Only Emptiness Allows For Real Benefit

A novice monk would often go to the Abbot and ask to be assigned a job so that he could serve the temple. The Abbot however would say nothing and just shake his head.

One day the Abbot had had enough and gave this reply：

"First you must let go of everything".

"I have already given up everything in order to become a monk, so why do you still want me to let go? What is it that you want me to give up?" said the novice.

Confused and not paying attention to where he was going, the novice went away, however he soon bumped into a nun who was crouched low tending to the fire that boiled the temple water for everyone.

The nun could see from his face that he was upset about something, and so she asked,

"What is troubling you?"

The novice repeated to the nun what the Abbot had just said.

Having listened to this the nun pointed to the furnace and said:

"All this wood is necessary in order to heat the water and provide warm showers for everyone in the temple. However before we can add the wood we must empty the furnace. Even when we add the wood, we must still leave some empty space for air, and only then can we make a really good fire. Because of this we will have hot water that will benefit many people".

The novice could now understand what the Abbot had meant:

"I see, that is why the Abbot wanted me to empty my mind first. Only after this could my actions benefit everybody".