Jean Klein - Living in the unknown

 

Many of us have heard the Zen story of the Renowned Quantum Physicist who came to the tea pouring Zen Master for further knowledge of the Theory of Everything. But that’s only part 1, there is a part 2. For the sake of those who have not heard part 1 here it is:

So there was this renown physicist in the field of quantum physics, totally fascinated with getting to the bottom of grasping an intellectual understanding of the mystery of life, determined to discover the ‘Theory of Everything’ but after decades of researching has come to a head. So he decided to visit a unknown tea pouring Zen master for advise???

After the introductions and paying due respect, the Physicist began, “Here is what we know: We have conducted double-slit experiments, quantum entanglement experiments, ‘ … the universe begins to look more like a great thought than like a great machine. Mind no longer appears to be an accidental intruder into the realm of matter … the creator and governor of the realm of matter… the observer creates the reality …’

As the Physicist continues to speak of what he knows, the Master began pouring tea for his guest. The tea cup became full and yet the Master continues to pour and tea was now overflowing from the already full cup. Seeing this and seeing that apparently the Master is not stopping, the Physicist couldn’t help it and exclaimed, “Stop already, the cup is full!” To this the Zen Master says, “Sir, your cup is full, how can knowledge be revealed in a cup that is already full? Please come back when you have emptied your cup.”

So the Physicist left with his cup full of tea but now realise that he has a cup full of tea. That’s part 1.

Part 2

So the Physicist went back realizing that he had to dismantle the whole mental structure that he had built up over the years. Finally, after what seems like a long time, he felt that his cup was now empty, it’s time to revisit the Zen Master.

Master, ever since our last meeting when you highlighted to me that I had a cup full of knowledge and couldn’t be receptive to the real knowledge, I have worked on myself to remove one by one all of my accumulated knowledge, until finally I am now empty of knowledge, look, this tea cup that you gave me before is now empty; I am now ready for knowledge. The Zen master, took the empty tea cup from the Physicist, had a look at its emptiness and threw it over his head breaking it to pieces on the ground. “Good, keep it empty!”

“There is nothing eventually knowable ... living in non-concluding from moment to moment … Living in non-concluding does not mean being passive. Let us be clear about this. Non-concluding means you don’t conclude through personal interference. Things, situations, conclude by themselves when you leave them alone. Is there a choice for the girl on the tight-rope? You can be sure she does not think of left or right, but is established unthinkingly in the centre. She is spontaneously in non-conclusion. When you are established in globality, it is normal to live in choiceless awareness like the ballerina in the circus … When you are beyond choosing, like the dancer on the rope, when the mind does not plot, the conclusion comes instantaneously when the facts are ‘ripe.’ Live open to all perceived, open to the openness … In non-conclusion the world is rich and intelligent. One must come to the state where there is a complete shift in energy. 

 

 from living in the known, to living in the unknown. ” ~ Jean Klein, The Book Of Listening 

 

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