Empty Your Cup / Leave Your Baggage at the Door! Shihan S. E. Philips, 8th Dan Nidai Soke Aido-Ryu

🍵 Empty Your Cup / Leave Your Baggage at the Door! 🚪

Shihan S. E. Philips, 8th Dan Nidai Soke Aido-Ryu

---

“Empty Your Cup”, is an old Chinese saying and is often attributed to a conversation between a scholar and Zen Master Ryutan. 🏮

As the story goes Tokusan, as he began his enlightenment to becoming a Zen Master himself, had come to Ryutan to ask about Zen. During the discussion the two enjoyed a cup of tea. ☕

At some point Ryutan began to refill his guest teacup; however, Ryutan did not stop pouring once the tea level reached the rim of the teacup. Tea began to overflow and Tokusan said “Stop”! The cup is full! 🛑

To which Ryutan replied: “Exactly, you are like this cup; you are full of ideas. You come and ask for teaching, but your cup is full, I can’t put anything in. Before I can teach you, you will have to empty your cup”.

This is true for most people we are full of information that before we may truly learn something, we must first empty our cup.

---

🐟 The Catfish & The Gourd

Like most Zen teachings there are many answers to a simple task. When I first read the phrase “Empty Your Cup” I was drawn to another Zen Koan, or riddle, “How do you catch a catfish in a gourd”? 🏺

This Koan dates to the Muromachi Period in Japan, around 1415. One may hope to catch the catfish by thrashing about in the water with the gourd using the gourd as if it were a net; however, this is usually of little success as the thrashing about just scares the catfish away. 💧

Yet if one takes an “Empty Your Cup” approach a solution may be found that requires little to no effort. Catfish are an inherently shy yet somewhat curious creatures, they like to stay at the bottom of a pond. 🌊

If one end of a gourd is cut off to form a cavity, and then lowered into the water and allowed to rest upon the pond floor with patience the catfish will investigate this new mysterious cavity and swim inside the gourd. Unable to turn around or swim backward, the fish is trapped. 🎣

---

🎋 The Tea Ceremony & Humility

Another thought I have often pondered having recalled these Zen parables deals with the Japanese Tea Ceremony. There are many steps and traditions involved in the Tea Ceremony. 🍵

The location of the tea house is ideally a free-standing structure surrounded by a small garden with a path leading through the garden to the tea room. The entrance is through a low, square door, or “crawling-in entrance” [nijirguchi]. ⛩️

To enter the tea room requires bending low to pass through and is symbolically a means of humbling one-self and leaving ones worries and burdens outside. ☁️

I like to paraphrase this as “Leaving your Baggage at the Door”! 💼🚫

---

🥋 A Lesson from the Dojo

Several years ago, I had a prospective student enter my dojo, as the young man entered, I could see he was using a wheelchair. ♿

I had just read about the Tea Ceremony and the “crawling-in entrance”. Rather than assume this student had limited mobility and would have difficulty with many of the physical requirements to train in Aido Ryu, I invited him into the dojo. 🥋

I learned that his mobility was limited due to a degenerative muscle diease; however, he had some limited movement without the assistance of the wheelchair for short periods of time. The young man’s name was Sonny and he began to train, over the years we were able to modify several techinques to his physical capabilities both with as well as without the assistance of the wheelchair. 💪

Sonny went on to become a valuable assistant and help instruct in several after school outreach programs we developed. I lost touch with Sonny over the years; however, recently we have reconnected on FaceBook and we are exploring how to best continue his training with furher complications from his muscular issues as well as some long-term respiratory issues from COVID. 📈

Looking back to my first thoughts when meeting Sonny, I realized I was utilizing “Empty Your Cup” as well as “Leaving Your Baggage at the Door”. ✨🙏

---