A Cup Full Of Tea
A Zen master received a university professor who came to inquire about Zen.
Upon arrival, the professor started talking about all the researches he had done on Zen. The Zen literatures he had ploughed through, his thoughts and opinions on what Zen was and so on.
When the visitor finally paused to catch a breath, the Zen master offered to serve tea. He soon filled his visitor’s cup to the brim. Yet the Zen master appeared oblivious and still kept on pouring the tea while making small talk.
Though he saw the tea overflowed, the professor kept quiet to be polite. He was hoping that the Zen master himself would soon notice it. As the Zen master kept on pouring the tea with no sign of stopping, the professor got more uneasy until he couldn’t take it anymore. “Stop! Can’t you see the cup is full? It can’t take any more tea!”
“Ah! So you’ve noticed,” the Zen master slowly put down the tea pot. Then he smiled and spoke gently, “Now, shall we empty your ‘cup’ and start all over on Zen?”