What do sad people
have in common? It seems they
have all built a shrine to the past and
often go there and do a strange
wail and worship.
What is the
beginning of happiness?
It is to stop being so
religious like
that.
In the ch’an perspective
wisdom is a state that is free from
attachments, free from measurement,
free from self-reference and
empty of vexation.
The heart is
The thousand-stringed instrument.
Our sadness and fear come from being
Out of tune with love.
All day long God coaxes my lips
To speak,
So that your tears will not stain
His green dress.
It is not that the Friend is vain,
It is just your life we care about.
Sometimes the Beloved
Takes my pen in hand,
For Hafiz is just a simple man.
The other day the Old One
Wrote on the Tavern wall:
“The heart is
The thousand-stringed instrument
That can only be tuned with
Love.”
You
could become a
great horseman and help
to free yourself and this world though
only if you and prayer become sweet lovers.
It is a naive man who thinks we are not engaged in a
fierce battle, for I see and hear brave foot soldiers
all around me going mad, falling on the ground
in excruciating pain. You could become a
victorious horseman and carry your
heart through this world like a
life-giving sun though only
if you and God become
sweet lovers.
The Sufi moral is this:
Love another and do not depend
upon his love; and: do good to another
and do not depend upon receiving good
from him; serve another and do not look
for service from him. All you do for another
out of your love and kindness, you should think
that you do, not to that person, but to God. And
if the person returns love for love, goodness
for goodness, service for service, so much
the better. If he does not return it, then
pity him for what he loses; for his
gain is much less than
his loss.
Do not look for thanks
or appreciation for all the good you do to
others, nor use it as a means to stimulate your vanity.
Do all that you consider good for the sake of
goodness, not even for a return
of that from God.
How
should those
who know of God
meet and
part?
The way
an old musician
greets his beloved instrument
and will take special care, as a great
artist always does, to enhance
the final note of each
performance.