How open are you? How open are you to spirit? the universe? God? People? Yourself?
Most people are so full of “things” that there’s no room for being open.
Here’s another enlightening passage from a book I recently read, The Curse of Chalion (which I mentioned in a previous post)
“The gods love their great-souled men and women as an artist loves fine marble, but the issue isn’t virtue. It is will. Which is chisel and hammer. Has anyone ever quoted you Ordol’s classic sermon of the cups?”
“That thing where the divine pours water all over everything? I first heard it when I was ten. I thought it was pretty entertaining when he got his shoes wet, but then, I was ten. I’m afraid our temple divine at Cazaril tended to drone on.”
“Attend now and you shall not be bored.” Umegat inverted his clay cup upon the cloth. “Men’s will is free. The gods may not invade it, any more than I may pour wine into this cup through its bottom.”
“But have you really understood how powerless the gods are, when the lowest slave may exclude them from his heart? And if from his heart, then from the world as well, for the gods may not reach in except through living souls. If the gods could seize passage from anyone they wished, then men would be mere puppets. Only if they borrow or are given will from a willing creature, do they have a little channel through which to act. They can seep in through the minds of animals, sometimes with effort. Plants … require much foresight. Or” – Umegat turned his cup upright again, and lifted the jug — “sometimes, a man may open himself to them, and let them pour through him into the world.” He filled his cup. “A saint is not a virtuous soul, but an empty one. He –or she– freely gives the gift of their will to their god. And in renouncing action, makes action possible.”
This is reminiscent of the Zen story:
Nan-in, a Japanese master during the Meiji era (1868-1912), received a university professor who came to inquire about Zen.
Nan-in served tea. He poured his visitor’s cup full, and then kept on pouring.
The professor watched the overflow until he no longer could restrain himself. “It is overfull. No more will go in!”
“Like this cup,” Nan-in said, “you are full of your own opinions and speculations. How can I show you Zen unless you first empty your cup?”
Thanks for this, Jonathan. I walked the labyrinth Wednesday night at sangha at Elaine & Bob’s and was asking it about how to open my heart more. One of the thoughts that came to me was the Giving Tree story. I’ve struggled with that story given the gender of the tree and the boy and the female tree “sacrificing” life for the boy. But I’m reopening to that story and your post helped me to do that a bit more. It also validated my labyrinth experience. So thank you. I hope you’ll also share any rituals you might be aware of that have helped you to open.
Thanks!