This reminds me of a classic: A professor sets a jar on a table and says to his class, "this jar represents your life." He reaches under the table and pulls out a box of rocks and says, "these rocks represent your career." He proceeds to put the rocks into the jar until he can't add any more and asks, "is your life full?" Some of the students nod.
Next the professor displays a box of pebbles and says, "these pebbles are your spouse and kids." He pours in all of the pebbles and shakes the jar until the pebbles fill all of the spaces and asks, "is your life full?" More students nod. Next he displays a box of sand and says, "this sand is your extended family." Again, he pours in the sand, shakes the jar until the sand fills the gaps and asks, "is your life full now?" All of the students nod. Finally the professor reveals 3 cans of beer, opens them, and pours them into the jar. Wide eyed, the student stare at the professor who asks, "do you know what this proves?" All of the students look dumbfounded. "It proves", the professor says with a glint in his eye, "that there's always room in your life for few beers." On Tue, 9 Nov 2004 13:29:42 -0600, Kevin Graeme <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > > > > Contrast that with Zen Buddhism that is less about controlling > > > and labelling and more about accepting things as they come. > > > > Whoa - that's good. If you'd like to expand on that, I'd like to hear > > it. It's a perspective I hadn't considered before. > > *shrug* I'm just some guy. I gave up trying to learn about buddhism a > while back. But here's one of the simple stories that people like so > much: > > -- > Nan-In, a Japanese master during the Meijii era (1868-1912) received a > university professor who came to inquire about Zen. > > Nan-In seved tea. He poured his visitor's cup full, and then kept on pouring. > > The professor watched the overflow until he could no longer restrain himself. > "It is overfull. No more will go in!" > > "Like this cup," Nan-In said, "you are full of your own opinions and speculat > ions. > How can I show you Zen unless first you empty your cup. > -- > > -Kevin > > ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~| Special thanks to the CF Community Suite Gold Sponsor - CFHosting.net http://www.cfhosting.net Message: http://www.houseoffusion.com/lists.cfm/link=i:5:134991 Archives: http://www.houseoffusion.com/cf_lists/threads.cfm/5 Subscription: http://www.houseoffusion.com/lists.cfm/link=s:5 Unsubscribe: http://www.houseoffusion.com/cf_lists/unsubscribe.cfm?user=11502.10531.5 Donations & Support: http://www.houseoffusion.com/tiny.cfm/54
