Here’s a thought I’d like to share…
When asked by an interviewer, “What type of students would best fit your programs?” Rolf Gates, author and renowned yoga teacher, replied, “Those that are ready to learn.”
“Ready to learn…,” What a powerful phrase!
To be ready to learn is to be ready to receive, and we can’t receive if we’re already full. Similarly, a person cannot truly listen if they are forming their response when someone else is speaking. They are too full of their own story.
There’s a great Zen story that goes like this…
A university professor went to visit a famous Zen master. While the master quietly served tea, the professor talked, on and on, about Zen. The master poured the visitor’s cup to the brim, and then kept pouring.
The professor watched the overflowing cup until he could no longer restrain himself. “It’s overfull! No more will go in!” the professor blurted.
“You are like this cup,” the master replied, “How can I show you Zen unless you first empty your cup?”
In the first paragraph of this story, notice that, although the professor sought out the “famous Zen master,” it was the professor doing all the talking. Obviously, the professor was too full to receive.
To become empty is to let go of needing to already know. It is to allow the mind to become still long enough to be truly engaged in the present moment.
Opening up, letting go, and being engaged – that’s ready to learn!
It is said that everything is our teacher. So, if we live with an empty cup, we will never fail to be filled.
Wishing you the receptivity of an empty cup,
Namasté Augusta