A Cup

A cup with holes will not hold water;

but it will hold emptiness.

 

A cup without holes will hold water;

it will also hold emptiness.

 

The fool carries water in a sieve;

the scholar carries water in a bowl.

 

The sage carries nothing,

and drinks from the stream.

Reviews

[barleygirl]

We all drink in many different ways, under different mindsets & circumstances. Even tho I can appreciate the wisdom in your message, I feel words such as "fool" and "sage" carry judgment, thus your message is suggesting some ways are better than others.

[FoxgloveLove]

That's a good point. This piece has a lot of influence coming from my studies of Lao Zi in Daoism, so "The Fool" and "The Sage" are different character-types used within that writing. In that sense, I was using it as kind of an homage to that influence.

Thanks very much for your insight, I appreciate it ^^

[FoxgloveLove]

I chose the words in a way that they could be interpreted in many different ways, but I think my favorite way to look at this poem is by seeing "water" as knowledge and the "cup" as the mind.

In some traditions of eastern philosophy, it is considered beneficial to learn to attain clarity by emptying all thoughts, desires, discrimination, and differentiation from your mind. The purpose of the first two stanzas is to show that, while in western tradition a person's value comes from being able to retain and utilize knowledge (i.e. "hold water"), most anyone can learn to empty their mind of prejudice and knowledge in order to attain clarity.

The second part is showing how different character-types (mostly characters used by Lao Zi in his work) tend to behave when it comes to learning and retaining knowledge. The Fool is considered such because, while they attempt to learn and hold onto knowledge, they choose to let it leak out as well. It is counter-intuitive, because while they desire to carry this knowledge, they let themselves forget and make no effort to keep it. The Scholar, on the other hand, attempts to hold onto this knowledge as best as they can, so that they can use it in the future. The (Daoist) Sage, a more complex character that is best understood by reading more Daoist works, does not attempt to carry anything or cling to knowledge at all, and only takes what he needs directly from nature. This poem also works in conjunction with my other poem, "The Scholar and the Sage", which is a commentary on the relation between the western scholars and the Daoist sage.

As I said, though, this is just one possible interpretation of it. It just happens to be my favorite.

[barleygirl]

Thank you for taking the time to explain at such length. I am very interested in such teachings, so your efforts are not wasted on me. I am an empty cup right at this moment, so I cannot comment with anything substantial. But I will return to this, to give it more thought. Thank you so much for such a generous act to share all this with me. Being old & having an injury that impacted my memory, I've been gifted with an inability to hold water, so I'm lucky to drink from the stream each time I'm thirsty. I totally get you, but I'm too blank right now to discuss (((HUGS)))

[barleygirl]

Yesterday, when I read your long explanation (thank you for that), I did not immediately relate to it, as I am not familiar with the term: Daoism. But when I looked it up this morning, I see that you're referring to Tao, which I've studied quite a bit, some years ago. I'm very interested in this, so I'll do more research. Thanks for reminding me of my long-ago attraction to these teachings.

[FoxgloveLove]

I understand, it can be a little confusing. There's been a bit of an attempt to standardize the romanized transliteration of Chinese characters using the pinyin system (which is closer to the actual corresponding pronunciation) rather than the older, more complex Wade-Giles system. Thus, Taoism becomes Daoism, Lao Tsu becomes Lao Zi, and so on.

I'm happy to meet someone else who has studied these philosophies ^^

[James Whitefall]

Nice poem. Thanks for the read.

[Jan Li]

I felt an Asian Philosophy vibe from this piece. Quite beautiful and profound. If you were trying to portray the truth that the fool and the scholar all carry a lack of fulfillment, or lack of perspective in life, then I applaud you, since this is how I interpreted it. This is gorgeous. I'm curious about what exactly inspired the creation of this work. Beautiful :)

[FoxgloveLove]

I'm glad you enjoyed it. This poem comes from the influence of my studies in Daoist and Buddhist philosophy, particularly with Lao Zi's "Dao De Ching".

I chose the words in a way that they could be interpreted in many different ways, but I think my favorite way to look at this poem is by seeing "water" as knowledge and the "cup" as the mind.

In some traditions of eastern philosophy, it is considered beneficial to learn to attain by emptying all thoughts, desires, discrimination, and differentiation from your mind. The purpose of the first two stanzas is to show that, while in western tradition a person's value comes from being able to retain and utilize knowledge (i.e. "hold water"), most anyone can learn to empty their mind of prejudice and knowledge in order to attain clarity.

The second part is showing how different character-types (mostly characters used by Lao Zi in his work) tend to behave when it comes to learning and retaining knowledge. The Fool is considered such because, while they attempt to learn and hold onto knowledge, they choose to let it leak out as well. It is counter-intuitive, because while they desire to carry this knowledge, they let themselves forget and make no effort to keep it. The Scholar, on the other hand, attempts to hold onto this knowledge as best as they can, so that they can use it in the future. The (Daoist) Sage, a more complex character that is best understood by reading more Daoist works, does not attempt to carry anything or cling to knowledge at all, and only takes what he needs directly from nature. This poem also works in conjunction with my other poem, "The Scholar and the Sage", which is a commentary on the relation between the western scholars and the Daoist sage.

As I said, though, this is just one possible interpretation of it. It just happens to be my favorite.

[914]

NICE ,I LIKE THIS GOOD THOUGHT THERE.

[alanwgraham]

It sounds like a saying from Confucius! I drink from the stream myself - the stream of consciousness! No idea what that means but it just popped into my head!
You may have said something very profound but I' m not too sure.
Well done!
Alan

[FoxgloveLove]

Thank you for your comment ^^
It's actually more influenced by my studies in Daoism and Buddhism, although Confucianism is related as well. In any case, I'm glad you enjoyed it.

[Samuel Dickens]

These are some interesting thoughts. As I read, I tried to imagine which one I was. At various times, I've probably been "all the above", but at no point have had a problem with drinking from streams. Quite thought=provoking, this is.

[FoxgloveLove]

Thank you for your comment ^^
The trick from here is realizing that there is no difference between the three ;P