[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
When, finally, the king prepared to go,
The poor man said: I haven t much to show --
You ve seen my home and food (I brought the best;
You were a rather unexpected guest),
But if in future you feel sorrow s pain
I hope you ll come and be my guest again.
If you weren t king you could be happy, sire;
I m happy shovelling wood on this great fire --
So I m not less than you or more, you see &
I m nothing next to you, your majesty.
The king was so impressed that he returned,
What more could I desire from you than you?
May my perverse heart die if it should crave
Another fate than to remain your slave!
What s sovereignty to me? All I request
Is that from time to time you ll be my guest.
The bath attendant s love should teach you yours;
Learn from him all the loving heart endures --
And if this love has stirred in you, then cling
With passion to the garments of your king;
He too is moved; hold fast and do not stop --
He is a sea; He asks of you one drop.
Two water-sellers
A man who lived by selling water found
He d very little left; he looked around
And saw another water-seller there --
Have you got any water you could spare?
He asked. No, fool, I certainly have not,
The other snapped: make do with what you ve got!
O, give me some, the man began to plead;
I m sick of what I have; it s yours I need.
When Adam s heart grew tired of all he knew,
He yearned for wheat; a substance strange and new --
He gave up all he owned for one small grain,
And naked suffered love s relentless pain;
He disappeared in love s intensity --
The old and new were gone and so was he;
He was annihilated, lost, made naught --
Nothingness swallowed all his hands had sought.
To turn from what we are, to yearn and die
Is not for us to choose or to deny.
A bird you claims to be satisfied with his spiritual state
Another bird squawked: There can be no doubt
I ve made myself unworldly and devout.
To reach this wise perfection which you see
I ve lived a life of cruel austerity,
And as I ve gained the sum of wisdom here,
I really couldn t move, I hope that s clear.
What fool would leave his treasury to roam
In deserts and dry mountains far from home?
The hoopoe answers him
The hoopoe said: Hell s pride has filled your soul;
Lost in self-love, you dread our distant goal.
Your arrogance deceives you, and you stray
Further and further from the spirit s Way.
Your Self has trapped your soul and made it blind;
The devil s throne is your complacent mind.
The light that guides you is a fantasy,
Your love a self-induced absurdity --
All your austerities are just a cheat,
And all you say is nothing but deceit.
Don t trust the light which shows you where you go;
Your own Self sheds this dim, misleading glow --
It has no sword, but such an enemy
Will threaten any man s security.
If it s your Self s light which the road reveals,
It s like the scorpion s sting which parsley heals;
Don t be deceived by this false glow, but run
And be an atom since you re not the sun
(Don t grieve because the Way is dark as night,
Or strive to emulate the sun s pure light);
Whilst you are locked within yourself your cares
Are worthless as your worthless cries and prayers.
If you would soar beyond the circling sky,
First free yourself from thoughts of me and I ;
If any thought of selfhood stains your mind
An empty void is all the Self will find,
If any taste of selfhood stays with you
Then you are damned whatever you may do.
If selfhood beckons you for but one breath
A rain of arrows will decide your death.
While you exist endure the spirit s pain;
A hundred times bow down, then bow again --
But if you cling to selfhood and its crimes,
Your neck will feel Fate s yoke a hundred times.
How Sheikh Abou Bakr s self-satisfaction was reproved
Sheikh Abou Bakr of Neishapour one day
Led his disciples through a weary way.
His donkey carried him, aloof, apart --
And then the beast let out a monstrous fart!
The sheikh began to tear his clothes and cry
Till one of his disciples asked him why.
The sheikh said: When I looked I saw a sea
Of my disciples sworn to follow me;
They filled the roads and in my mind there slid
The thought: By God, I equal Bayazid! [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
zanotowane.pl doc.pisz.pl pdf.pisz.pl wyciskamy.pev.pl
When, finally, the king prepared to go,
The poor man said: I haven t much to show --
You ve seen my home and food (I brought the best;
You were a rather unexpected guest),
But if in future you feel sorrow s pain
I hope you ll come and be my guest again.
If you weren t king you could be happy, sire;
I m happy shovelling wood on this great fire --
So I m not less than you or more, you see &
I m nothing next to you, your majesty.
The king was so impressed that he returned,
What more could I desire from you than you?
May my perverse heart die if it should crave
Another fate than to remain your slave!
What s sovereignty to me? All I request
Is that from time to time you ll be my guest.
The bath attendant s love should teach you yours;
Learn from him all the loving heart endures --
And if this love has stirred in you, then cling
With passion to the garments of your king;
He too is moved; hold fast and do not stop --
He is a sea; He asks of you one drop.
Two water-sellers
A man who lived by selling water found
He d very little left; he looked around
And saw another water-seller there --
Have you got any water you could spare?
He asked. No, fool, I certainly have not,
The other snapped: make do with what you ve got!
O, give me some, the man began to plead;
I m sick of what I have; it s yours I need.
When Adam s heart grew tired of all he knew,
He yearned for wheat; a substance strange and new --
He gave up all he owned for one small grain,
And naked suffered love s relentless pain;
He disappeared in love s intensity --
The old and new were gone and so was he;
He was annihilated, lost, made naught --
Nothingness swallowed all his hands had sought.
To turn from what we are, to yearn and die
Is not for us to choose or to deny.
A bird you claims to be satisfied with his spiritual state
Another bird squawked: There can be no doubt
I ve made myself unworldly and devout.
To reach this wise perfection which you see
I ve lived a life of cruel austerity,
And as I ve gained the sum of wisdom here,
I really couldn t move, I hope that s clear.
What fool would leave his treasury to roam
In deserts and dry mountains far from home?
The hoopoe answers him
The hoopoe said: Hell s pride has filled your soul;
Lost in self-love, you dread our distant goal.
Your arrogance deceives you, and you stray
Further and further from the spirit s Way.
Your Self has trapped your soul and made it blind;
The devil s throne is your complacent mind.
The light that guides you is a fantasy,
Your love a self-induced absurdity --
All your austerities are just a cheat,
And all you say is nothing but deceit.
Don t trust the light which shows you where you go;
Your own Self sheds this dim, misleading glow --
It has no sword, but such an enemy
Will threaten any man s security.
If it s your Self s light which the road reveals,
It s like the scorpion s sting which parsley heals;
Don t be deceived by this false glow, but run
And be an atom since you re not the sun
(Don t grieve because the Way is dark as night,
Or strive to emulate the sun s pure light);
Whilst you are locked within yourself your cares
Are worthless as your worthless cries and prayers.
If you would soar beyond the circling sky,
First free yourself from thoughts of me and I ;
If any thought of selfhood stains your mind
An empty void is all the Self will find,
If any taste of selfhood stays with you
Then you are damned whatever you may do.
If selfhood beckons you for but one breath
A rain of arrows will decide your death.
While you exist endure the spirit s pain;
A hundred times bow down, then bow again --
But if you cling to selfhood and its crimes,
Your neck will feel Fate s yoke a hundred times.
How Sheikh Abou Bakr s self-satisfaction was reproved
Sheikh Abou Bakr of Neishapour one day
Led his disciples through a weary way.
His donkey carried him, aloof, apart --
And then the beast let out a monstrous fart!
The sheikh began to tear his clothes and cry
Till one of his disciples asked him why.
The sheikh said: When I looked I saw a sea
Of my disciples sworn to follow me;
They filled the roads and in my mind there slid
The thought: By God, I equal Bayazid! [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]