Humility: Empty your cup

I read a passage titled Empty Your Cup: “A Buddhist scholar wanted to receive teachings from a Zen Master. The Buddhist scholar begin to ramble about his extensive doctrine. The Zen Master listened patiently and begin to make tea. When it was ready, she begin to pour it in his cup until it overflowed on the table and floor. When the scholar seen what was happening, he shouted stop, stop the cup is full you can't get any more in. The master stopped pouring and said: "You are like this cup; you are full of ideas about Buddha's Way. You come and ask for teaching, but your cup is full; I can't put anything in. Before I can teach you, you'll have to empty your cup."

I hear people say “I humbled myself" but are you really humbling yourself on the inside as well. Are you empty? To be empty means containing nothing; not occupied; having no real purpose or value.

Humility is the quality or state of not thinking you are better than other people: the quality or state of being humble. You have to present yourself as an empty vessel in which you can be filled with your potential. To be humble means to make yourself of no reputation, and take the form of a servant. You have to be willing to die to self, in order to tap into your full potential.

The opposite of humility is pride. Pride is a feeling that you are more important or better than other people. Being prideful is dangerous. Pride is telling God you can handle it yourself. Sometimes you will feel that something was unjustly handled and want to defend yourself. Trust and know that in due time he will exalt you. We feel good about ourselves when we tell people a piece of our mind...you feel justified, which is a temporary gratification.

If you believe God will exalt you, then sometimes people will say or do things, and it's up to you to be quite or slow to speak. Being slow to speak gives you the opportunity to hear from the Holy Spirit. Life and death is in the power of the tongue. What you say or how you react to a situation either lead or make a person flea from Christ.

In the book Humility, Andrew Murray said "In the life of earnest Christians, of those who pursue and profess holiness, humility ought to be the chief mark of their uprightness. Meekness and loneliness of the heart are to be distinguishing features of the desire disciples as they were of the Master." Meekness is having or showing a quiet and gentle nature: not wanting to fight or argue with other people; to be lowly is in a low position, manner, or degree.

When people see you, they need (absolutely imperative) to see meekness and loneliness just like they see the color of your skin, your gender, which is your distinct features. It is attached to you. You cannot take these features off when you decide. It is a part of you.

Augustine said “If you plan to build a tall house of virtues, you must first lay deep foundations of humility.”

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