There is a beautiful story of a man, a spiritual seeker who was eagerly
in search of enlightenment. He had performed many years of sadhana and
study and felt that he was ready for the final 'touch'. Thus, he went
out in search of the Guru who could grant him true enlightenment.
Everyone told the man that high on top of a certain mountain lived an
enlightened master who could bestow enlightenment upon his disciples and
devotees. The seeker traveled weeks on foot to reach the Master in his
cave on the mountain top. Upon arrival he fell down at the Master's feet
and proclaimed his earnest wish for enlightenment. The seeker proceeded
to tell the Master of all the sadhana he had done, that which he had
learned, that which he had experienced and that which he felt he still
needed to obtain.
The Master listened silently. When the seeker finally finished his long
explanation of his own spiritual experiences, the Master said, "Let us
have a cup of tea." The seeker looked shocked, "A cup of tea??" he
exclaimed. "I've practiced for years, meditated for years, searched for
months and walked for weeks in order to reach you so I could finally be
granted enlightenment. I do not want a cup of tea. I want to be
liberated!"
However, the Master calmly insisted that he first have a cup of tea. The
Master placed a cup on the ground, next to the seeker, and began to pour
hot tea from the kettle into the cup. When the tea reached the rim of
the cup, the Master did not stop pouring. Rather, he kept pouring and
pouring, even as the tea filled the cup and began to flow over the sides
of the cup, out of the saucer and onto the floor of his cave. The seeker
jumped up as the hot tea touched his knees. "Stop," he cried. "The cup
is full. It cannot hold any more. Please stop pouring tea. It is all
going to waste all over the floor."
The Master sat down and said to the seeker: "You are like this tea cup.
You are so full of what you think you know, what you think you've
achieved, what you think you've seen and what you think you need, that
there is no room for me to teach you anything. Until you empty yourself
of your own ego and your own illusions, my teachings will only go to
waste like this tea on the floor."