Nan in and the Scholar Zen Story
- Dec 11, 2025
- 2 min read
Today we enter… Nan-in and the Scholar.
A quiet story with a blade inside it, cutting through intellect, pride, and the illusion that understanding comes from accumulation.
This koan is simple.
nd it is devastating.
Step in slowly.
Let the Story Unfold
A famous scholar came to visit Nan-in, a Zen master.
The scholar spoke at length, overflowing with interpretations, theories, comparisons, and citations of ancient texts.
Nan-in listened quietly.
Then he poured tea.
He filled the scholar’s cup.
And kept pouring.
Tea spilled over the rim, onto the table, dripping to the floor.
Stop! the scholar cried.
It’s full! No more will go in!
Nan-in set the teapot down.
Like this cup, he said, your mind is full of your own opinions and learning.
How can I show you Zen unless you first empty your cup?
Sit With the Meaning
This koan is not criticizing knowledge.
It is exposing identity built from knowledge.
The scholar came not with curiosity, but with certainty.
Not with space, but with accumulation.
Not with openness, but with self-protection disguised as intelligence.
Zen cannot be received by a mind already full because fullness is a barrier, not an achievement.
The cup must empty, not through rejection of learning
but through loosening the identity that clings to it.
To empty is not to forget,
but to stop hiding behind what you already know.
Insight needs room.
Spaciousness is not ignorance.
It is readiness.
Turn Inward With Your Parts
Is there a part of you that uses knowledge or explanation to stay safe?
What happens inside when someone invites you into unfamiliar territory?
Which protector fears emptiness; Seeing it as incompetence or danger?
Is there an exile who learned it must perform wisdom to be acceptable?
Let Expression Rise
Choose the doorway that feels open:
IFS Journaling
Write from the part that rushes to fill space with answers.
Let it share
what emptiness feels like
what it fears would happen if it did not know
why it avoids silence or uncertainty
IFS Parts Art
Draw your internal cup.
Show
what fills it
what might pour out
what space could look like if something new were allowed in
Somatic IFS
Sit with your spine tall.
Inhale softly through the nose.
As you exhale, unclench your belly, jaw, and shoulders, creating subtle internal space.
Feel what shifts inside
when even the body loosens its “fullness.”
If none of these feel right, simply be with the story.
Let the silence be your teacher.
Stay here with your parts as long as you like, and we’ll meet again in the next story.
Continue exploring the Zen Stories
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