This glass is already broken

A group of American tourists were traveling through the dense jungles of Thailand in search of the legendary monk, the Venerable Ajahn Chah. After some time they finally found the monastery where the Venerable was staying and they arrived to find Ajahn Chah drinking a glass of water. Ajahn Chah bade them to sit down and then said to them, “Do you see this glass from which I am drinking? To me, this glass is already broken.” The tourists were puzzled by the statement as the glass from which Ajahn Chah was drinking was not broken at all, rather, it was perfectly fine and he was drinking from it! Ajahn Chah then continued, “To me, this glass is already broken, that way if my arm sweeps across the table and knocks the glass over and it breaks I will say ‘of course’. Or, if the wind blows the glass over and it breaks in this manner I will say ‘of course’. Or, if a cat, or some other animal, comes along and knocks the glass over, and it breaks I will say ‘of course’. No matter how this glass breaks, or when it breaks, I will simply say ‘of course’. The nature of this glass is that it is impermanent, that it will break, at some given time in some given manner. It is for this reason that I say that this glass is already broken.”

The Venerable monk gazed at the travelers before him who were now beginning to understand the importance of his discourse. Ajahn Chah continued, “However, once I have understood that this glass is already broken, now, and only now, am I truly in a position to enjoy and appreciate this glass and the many wonderful things that it offers me. It is only when I realize fully and deeply that this glass is already broken that I can appreciate the way that the glass contains the water I am drinking.  It is only when I realize within the very depths of my being that this glass is already broken that I can enjoy the patterns and reflections of light that are made when I hold the glass up to the sun. It is only when I realize that this glass is already broken that I can really and truly appreciate and enjoy this glass and everything that it has to offer me. That is why I say that this glass is already broken.”