How To Write a Poem

A well-known Japanese poet was asked how to compose a Chinese poem.

"The usual Chinese poem is four lines," he explains. "The first line contains the initial phase; the second line, the continuation of that phase; the third line turns from this subject and begins a new one; and the fourth line brings the first three lines together. A popular Japanese song illustrates this:

Two daughters of a silk merchant live in Kyoto.

The elder is twenty, the younger, eighteen.

A soldier may kill with his sword.

But these girls slay men with their eyes.

Zen Stories

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Food & Work

Hyakujo, the Chinese Zen master, used to labor with his pupils even at the age of eighty, trimming the gardens, cleaning the grounds, and pruning the trees.

The pupils felt sorry to see the old teacher working so hard, but they knew he would not listen to their advice to stop, so they hid away his tools.

That day the master did not eat. The next day he did not eat, nor the next. "He may be angry because we have hidden his tools," the pupils surmised. "We had better put them back."

The day they did, the teacher worked and ate the same as before. In the evening he instructed them: "No work, no food."

Zen Stories

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Insight in Revenge

Zenkai, the son of a samurai, journeyed to Edo and there became the retainer of a high official. He fell in love with the official's wife and was discovered. In self-defence, he slew the official. Then he ran away with the wife.

Both of them later became thieves. But the woman was so greedy that Zenkai grew disgusted. Finally, leaving her, he journeyed far away to the province of Buzen, where he became a wandering mendicant.

To atone for his past, Zenkai resolved to accomplish some good deed in his lifetime. Knowing of a dangerous road over a cliff that had caused death and injury to many persons, he resolved to cut a tunnel through the mountain there.

Begging food in the daytime, Zenkai worked at night digging his tunnel. When thirty years had gone by, the tunnel was 2,280 feet long, 20 feet high, and 30 feet wide.

Two years before the work was completed, the son of the official he had slain, who was a skillful swordsman, found Zenkai out and came to kill him in revenge.

"I will gived you my life willingly," said Zenkai. "Only let me finish this work. On the day it is completed, then you may kill me."

So the son awaited the day. Several months passed and Zenkai kept digging. The son grew tired of doing nothing and began to help with the digging. After he had helped for more than a year, he came to admire Zenkai's strong will and character.

At last the tunnel was completed and the people could use it and travel safely.

"Now cut off my head," said Zenkai. "My work is done."

"How can I cut off my own teacher's head?" asked the younger man with tears in his eyes.

Zen Stories

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Right & Wrong

When Bankei held his seclusion-weeks of meditation, pupils from many parts of Japan came to attend. During one of these gatherings a pupil was caught stealing. The matter was reported to Bankei with the request that the culprit be expelled. Bankei ignored the case.

Later the pupil was caught in a similar act, and again Bankei disregarded the matter. This angered the other pupils, who drew up a petition asking for the dismissal of the thief, stating that otherwise they would leave in a body.

When Bankei had read the petition he called everyone before him. "You are wise brothers," he told them. "You know what is right and what is not right. You may go somewhere else to study if you wish, but this poor brother does not even know right from wrong. Who will teach him if I do not? I am going to keep him here even if all the rest of you leave."

A torrent of tears cleansed the face of the brother who had stolen. All desire to steal had vanished.

Zen Stories

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Tribute To Wise

After Bankei had passed away, a blind man who lived near the master's temple told a friend: "Since I am blind, I cannot watch a person's face, so I must judge his character by the sound of his voice. Ordinarily when I hear someone congratulate another upon his happiness or success, I also hear a secret tone of envy. When condolence is expressed for the misfortune of another, I hear pleasure and satisfaction, as if the one condoling was really glad there was something left to gain in his own world.

"In all my experience, however, Bankei's voice was always sincere. Whenever he expressed happiness, I heard nothing but happiness, and whenever he expressed sorrow, sorrow was all I heard."

Zen Stories

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Dwelling In Thoughts

Tanzan and Ekido were once travelling together down a muddy road. A heavy rain was still falling.

Coming around a bend, they met a lovely girl in a silk kimono and sash, unable to cross the intersection.

"Come on, girl," said Tanzan at once. Lifting her in his arms, he carried her over the mud.

Ekido did not speak again until that night when they reached a lodging temple. Then he no longer could restrain himself. "We monks don't do near females," he told Tanzan, "especially not young and lovely ones. It is dangerous. Why did you do that?"

"I left the girl there," said Tanzan. "Are you still carrying her?"

Zen Stories

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Obedience

The master Bankei's talks were attended not only by Zen students but by persons of all ranks and sects. He never quoted sutras nor indulged in scholastic dissertations. Instead, his words were spoken directly from his heart to the hearts of his listeners.

His large audiences angered a priest of the Nichiren sect because the adherents had left to hear about Zen. The self-centered Nichiren priest came to the temple, determined to debate with Bankei.

"Hey, Zen teacher!" he called out. "Wait a minute. Whoever respects you will obey what you say, but a man like myself does not respect you. Can you make me obey you?"

"Come up beside me and I will show you," said Bankei.

Proudly the priest pushed his way through the crowd to the teacher.

Bankei smiled. "Come over to my left side."

The priest obeyed.

"No," said Bankei, "we may talk better if you are on the right side. Step over here."

The priest proudly stepped over to the right

"You see," observed Bankei, "you are obeying me and I think you are a very gentle person. Now sit down and listen."

Zen Stories

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Is That So?

The Zen master Hakuin was praised by his neighbors as one living a pure life.

A beautiful Japanese girl whose parents owned a food store lived near him. Suddenly, without any warning, her parents discovered she was with child.

This made her parents very angry. She would not confess who the man was, but after much harassment at last named Hakuin.

In great anger the parents went to the master. "Is that so?" was all he would say.

After the child was born it was brought to Hakuin. By this time he had lost his reputation, which did not trouble him, but he took very good care of the child. He obtained milk from his neighbors and everything else the little one needed.

A year later the girl-mother could stand it no longer. She told her parents the truth - that the real father of the child was a young man who worked in the fishmarket.

The mother and father of the girl at once went to Hakuin to ask his forgiveness, to apologize at length, and to get the child back again.

Hakuin was willing. In yielding the child, all he said was: "Is that so?"

Zen Stories

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Overcoming Intoxication

Gudo was the emperor's teacher of his time. Nevertheless, he used to travel alone as a wandering mendicant. Once when he was on his was to Edo, the cultural and political center of the shogunate, he approached a little village named Takenaka. It was evening and a heavy rain was falling. Gudo was thoroughly wet. His straw sandals were in pieces. At a farmhouse near the village he noticed four or five pairs of sandals in the window and decided to buy some dry ones.

The woman who offered him the sandals, seeing how wet he was, invited him in to remain for the night at her home. Gudo accepted, thanking her. He entered and recited a sutra before the family shrine. He then was introduced to the woman's mother, and to her children. Observing that the entire family was depressed, Gudo asked what was wrong.

"My husband is a gambler and a drunkard," the housewife told him. "When he happens to win he drinks and becomes abusive. When he loses he borrows money from others. Sometimes when he becomes thoroughly drunk he does not come home at all. What can I do?"

I will help him," said Gudo. "Here is some money. Get me a gallon of fine wine and something good to eat. Then you may retire. I will meditate before the shrine."

When the man of the house returned about midnight, quite drunk, he bellowed: "Hey, wife, I am home. Have you something for me to eat?"

"I have something for you," said Gudo. "I happened to get caught in the rain and your wife kindly asked me to remain here for the night. In return I have bought some wine and fish, so you might as well have them."

The man was delighted. He drank the wine at once and laid himself down on the floor. Gudo sat in meditation beside him.

In the morning when the husband awoke he had forgotten about the previous night. "Who are you? Where do you come from?" he asked Gudo, who still was meditating.

"I am Gudo of Kyoto and I am going on to Edo," replied the Zen master.

The man was utterly ashamed. He apologized profusely to the teacher of his emperor.

Gudo smiled. "Everything in this life is impermanent," he explained. "Life is very brief. If you keep on gambling and drinking, you will have no time left to accomplish anything else, and you will cause your family to suffer too."

The perception of the husband awoke as if from a dream. "You are right," he declared. "How can I ever repay you for this wonderful teaching! Let me see you off and carry your things a little way."

"If you wish," assented Gudo.

The two started out. After they had gone three miles Gudo told him to return. "Just another five miles," he begged Gudo. They continued on.

"You may return now," suggested Gudo.

"After another ten miles," the man replied.

"Return now," said Gudo, when the ten miles had been passed.

"I am going to follow you all the rest of my life," declared the man.

Modern Zen teachers in Japan spring from the lineage of a famous master who was the successor of Gudo. His name was Mu-nan, the man who never turned back.

Zen Stories

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Art of Listening

Nan-in, a Japanese master during the Meiji era (1868-1912), received a university professor who came to inquire about Zen.

Nan-in served tea. He poured his visitor's cup full, and then kept on pouring.

The professor watched the overflow until he no longer could restrain himself. "It is overfull. No more will go in!"

"Like this cup," Nan-in said, "you are full of your own opinions and speculations. How can I show you Zen unless you first empty your cup?"

Zen Stories

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Full Journey

Zen Master Shunryu Suzuki says, "What is more important, to make a million dollars, or enjoy your effort, little by little, even though it is impossible to make that million? To be successful, or to find some meaning in your efforts to succeed?"

We should give up goal orientation and simply be. Life is not about getting somewhere in a hurry, but enjoying the journey to the full.

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An Atheist

In the Sung dynasty there was a famous prime minister by the name of Chang Shang-Yin who was opposed to Buddhism. He wrote many essays purporting to refute Buddhism, and he would spend every evening pondering over how he could improve the essay he was then working on.

His wife, observing his obsessive involvement and struggle with his writing, asked him, "What are you doing?" He said, "Buddhism is really hateful. I'm trying to prove there is no Buddha."

His wife remarked, "How strange! If you say there is no Buddha, why bother to refute the Buddha? It is as if you are throwing punches into empty space."

This comment turned his mind around. He reflected: There may be something to Buddhism after all.

Thus if you try to destroy something, you are still bound up by it. For instance, suppose you try to clear a blocked pipe by pushing another object into it. Whatever was originally in the pipe is pushed out, but the new object is now blocking the pipe. When you try to use existence to get rid of existence, you will always end up with existence.

When you throw something away, it is gone. But does it cease to exist?

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Wise & Fool

A wise man never knows all, only fools know everything 

~ African Proverb ~

To know that we know what we know,and that we do not know what we do not know, that is true knowledge.

~Henry David Thoreau~

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Angry

There was a little boy with a bad temper. His father gave him a bag of nails and told him that every time he lost his temper, to hammer a nail in the back fence. The first day the boy had driven 37 nails into the fence. 

Then it gradually dwindled down. He discovered it was easier to hold his temper than to drive those nails into the fence. Finally the day came when the boy didn't lose his temper at all. He told his father about it and the father suggested that the boy now pull out one nail for each day that he was able to hold his temper. 

The days passed and the young boy was finally able to tell his father that all the nails were gone. The father took his son by the hand and led him to the fence. 

He said, "You have done well, my son, but look at the holes in the fence. The fence will never be the same. When you say things in anger, they leave a scar just like this one. You can put a knife in a man and draw it out. It won't matter how many times you say 'I'm sorry', the wound is still there."

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How To Be Wise

An old country doctor was celebrated for his wisdom. "Dr. Sage," a young man asked, "how did you get so wise?" 

"Weren't hard," said the doc. "I've got good judgement. Now, good judgment comes from experience," he continued. "And experience - well, that comes from having bad judgement."

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Real Change

When I was a young man, I wanted to change the world. I found it was difficult to change the world, so I tried to change my nation. When I found I couldn't change the nation, I began to focus on my town. I couldn't change the town and as an older man, I tried to change my family. 

Now, as an old man, I realize the only thing I can change is myself, and suddenly I realize that if long ago I had changed myself, I could have made an impact on my family. My family and I could have made an impact on our town. Their impact could have changed the nation and I could indeed have changed the world. 

Unknown Monk (1100AD)

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Friday Night

The Hodja and his wife made an agreement to fulfill their marital duties every Friday night.

"But with all my other obligations, how will I remember that it is Friday night?" asked Nasreddin.

"Each week I shall place your turban on the large chest, so you will know that it is Friday," answered the wife.

One night, not on a Friday, the wife desired to make love, so she placed Nasreddin's turban on the chest.

The Hodja said, "But wife, this is not Friday night."

She answered, "It is Friday night."

He replied, "Wife, in this house either Friday shall wait for me, or I shall wait for Friday."

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The Burqa

Nasreddin Hodja's first marriage was an arranged marriage, and in keeping with the custom of the time, he did not see his unveiled bride until the wedding ceremony. Unfortunately, she did not have an attractive face.

The next day when the bride was making preparations to go to market, she asked her husband, as was the custom, "Shall I wear my burqa? I do not wish to show my face to anyone against your wishes."

Nasreddin answered, "Wear your burqa or leave it at home. It is all the same to me to whom you show your face in public. All I ask is that you keep your face covered when you are at home with me."

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The Debt

Nasreddin was strolling through the marketplace when a shopkeeper accosted him, berating the Hodja loudly for his failure to pay a debt.

"My dear friend," answered the Hodja, "just how much do I owe you?"

"Seventy-five piasters," shouted the angry shopkeeper.

"Now, now," replied the Hodja. "You must know that I intend to pay you thirty-five piasters tomorrow, and next month another thirty-five. That means that I owe you only five piasters. Are you not ashamed of yourself for accosting me so loudly in public for a debt of only five piasters?"

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Every One Is Right

Once when Nasreddin Hodja was serving as qadi, one of his neighbors came to him with a complaint against a fellow neighbor.

The Hodja listened to the charges carefully, then concluded, "Yes, dear neighbor, you are quite right."

Then the other neighbor came to him. The Hodja listened to his defense carefully, then concluded, "Yes, dear neighbor, you are quite right."

The Hodja's wife, having listened in on the entire proceeding, said to him, "Husband, both men cannot be right."

The Hodja answered, "Yes, dear wife, you are quite right."

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I Am He

What can be done, O believers, as I don't recognize myself? 

I'm neither a Christian nor Jew, Magian nor Moslem. 

I'm not of the East or West; neither land nor sea; 

I'm not of Nature's mine; nor the stars in Heaven. 

I'm not of earth, water, air or fire; 

I'm not of Heaven, nor the dust on this carpet. 

I'm not of India, China, Bulgaria nor Saqsin; 

I'm not of the kingdom of Iraq, nor Khorasan. 

I'm not of this world, nor the next, Paradise nor Hell; 

I'm not of Adam, nor Eve, Eden nor Rizwan. 

My place is in the Placeless, my trace in the Traceless; 

I'm neither body nor soul, as I belong to the soul of the Beloved. 

I have dispensed with duality, and seen the two worlds as One. 

One I seek; One I know, One I see, One I call 

He is the first, last, the outward and the inward, 

I know none other than He, and He Who Is. 

Jalaluddin Rumi

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Reaching The Source

Don't look at your form, however ugly or beautiful. 

Look at love and at the aim of your quest. ...

O you whose lips are parched, keep looking for water. 

Those parched lips are proof that eventually you will reach the source.

Jaluddin Rumi

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Everything Will Pass

A powerful king, ruler of many domains, was in a position of such magnificence that wise men were his mere employees. And yet one day he felt himself confused and called the sages to him.

He said: 

'I do not know the cause, but something impels me to seek a certain ring, one that will enable me to stabilize my state.

'I must have such a ring. And this ring must be one which, when I am unhappy, will make me joyful. At the same time, if I am happy and look upon it, I must be made sad.'

The wise men consulted one another, and threw themselves into deep contemplation, and finally they came to a decision as to the character of this ring which would suit their king.

The ring which they devised was one upon which was inscribed the legend:

This, too, will pass.

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Clinging

A Bedouin was once walking with his dog in the desert, carrying a skin of water on his shoulders, crying pitifully as he went along. 

When asked by someone why he was crying, he replied, “Because my dog is dying of thirst.”

“Why don’t you give him some of your water, then?” the questioner asked.

“Because I might need the water myself.”

Sufi Stories

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Exemplary Leader

There were 4 towns. In each town, people were starving to death. Each town had a bag of seeds. 

In the first town, no one knew what seeds could do. No one knew how to plant them. Everyone starved. 

In the second town, one person knew what seeds were and how 

to plant them, but did nothing about it for one reason or another. 

Everyone starved. 

In the third town, one person knew what seeds were and how to plant them. He proposed to plant them in exchange for being declared the king or ruler. All ate, but were ruled. 

In the fourth town, one person knew what seeds were and how to plant them. He not only planted the seeds, but taught everyone the art of gardening. All ate, and all were free and empowered.

Sufi Stories

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Believing The Wise

A certain man lay bedridden with a serious illness, and it appeared that his death was near. In her fear, his wife summoned a hakim, the local town doctor.

The hakim tapped around on the patient and listened for more than half an hour. He checked his pulse, put his head on the man's chest, turned him onto his stomach and then his side and back, raised the man's legs and body, opened his eyes, and looked in his mouth. Finally, with a great deal of conviction the hakim said, "My dear woman, unfortunately I must give you sad news. Your husband has been dead for two days."

At this very moment the ailing man raised his head in shock and whimpered anxiously, "No, my dearest, I am still alive!"

The wife pushed her husband back down onto the pillow with her hand and replied with irritation, "Be quiet! The hakim, a doctor, is an expert. He ought to know!"

Persian Tales

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Things Are Not Seen As Perceived

A certain man made an appointment to see a psychologist. He arrived at the psychologist's office and said to him, "Doctor, I always feel depressed. No matter what I do I still feel depressed. I just don't know what to do." 

The psychologist looked at him and said, "Come with me to the window."

The man followed and then the psychologist pointed outside and said, "Do you see that tent over there in the distance? Well, there is a circus in town and it is really good. There are lots of acts to watch, specially the clown acts. And there is one clown in particular who is extremely funny. He will make you rock with laughter over and over again. Go and see that clown and I guarantee that you will not have reason to be depressed again!"

The man turned to the psychologist with sad eyes and said, "Doctor, I am that clown!"

Zen Stories

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Loving God

A certain man named, Wasim, heard a shepherd on the road praying, "God, where are you? I want to help you fix your shoes and comb your hair. I want to wash your clothes and cook for you. My sheep and goats are yours. Remembering you is..."

Wasim was confused and asked the shepheard, "Who are you talking to?"

"The one who made us and made the earth and sky," the shepherd replied.

A little upset, Wasim said, "Do not talk about shoes and socks with God! Only something that grows needs food. Only someone with feet needs shoes. Not God! Use appropriate terms. What you say is right for us beings, but not for addressing God."

The shepherd apologized and wandered out into the desert with a sad face.

Then a sudden revelation came to Wasim. God's voice said, "You have separated me from one of my own. Are you here to unite or to sever? I have given each being a separate and unique way of seeing, knowing, and saying things. What seems wrong to you is right for another. What is poison to one is honey for another. Purity and impurity, sloth and diligence in worship, all mean nothing to me. I am apart from all that.

Ways of worshipping are not to be ranked as better or worse than one another. It is not me that is glorified in acts of worship. It is the worshipers. I don't hear the words they say, I look inside at the humility. The openness is the reality, not the language. Forget phraseology. I want burning. Be friends with your burning. Burn up your thinking and your forms of expression!

Wasim, those who pay attention to ways of behaving and speaking are one sort. Lovers who burn are another. Don't shout at the lover. The 'wrong' way he talks is better than a hundred 'right' ways of others. The love-religion has no code or doctrine. Only God."

Wasim ran after the shepherd following his footprints. He finally caught up with him and said, "I was wrong. God has revealed to me that there are no rules for worship. Say whatever and however your loving tells you to. Yours is the truest devotion. Through you a whole world is freed."

The shepherd replied, "I have gone beyond even that. The divine nature and my human nature came together. Bless your scolding hand. I cannot say what has happened, but I am now seeing another dimension. It cannot be explained."

When you look in a mirror you see yourself and not the state of the mirror. The flute player puts breath into a flute. Who makes the music? Not the flute. The flute player!

Whenever you give thanks, it is always like the shepherd's simplicity. When you eventually see through the veil to how things really are, you will find yourself repeating, "This is definitely not like we thought it was!"

Note: This story was narrated by Rumi in, "Teachings of Rumi."

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Disturbence

A certain ascetic, Zarvand, decided to meditate in the Alborz Mountains with only a piece of cloth wrapped around him. Quickly he realized, that he needed another piece of cloth to wear while he washed the first, so he told the people in the village that he needed another piece of cloth. They knew he was a pious man, so they gave it to him. With his two pieces of cloth he once again ascended the Alborz Mountains.

Shortly after, he discovered that as he was meditating a mouse would try to drag his extra cloth away. He wanted to frighten the mouse away, but he could not keep leaving his meditation and prayers to run after the mouse. So, he descended to the village and asked the people for a cat.

After having taken the cat, he realized that it could not live on eating fruit alone. There were not enough mice for it to feed on and it needed milk. The people of the village knew the milk was not for him, because he did not care for anything, so they gave him some.

Soon the milk was finished and Zarvand became worried because he was now going up and down the mountain to the village for milk. To eliminate the problem of fetching milk, he took a little cow up the mountain, so it could provide milk for the cat.

He found himself milking the cow to care for the cat, then he thought, "There are so many poor people in the village. I will ask one of them to milk the cow for the cat's sake, and he can drink some milk daily also."

A poor villager who looked like he could use nourishes milk was brought up the mountain. After a few weeks of the mountain air and lots of good milk he became healthy. The man then told Zarvand, "I would like a companion and to raise a family."

Zarvand thought to himself, "He is quite right, I cannot deprive him of companionship." To cut short what could be a very long story, after two months the whole village moved up the mountain.

Note: Interesting how the need for one thing leads to the need for another and another. Ultimately, the ascetic had indirect desires. It is an old Persian tale.

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Loosing A Book

A friend asked Nasruddin, "Why do you have a book tied to your leg?"

- "So I won't lose it," replied Nasruddin.

"But you can't read it if it's tied to your leg!"

- "I can't read it if I lose it either."

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Giving Tips

Nasruddin goes to a bath house one day. The attendant, who knows Nasruddin isn't a wealthy man, points him at a heap of old, tattered bath towels. The new, soft ones are for the rich folks.

The bath water's cold. "Hey! Can you bring some hot water in here?" Calls Nasruddin to the attendant.

"Get it yourself."

So Nasruddin takes his bath in cold water, dries himself with an old towel, and on his way out tips the attendant with a gold coin. A gold coin!

Next week, Nasruddin is back at the bath house. Same attendant. But this time: "Please, Nasruddin, take a new towel. No, take two." "I'll bring hot water for your bath." "Here, try this new scented soap." "If you need anything, I'll be right outside the door."

So Nasruddin has a great bath, and this time he tips the attendant with a copper coin and heads out.

The attendant follows. "Hey! But you gave me a gold coin last time!"

"Oh," says Nasruddin. "The gold coin was for this week. This," he says, pointing at the copper coin, "was for last week."

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The Gift

Whoever is content with the gift and does not see the giver, his heart is attentive only to the gift and neglectful of the Giver."

 Baba Tahir

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Good/Bad Man

"If someone remarks "What an excellent man you are!" and this pleases you more than his saying "What a bad man you are!" know that you are still a bad man."

 Sufiyan Al-Thawri

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Helping Hand

"Habib had one cloak that he used to wear both summer and winter. One day, when he went out of his house to make ablutions, he left his cloak behind on the road.

Hasan al-Basri came by and saw Habib's cloak lying in the middle of the road. He thought to himself, "Habib has left his cloak; may G-d forbid that someone take it." Hasan stood there and watched watched over it until Habib returned.

When Habib arrived, he greeted Hasan and and said "O Imam of the Muslims, what are you doing standing there?" In reply, Hasan exclaimed: "Don't you know that your cloak should not left here? Someone might take it. Tell me, in whom were you trustuing leaving it here?"

Habib smiled, and replied: "In He who appointed you to watch over it."

Al-'Ajami (Sufi Mystic)

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Judgment Day

On the Day of Judgment Allah shall ask the learned men, "What did you do with the knowledge and learning I conferred on you?" They will reply, "We spent it in Your way." Allah shall say "You are liars." And the angels shall also repeat the same charge. Allah shall further say, "You spent it in earning applause, in passing for learned men and seeking praise of the people."

Then Allah shall ask the rich men, "I gave you wealth. What did you do with it?" They will say, "We gifted the riches in Your way." Then Allah and the angels will say, "You are liars, you spent it so the people may call you charitable."

The Allah shall summon those who gave away their lives in the Holy Wars. "How did you spend your life which I gave you?" They will reply, "We sacrificed it in Your path." Allah and the angels will call them liars and say, "You gave away your lives that people might call you brave and style you martyrs."

Al-Ghazzali (Sufi Mystic)

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Spiritual Light

Love all and hate none.

Mere talk of peace will avail you not.

Mere talk of God and religion will not take you far.

Be a blazing fire of truth,

be a beauteous blossom of love

and be a soothing balm of peace.

With your spiritual light, dispel the darkness of ignorance;

dissolve the couds of discord and war

and spread goodwill, peace and harmony among the people.

Hazrat Khwaja (Sufi Mystic)

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Beyond This World

A leading scholar of Basra visited Rabi'a al-Adawiyya while she was ill. Sitting beside her pillow, the scholar spoke about how terrible the world was.

In reply, Rabi'a told him:

"You love the world very dearly. If you did not love the world, you would not mention it so much. It is always the purchaser who first disparages what he wants to buy. If you were done with the world, you would not mention it either for good or evil. As it is, you keep mentioning it because, as the proverb says, whoever loves a thing mentions it frequently."

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Killing Enemies

Once Ali, the son-in-law of the Prophet, was fighting on the battlefield with one of the most powerful champions of the enemy. He finally managed to strike the warrior's sword from his hand. As he raised his sword to take the enemy's life, the man spat in his Ali's face. Ali stopped and sheathed his sword. His enemy said "I don't understand. You were about to kill me, and after I spit at you, you spare my life?

Ali replied: "I was going to take your life in battling for G-d's sake, but when you spat at me, it angered me. Had I killed you then, I would have been a murderer, for I would have struck in anger. I will fight for G-d, but I will not murder for my ego."

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Handling Difficult People

Once Nasruddin was called upon to preach a sermon. From the pulpit, he asked the congregation: "Do you know what I am going to preach about?"

"No!" they replied. "In that case," said Nasruddin, "it would take too long to explain." And he went home.

Next day he ascended the pulpit and asked the same question: "Do you know what I am going to preach about?"

"Yes," the people said this time, determined to put him on the spot. "In that case," said Nasruddin, "there is no need for me to say more." And he went home.

Yet again the following day he put the same question. "Do you know what I am going to preach about?"

But now the congregation was ready to corner him. "Some of us do and some of us don't," they answered. "In that case," said Nasruddin, "let those who know tell those who don't."

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