A thirsty man drinks a cup of water and is satisfied. Later, another man drinks from a cup different than that given to the first. The first man seeing this takes the cup from the second man and throws it to the ground saying, “That is no cup. You cannot drink from it.”
A man comes to a well where a woman brings him a cup of water. After he is satisfied, she gives him the emptied cup saying, “This will help you when you thirst again.” He returns to his fields and when he is thirsty he brings the cup to his lips and finds it dry. Throwing the cup to the ground he says, “The woman has tricked me. The cup is broken.”
A man uses a cup for many years until it breaks and can no longer hold water. The man dips the cup into the well and drawing it to his lips finds it empty. “The well has dried up,” he says and leaves in search of another.
A man and his companions arrive at a stream. His companions dip their cups into the water and drink. The man having no cup stands by the stream saying, “Had I a cup, I would drink.”
A wise man knows the cup is not the water. The wisest man knows he needs no cup; his very body is a vessel.