12/13/08

another anecdote from The Conference of the Birds...

...(Mantiq ut-Tair, in Arabic), by Farid ud-Din Attar

The Hoopee

The Hoopee replied: 'Oh Nightingale, you who would stay behind dazzled by the exterior form of things, cease to delight in an attachment so deluding. Your love of the rose has many thorns; it has disturbed and dominated you. Although the Rose is fair, her beauty is soon gone. One who seeks self-perfection should not become the slave of a love so passing. If the smile of the rose arouses your desire it will only fill your days and nights with lamentations. Forsake the Rose and blush for yourself: for she laughs at you with each new spring and then she laughs no more.'

1 comment:

akilah (Mimi Drake) said...

“Know ye then,” said the Hoopoe, “that the Simurg once removed the veil from His face, so that it shone resplendent like the sun and cast millions of rays around. By his grace, these rays were turned into birds. We are, therefore, the sparks of the Simurg. When you realize this mystery, your relation­ship with the Simurg will be as clear to you as day-light. But, beware, my friends, do not reveal this secret to others. It is not a matter to be divulged to all. Well, now that you have learnt whose reflection or shadow you are, you will understand that to live or to die is one and the same thing for you.”