The Guest Who Feared Emptiness

One evening, as the lanterns in the tea house flickered softly, a merchant arrived, his fine robes flowing like the river’s surface. He sat before the Daoist master, but his hands fidgeted, and his gaze darted about the room.

“Master,” he said, “I have built a great fortune. My warehouses are full, my ledgers overflow with numbers, and yet… I fear loss. The thought of emptiness terrifies me. How can I protect what I have?”

The master, without a word, lifted the teapot and began to pour tea into the merchant’s cup. The cup filled quickly, but the master did not stop. The tea overflowed, spilling onto the table, then dripping onto the floor.

“Master!” the merchant cried, pulling back. “The cup is full! It cannot hold more!”

The master set down the pot and smiled. “You see, when a cup is full, more tea is lost than gained. And yet, you wish to keep pouring, afraid of an empty cup.”

The merchant stared at his soaked sleeve, his mouth slightly open.

The master continued, “Emptiness is not to be feared. It is only when the cup is empty that it can be filled again. It is only when space is made that something new can arrive.”

The merchant looked down at his hands, once so eager to grasp, now strangely still.

That night, for the first time in many years, he did not think of profit or loss. Instead, he listened to the sound of tea dripping onto the floor, and wondered what it might be like… to finally let go.