The Emptiness of the Self-Important

A man knew a little about the stars, but pride had gone to his head like wine. He came to Kushyar from a distant road, his heart full of eagerness, his head full of arrogance. The wise man simply looked away from him and taught him not a single word. When he set off to return home empty-handed, the proud scholar said to him: You imagine yourself full of wisdom; but a jar already full, how can it hold more? You are so full of your own claims that you leave empty. Come empty, so you may be filled with meaning. Empty yourself of self across the world, like Saadi, and come back full of knowledge.