come! let us fast today.not fast from mere food i talk about,
real fasting be far removed from that.
in this world of ten thousand things, *
food is not at all what matters the most.
far more than that, you act as an host.
don't forget the noble eightfold path. **
your intention, speech
action and thought.
what you will be held accountable for
are far grave a disposition
than what (gross material)
make way in body alone.
o wayfarer! how long
will you live in ignorance?
let us fast in harmony
upon the real objects today,
unnecessity may give itself away.
(c) Sadiq M. Alam
28 Nov, 2007. LA, CA
# note::
* "ten thousand things" is a metaphor used in ancient Chinese and Daoist tradition to symbolize the created world of multiplicity, everything in the universe. it is a term meaning all of phenomenal reality. in ancient age ten thousand was a sure enough huge number; just like what quadrillion or centillion mean to us today.
** the noble eightfold path described by the enlightened teacher of humanity, Siddhartha Gautama as: right view, right intention, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, right concentration which summarizes as a practical guideline to ethical and mental development and tool to evolve towards a perfect human being.
# Related
. interesting read on ten thousand things and metaphysics.
. meaning of fast the inner heart blossoms
. meaning of fast the inner heart blossoms
5 comments:
Thank you for sharing this piece of poetic thoughts full of spirituality ...How true at time when we fast we forget that fasting not just about refaining from food
so beautiful ....fasting of anger,lust,moha[dont know the exact english word],gluttony and taking things from others in a wrongful way....may i add these 5 too?
Beautiful and very meaningful :) The Sufi tries to fasts every day from what is other than God, and like the eight-fold path, seeks right action is all he or she does.
Ya Haqq!
" . . . let us fast in harmony
upon the real objects today,
unnecessity may give itself away."
When I read this, tears came to my eyes . . . so beautiful, and my body, mind, heart . . . felt a resting, and a permission to just BE. So many things I was going to DO today, and feeling some pressure about not having done
much of anything. (this seems to happen many days:)
Thank you for being here in this place and I give thanks for having come by your 'open door' . . .
mahima ~
dear Nasra,
thanks for reassuring. :)
Shree,
surely u can add those 5 too. without fasting from those negative aspects, even God says, i dont need ur hunger (according to hadith).
Irving,
mashallah! may we all can emulate that fasting from everything other than the Essence.
Mahima,
thank you for your warm and kind words. may God bless you always. one of the definition of sufi is that sufis are those whose heart are as soft and warm as wool. you have such a soft heart and may your tears be blessed and accepted to the Most High as a sign of your pure heart. i am happy to know you!
Post a Comment