Tirupati - Lord Venkateswaras Divine Debt

Dadi: "Guddu, have you ever tried to pour water into a cup that's already full?"

Guddu: "It would overflow everywhere!"

Dadi: "Exactly. Tonight's story is about exactly that - a cup of tea and a very proud professor."

Guddu: "A professor? Like in university?"

Dadi: "Yes, beta. A famous professor went to visit an even more famous Zen master. He wanted to learn about meditation. But he also wanted to show off how much he already knew."

Guddu: "That's not a good way to learn..."

Dadi: "You're already wiser than him! As the master prepared tea, the professor talked and talked. Philosophy, religions, meditation research, statistics, his own theories... on and on."

Guddu: "Did the master get bored?"

Dadi: "The master listened silently, pouring tea into the professor's cup. The cup filled up... but the master kept pouring."

Guddu: "Dadi! It would spill!"

Dadi: "It did! Tea overflowed onto the table, onto the floor. Still the master poured."

Guddu: "Why didn't the professor say something?"

Dadi: "Finally he shouted, "Stop! The cup is full! No more will go in!""

Guddu: "And what did the master say?"

Dadi: "The master smiled. "Exactly. You are like this cup - full of your own opinions and theories. How can I teach you anything unless you first empty your cup?""

Guddu: "Ohhh! The cup is like his brain!"

Dadi: "His mind, yes. The professor knew about meditation - he could discuss it, compare it, analyze it. But he had never truly experienced it. His knowledge was about the water, not of the water."

Guddu: "What does that mean, Dadi?"

Dadi: "Imagine I describe how swimming feels - the cool water, the floating, the movement. That's knowledge about swimming. But until you jump in the pool yourself, you don't really know it."

Guddu: "So the professor read about meditation but never really meditated?"

Dadi: "Exactly! When he tried to meditate, his mind kept producing commentary: "Am I doing this right? This is like the book said. I should be feeling something...""

Guddu: "That's still thinking, not meditating!"

Dadi: "The master said: "More tea! Your cup keeps filling." The professor asked how to stop it. The master said: "You don't stop thoughts. You just stop believing they're so important. Let them come, let them go, like sounds outside the window.""

Guddu: "Like when I hear cars passing but I'm busy playing?"

Dadi: "Perfect! The cars are there, but you're not grabbing onto each one. The professor practiced this for many days. One day the master asked what happened."

Guddu: "What did he say?"

Dadi: ""Nothing. I just sat." And the master smiled: "Now you can learn Zen.""

Guddu: "Because his cup was finally empty?"

Dadi: "Because he found what was already empty - the space behind all the thoughts. That's the cup, Guddu. The thoughts are tea. The cup doesn't need to be empty of all tea. It just needs to stop overflowing."

Guddu: "So when I want to learn something new, I should empty my cup first?"

Dadi: "Yes, beta. If you go to class thinking "I already know this," you won't learn anything new. But if you go with an empty cup - curious, humble, ready - amazing things can pour in."

Guddu: "Even if I do know some things?"

Dadi: "Especially then! A full cup can receive nothing more. An empty cup can receive everything."

Guddu: "I'll try to empty my cup tomorrow in math class."

Dadi: "That's my boy. Now, shall I pour you some actual tea? I promise to stop before it overflows!"