The Princess Mug Was Already Broken (and the spotty silver mug too)

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Mark Epstein tells the story of travelling to Thailand with friends and teachers and visiting the forest monastery of a renowned meditation master named Achaan Chah. Gathering around him, they asked him to explain the Buddha’s teachings.

“He motioned to a glass sitting to one side of him.

‘Do you see this glass?’ he asked us. ‘I love this glass. It holds water admirably. When the sun shines on it, it reflects the light beautifully. When I tap it, it has a lovely ring. Yet for me, this glass is already broken.

‘When the wind knocks it over or my elbow knocks it off the shelf and it falls to the ground and shatters, I say, “Of course”.

‘But when I understand that this glass is already broken, every minute with it is precious.'”

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(From Mark Epstein, Thoughts without a Thinker)