19/04/2026
COME BACK WITH AN EMPTY CUP
Many years ago, when I was a teenager in my hometown, there was a man that was completely mad. Mad but not stupid.
He simply went beyond the limits imposed by society. He was “wise” but in a way that was not acceptable at that time and in that place.
If he was in India, he would have probably been considered a saint, a holy man, or even an enlightened one.
But it was Livorno, not Varanasi.
Nevertheless, I could recognise his wisdom. Though most probably, his encounter with the ultimate truth was too much for his “mind” and made it impossible for him to come back within the limits of this mundane world.
Looking directly at the light can make us blind.
It brings to mind something I've read - that hearing the voice of God would make you mad, that's why He speaks through the angels.
Among all the songs, poems and stories that he wrote, there is something that has been etched in my memory until today:
“There are things that cannot be taught, they can only be learned.”
I was reminded of this recently after reading a quote from a spiritual master: “Zen cannot be studied, it can only be lived”.
I smile with mixed feelings of sadness thinking about all those people coming from the academic world, who have studied for many years at the university, perhaps for decades that are now trying to approach the spiritual (or shamanic) world with the same mindset.
In my honest opinion and experience - it just won't work.
Wisdom is not knowledge.
This is what I'm trying to teach to my students, to share with anybody who is coming to me looking for guidance.
It's a kind of paradox to teach what is not “teachable”, but I'm doing my best.