Emptying your cup

[StrangeBacon]

Was having a read through my copy of Tao of Jeet Kune Do, and i came across the age old quote;

"Empty your cup so that it may be filled; become devoid to gain totality."

Now as profound as this statement is, im interested to see what it means to each of you and how you would interpret it in the martial arts as well as your lives in general.

And perhaps throw in a few of your favourite quotes and statements and what they mean to you and how they've possibly helped you keep on the straight and narrow as it were.

Discuss

[Snake1725681530]

Was having a read through my copy of Tao of Jeet Kune Do, and i came across the age old quote;

"Empty your cup so that it may be filled; become devoid to gain totality."

Now as profound as this statement is, im interested to see what it means to each of you and how you would interpret it in the martial arts as well as your lives in general.

And perhaps throw in a few of your favourite quotes and statements and what they mean to you and how they've possibly helped you keep on the straight and narrow as it were.

Discuss

Osu,

To me, the statement of "emptying one's cup" refers to the need to be willing to accept what one is being taught. In one of Bruce Lee's books (can't remember which one, though will have a look for you if you want) he tells the story of a man who goes to a great sage to learn; but each time the sage seeks to provide the man with an answer to his questions, the man interrupts with his own views and preconceptions. To empty your cup means to let go of your own preconceptions, and your own views for the time being. When you're a student, be a student (i.e accept that which is being taught to you. This doesn't mean follow it blindly, but accept that you have gone to a teacher to learn his take on the respective discipline).

It's a great quote I think. Too many times, for example, will you get people who feel as though a style is 'innefective', without really gaining an understanding of that style. If the student knows what is effective; why does he go to a class at all?

Another quote that I really admire is the one telling us to be like water:

"Running water never grows stale, so you've just got to keep on flowing".

This reminds me to never be content. Always strive for perfection. Always seek to improve and work on weaknesses.

[sensei8]

For me, "Empty your cup so that it may be filled; become devoid to gain totality.", means that I don't know everything, nor do I claim that I do, both as a martial artist as well as my life in general.

One of my favorite quotes is my own..."Proof is on the floor!" Say what you want, however, the truth will be revealed on the floor.

[Kodiak]

As somebody whose recently restarted in a new style, there's a lot you have to get out of your head in terms of how you used to do things. While I do try to use all that old stuff in my practice at home, I'm not going to learn anything new if I don't put it out of my head at the studio.

[bushido_man96]

Was having a read through my copy of Tao of Jeet Kune Do, and i came across the age old quote;

"Empty your cup so that it may be filled; become devoid to gain totality."

Now as profound as this statement is, im interested to see what it means to each of you and how you would interpret it in the martial arts as well as your lives in general.

By "emptying my cup," I try to keep an open mind to whenever someone else comes along and offers to show me how to do things. That doesn't mean I don't still like the way I do things, but I do use those opportunities to learn. To take over 15 years of training and to "empty" all of what I know, I will not be likely to do. But, I will present an open mind, and willingness to learn and try.

[LittleW]

As Shotokan is the first and only style I learn, I didn't have to forgett from previous styles.

But I do have to try to get rid of my mistakes, to improve every stance and move.

And I think that it is, that you have to accept, that you have to learn so much in a MA. Unlike, I think, in other sports.

[Ohanamalu6]

To me, being empty isn't just "not knowing" or "forgetting you know", but forgetting you exist as a mind capable of owning information.

When you learn from a feeling place rather than a thinking place, the present moment is all there is. If you compare this form with that form, front stance in one style with another, you are not present in the moment, you are bouncing around inside your own head.

Ego wants us to 'know' things, so it can be validated. Ego is of the mind.

Self-lessness, emptiness, spirit, wants nothing; needs nothing. To be practicing in the moment is all the reward necessary.

If that moment is learning, it is the same as if that moment is teaching.

To forget we exist is the highest level of awakening. (I think?? )