THE MASTER AND THE STUDENT

There is an old story about a student who traveled a great distance to meet with a re-nowned master. When he arrived, the wizened old man graciously invited him inside for a cup of tea. As they sat, sipping, the old man began to speak, but before he could get very far the young student cut him off, and began to explain what he had learned. The master tried again, and again, the student cut him off, explaining what he already knew. No matter how the master tried to get through to him, the young student was so puffed up with his pride in his own knowledge that he was not really listening.

Finally, the old master picked up the teapot, and began to pour it into the young man's cup, which was already brimming. The young man exclaimed "What are you doing! It's already full! You're spilling it everywhere!"

The old master replied, "You cannot drink from the teapot of my wisdom until you first empty your cup of knowledge."

As Master Zi is always saying, when you think you've "got it" you're in trouble. There's always another level beyond where you're at, and sometimes the only way to reach it is to forget what you know, and re-experience something as if for the first time. Some-times you'll find something that you missed the first time through.