--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The usefulness of a cup is in its…" description: "\"The usefulness of a cup is in its emptiness.\" — Wandini" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dac/wandini-13279_emptiness_the-usefulness-of-a-cup-is-in-its-emptin_3112994.jpg" --- # The usefulness of a cup is in its emptiness. ![“The usefulness of a cup is in its emptiness.” quote by Wandini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dac/wandini-13279_emptiness_the-usefulness-of-a-cup-is-in-its-emptin_3112994.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dac/wandini-13279_emptiness_the-usefulness-of-a-cup-is-in-its-emptin_3112994.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dac/wandini-13279_emptiness_the-usefulness-of-a-cup-is-in-its-emptin_3112994.jpg) > “The usefulness of a cup is in its emptiness.” [Wandini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wandini/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The value of an object lies in its capacity to receive, not in its current contents. **In simple terms:** Empty vessels can hold much. Key Takeaway Embrace openness to gain. Themes potential emptiness utility Mood contemplative calm Type aphilosophical inspirational When to use this quote - design - meditation - learning - creative work Key Concepts philosophy minimalism Questions to Reflect On - How can you become more receptive? - What does emptiness enable? A Different Perspective An empty cup cannot provide without being filled. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Cup Emptiness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cup-emptiness-739817/) [Emptiness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/emptiness/) [Empty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/empty/) [Meditation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/meditation/) [Spirituality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spirituality/) [Usefulness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/usefulness/) [Usefulness Cup](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/usefulness-cup-739818/) ## Related quotes > [The usefulness of the cup is its emptiness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-lee/the-usefulness-of-the-cup-is-its-emptiness/) [Bruce Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-lee/) > [Objective art is just the opposite. The man has nothing to throw, he is utterly empty, absolutely clean. Out of this silence, out of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajneesh/objective-art-is-just-the-opposite-the-man-has-nothing-to-throw-he-is/) [Rajneesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajneesh/) > [The usefulness of a pot comes from its emptiness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laozi/the-usefulness-of-a-pot-comes-from-its-emptiness/) [Laozi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laozi/) > [“I have lots of things to teach you now, in case we ever meet, concerning the message that was transmitted to me under a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-kerouac/i-have-lots-of-things-to-teach-you-now-in-case-we-ever-meet/) [Jack Kerouac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-kerouac/) > [It is hard for an empty bag to stand upright.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/it-is-hard-for-an-empty-bag-to-stand-upright/) [Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) > [“The melodious song mesmerized me and cloaked my soul in a most liberating embrace I had never known. The emotion enveloped me, and smothered…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-stroube/the-melodious-song-mesmerized-me-and-cloaked-my-soul-in-a-most/) [J.D. Stroube](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-stroube/) > [the universe and its beings are a complementarity of empty infinity, intimate interrelationships, and total uniqueness of each and every being.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matsuo-basho/the-universe-and-its-beings-are-a-complementarity-of-empty-infinity/) [Matsuo Basho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matsuo-basho/) > [When we talk about Orientalist painting, we're talking about painting generally from the seventeenth through the nineteenth century, and some would say even into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kehinde-wiley/when-we-talk-about-orientalist-painting-we-re-talking-about-painting/) [Kehinde Wiley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kehinde-wiley/) > [You keep running after the love of the people, but you’ll never get it. And what you do get, will never be enough. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yasmin-mogahed/you-keep-running-after-the-love-of-the-people-but-you-ll-never-get-it/) [Yasmin Mogahed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yasmin-mogahed/) > [They say you don't get over someone until you find someone or something better. As humans, we don't deal well with emptiness. Any empty…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yasmin-mogahed/they-say-you-don-t-get-over-someone-until-you-find-someone-or/) [Yasmin Mogahed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yasmin-mogahed/) > [“If I was set an essay on Friday, I’d spend three hours on Saturday morning in the library. Was that normal? I didn’t know.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-jamieson/if-i-was-set-an-essay-on-friday-i-d-spend-three-hours-on-saturday/) [Alice Jamieson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-jamieson/) > [Hence it demands the emptiness of all the faculties. And when the faculties are empty, then the whole being listens. There is then a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zhuangzi/hence-it-demands-the-emptiness-of-all-the-faculties-and-when-the/) [Zhuangzi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zhuangzi/) > [“There are people in the world, who are just wrong, and then there are the masses of population that are right, or at the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-stroube/there-are-people-in-the-world-who-are-just-wrong-and-then-there-are/) [J.D. Stroube](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-stroube/) > [The more desires you have, the more misery you will create for yourself. Misery is a consequence of desiring - and you go on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-more-desires-you-have-the-more-misery-you-will-create-for/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [In Japan we have the phrase, "Shoshin," which means "beginner's mind." Our "original mind" includes everything within itself. It is always rich and sufficient…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shunryu-suzuki/in-japan-we-have-the-phrase-shoshin-which-means-beginner-s-mind-our/) [Shunryu Suzuki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shunryu-suzuki/) ## More by Wandini > [Always be kind, compromise, be respectful, impeccable, devoted, thoughtful, communicative with your present love. Learn from your past but never forget to do the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wandini/always-be-kind-compromise-be-respectful-impeccable-devoted-thoughtful/) [Wandini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wandini/) > [If you forgive too many times people will get in the habit of hurting you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wandini/if-you-forgive-too-many-times-people-will-get-in-the-habit-of-hurting/) [Wandini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wandini/) > [You prostrate religiously--yet, YOU kill thou bredren and create war among the people, including YOUR PEOPLE. Do you even know the love of GOD?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wandini/you-prostrate-religiously-yet-you-kill-thou-bredren-and-create-war/) [Wandini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wandini/) > [LOVE is the most beautiful thing which exists. I don't know where we are going, all I know is that I want to go…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wandini/love-is-the-most-beautiful-thing-which-exists-i-don-t-know-where-we/) [Wandini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wandini/) > [Wake up and smell the facism; The biggests terrorists are not on the streets they are in Government.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wandini/wake-up-and-smell-the-facism-the-biggests-terrorists-are-not-on-the/) [Wandini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wandini/) > [She: Can I have breakfast in bed? Me: If you want breakfast in bed, sleep in the kitchen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wandini/she-can-i-have-breakfast-in-bed-me-if-you-want-breakfast-in-bed-sleep/) [Wandini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wandini/) > [You know you're both going to mess up endless times and have to apologize and be forgiven and forgive. Know when to be the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wandini/you-know-you-re-both-going-to-mess-up-endless-times-and-have-to/) [Wandini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wandini/) > [Walking your thoughts is the magic key.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wandini/walking-your-thoughts-is-the-magic-key/) [Wandini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wandini/) > [You don't sell dreams; You make dreams happen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wandini/you-don-t-sell-dreams-you-make-dreams-happen/) [Wandini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wandini/) > [It is what you haven't done that will torment you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wandini/it-is-what-you-haven-t-done-that-will-torment-you/) [Wandini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wandini/) > [Heart is closed for remodeling-- God is working on repairs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wandini/heart-is-closed-for-remodeling-god-is-working-on-repairs/) [Wandini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wandini/) > [You are my home, you are my love & you bring out the best in me. Just knowing you believe in me, makes me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wandini/you-are-my-home-you-are-my-love-you-bring-out-the-best-in-me-just/) [Wandini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wandini/) > [Did you like my fall? Let me buy you a first row ticket so you can see how quickly I'll get back on my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wandini/did-you-like-my-fall-let-me-buy-you-a-first-row-ticket-so-you-can-see/) [Wandini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wandini/) > [Honestly, don't you feel silly holding on to things that just keep on hurting you? Let go...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wandini/honestly-don-t-you-feel-silly-holding-on-to-things-that-just-keep-on/) [Wandini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wandini/) > [Self trust is the first secret to success.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wandini/self-trust-is-the-first-secret-to-success/) [Wandini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wandini/) [Explore all 51 Wandini quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wandini/) ## More Emptiness quotes > [Tell the truth about your wound, and then you will get a truthful picture of the remedy to apply to it. Don't pack whatever…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clarissa-pinkola-estes/tell-the-truth-about-your-wound-and-then-you-will-get-a-truthful/) [Clarissa Pinkola Estes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clarissa-pinkola-estes/) > [Go into emptiness, strike voids, bypass what he defends hit him where he does not expect you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sun-tzu/go-into-emptiness-strike-voids-bypass-what-he-defends-hit-him-where/) [Sun Tzu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sun-tzu/) > [I've always been a very restless person. I work hard, spend too much time looking after my son, I dance like a mad thing,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/i-ve-always-been-a-very-restless-person-i-work-hard-spend-too-much/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [“I've decided that has been the great achievement of our age: to so thoroughly flood the planet with megabits that every image and fact…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-lightman/i-ve-decided-that-has-been-the-great-achievement-of-our-age-to-so/) [Alan Lightman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-lightman/) > [“ Desolation would not be the proper word to describe his feelings now; it was more the sense of emptiness he imagined he might…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shusaku-endo/desolation-would-not-be-the-proper-word-to-describe-his-feelings-now/) [Shusaku Endo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shusaku-endo/) > [“those of little merit would not even have doubts about this doctrine of emptiness. even suspicion that objects are empty wrecks the seeds of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aryadeva/those-of-little-merit-would-not-even-have-doubts-about-this-doctrine/) [aryadeva](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aryadeva/) > [Anyone whose goal is 'something higher' must expect someday to suffer vertigo. What is vertigo? Fear of falling? No, Vertigo is something other than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milan-kundera/anyone-whose-goal-is-something-higher-must-expect-someday-to-suffer-2/) [Milan Kundera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milan-kundera/) > [“I close my eyes and I let my body shut itself down and I let my mind wander. It wanders to a familiar place.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-frey/i-close-my-eyes-and-i-let-my-body-shut-itself-down-and-i-let-my-mind/) [James Frey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-frey/) > [Buddhist words such as compassion and emptiness don't mean much until we start cultivating our innate ability simply to be there with pain with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pema-ch-dr-n/buddhist-words-such-as-compassion-and-emptiness-don-t-mean-much-until/) [Pema Chodron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pema-ch-dr-n/) > [“Only the thirsty knows the real taste of water; only the lonely knows the real weight of emptiness!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/only-the-thirsty-knows-the-real-taste-of-water-only-the-lonely-knows/) [Mehmet Murat ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [What I was trying to convey there was the kind of waste land that was left after the war. It was a bit like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-martin/what-i-was-trying-to-convey-there-was-the-kind-of-waste-land-that-was/) [George Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-martin/) > [“Everything we perceive to be solid and static is made up of almost entirely empty space.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-p-kauffman/everything-we-perceive-to-be-solid-and-static-is-made-up-of-almost/) [Joseph P. Kauffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-p-kauffman/) > [But what was there to say? Only that there were tears. Only that Quietness and Emptiness fitted together like stacked spoons. Only that there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arundhati-roy/but-what-was-there-to-say-only-that-there-were-tears-only-that/) [Arundhati Roy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arundhati-roy/) > [I got this emptiness inside that got me fighting for approval because I missed out on my daddy saying, Way to Go.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lecrae/i-got-this-emptiness-inside-that-got-me-fighting-for-approval-because/) [Lecrae](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lecrae/) > [“As we see it, space is possible only when the primordial Being swallows emptiness. Space is born when the Being accepts emptiness, the Nonbeing,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dejan-stojanovic/as-we-see-it-space-is-possible-only-when-the-primordial-being/) [Dejan Stojanovic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dejan-stojanovic/) [Browse all 1,374 Emptiness quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/emptiness/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The usefulness of a cup is in its emptiness.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Wandini" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wandini/the-usefulness-of-a-cup-is-in-its-emptiness/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Emptiness" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wandini/the-usefulness-of-a-cup-is-in-its-emptiness/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dac/wandini-13279_emptiness_the-usefulness-of-a-cup-is-in-its-emptin_3112994.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dac/wandini-13279_emptiness_the-usefulness-of-a-cup-is-in-its-emptin_3112994.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dac/wandini-13279_emptiness_the-usefulness-of-a-cup-is-in-its-emptin_3112994.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The usefulness of a cup is in its emptiness.” — Wandini", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Wandini", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wandini/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The usefulness of a cup is...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wandini/the-usefulness-of-a-cup-is-in-its-emptiness/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wandini/the-usefulness-of-a-cup-is-in-its-emptiness/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```