Spiritual Anecdotes | Anthony de Mello

"Come home yourself!
Come back to your senses!

Do you hear that bird sing?

How can you hear the song
and not hear the singer?
How can you see the wave
and not see the ocean?
How can you see the dance
and not see the dancer?"

- Father Anthony de Mello, may God bless his soul


ONE MINUTE WISDOM

"Is there such a thing as One Minute Wisdom?"
"There certainly is,"said the Master.
"But surely one minute is too brief?"
"It is fifty-nine seconds too long."

To his puzzled disciples the Master later said,"How much time does it take to catch sight of the moon?"

"Then why all these years of spiritual endeavor?"

"Opening one's eyes may take a lifetime. Seeing is done in a flash."


THE ZEN MASTER AND THE CHRISTIAN

A Christian visited a Zen Master and said, “Allow me to read you the Sermon on the Mount.”

“I shall listen with pleasure,” said the Master.

The Christian read a sentence and looked up. The Master smiled and said, “Whoever said those words was truly an Enlightened Man.”

This pleased the Christian. He read on. The Master interrupted and said, “Those words come from a Saviour of mankind.”

The Christian was delighted. He read on to the end. The Master then declared, “That sermon was pronounced by someone radiant with Divinity.”

The Christian’s joy was boundless. He left, determined to return another day and persuade the Master to become a Christian. On the way back home he found Jesus standing by the roadside. “Lord,” he said excitedly, “I got that man to confess you are divine!”

Jesus smiled and said, “And did it do you any good except inflate your Christian ego?”


BETTER SLEEP THAN SLANDER

Sadi of Shiraz tells this tale about himself:

I used to be a pious child, fervent in prayer and devotion. One night I was keeping vigil with my father, the Holy Koran on my lap. The others in the room began to slumber and soon everyone was fast asleep, so I said to my father, “None of these sleepers opens his eyes or raises his head to say his prayers. You would think they were dead.”

My father replied, “My beloved son, I would rather you too were sleeping like them than slandering.”


THE EGG

Nasruddin earned his living selling eggs. Someone came to his shop one day and said, “Guess what I have in my hand.” “Give me a clue,” said Nasruddin.

“I shall give you several: It has the shape of an egg, the size of an egg. If looks like on egg, tastes like an egg and smells like an egg. Inside it is yellow and white. It is liquid before it is cooked, becomes thick when heated. It was, moreover laid by a hen...”

“Aha! I know!” said Nasruddin. “It is some kind of cake!”

The expert misses the obvious! The Chief Priest misses the Messiah!


THOMAS AQUINAS STOPS WRITING

The story goes that one of the world’s ablest theologians. Thomas Aquinas suddenly stopped writing. When his secretary complained about his unfinished works, Thomas replied: ‘Brother Reginald, some months ago I experienced something of the Absolute, so all I have ever written of God seems to me now to be like straw.’

How could it be otherwise when the scholar becomes a seer?

When the mystic came down from the mountain he was accosted by the atheist who said, sarcastically, “What did you bring us from that garden of delights you were in?”

The mystic replied, “I had every intention of filling my skirt with flowers and giving them to my friends on my return. But while I was there I became so intoxicated with the fragrance of the garden that I let go of the skirt.”

The Zen Masters put it succinctly: “The one who knows, does not say. The one who says, does not know.”

- From Mystic Anthony de Mello's, Song of The Bird

[>] Download Song of the Bird by Anthony de Mello, a great collection of spiritual wisdom stories, anecdotes from diverse sources including many from sufi sources

. Official Site of Anthony de Mello

It doesn’t take much to spread the warmth

1.
What actions are most excellent? To gladden the heart of human beings, to feed the hungry, to help the afflicted, to lighten the sorrow of the sorrowful, and to remove the sufferings of the injured. - Sacred Tradition, Bukhari

To serve the imminent creation (zahiri khalq) is to serve the transcendent one (wahidal batin).
- Sacred Teaching

The world is evolving from imperfection to perfection. It needs all love and sympathy; great tenderness and watchfulness are required from each one of us. - Hazrat Inayat Khan, Bowl of Saki

2.

The increasing gap between the rich and poor all over the world will not fail any one in any third world country (as well as the developed nations) to come across those who lives on less than the bare minimum. In my home country Bangladesh, poverty is everywhere. Even in the capital city Dhaka where I live, you can easily come across people having almost nothing, no matter what neighborhood you live in.

The winter is here. As I pass by the road in the morning hours to catch a bus bound towards my workplace, I can’t help but notice young kids living with their family on the roadside with very little warm clothing to put on, some are half naked. On weekend when I take a early morning walk just to pass by their dwelling places (which is beside the street, on pedestrian, not hard to imagine with makeshift temporal arrangement with no proper covering) its obvious that they don’t even have enough blanket to cover them at these long winter night.

It left me utterly sad the other day to see some of these children without enough warm clothes, so today (Friday, 27 Nov, 09) I was helped to source out some woolen pullovers and sweaters. The initial intention was to buy only for the children and young adults. I bought larger sizes so that different age group can cover since chances are that they will be sleeping with these pullovers on as well to protect them from cold as the winter becomes intense and family members of different ages might share the same one at different times. For very young ones on their mother's lap I had to buy small sizes as well.

The group of people I visited and distributed, there are about twelve families with an average of five to six people in the family. While distributing the sweaters to the kids and young ones and couple of elderly women, as my sack was getting empty, I left with a promised that I will come back and provide for all of them in that semi-slum, Inshallah.

Not far from them are couple of other patches of these semi-slum kinda living arrangement of very low income group of people and I would love to go back and make sure all of them around this area have their warm clothing this winter.

You’d be surprised to know how little it costs to distribute warm clothing among these people who have so little. Bangladesh is a major exporter of manufactured garments. Infact many of the clothing you will find in descent clothing stores and fashion streets in USA or elsewhere in Europe are 'Made in Bangladesh'. So locally we can buy reasonably good quality clothing at a very cheap rate (since production cost is little).

On an average an adult sweater / woolen garment costs now about 100 Taka (Bangladeshi currency) which is less than 2 USD. For young ones a full set of clothing (two pieces) might be 150 Taka (again less than 2 Dollar 50 cents).

What it means to have great compassion? “Let no one suffer in my midst! Let no one suffer if I can help it. Let no one far or near suffer! I will never tell a suffering person, ‘It’s all right.’ Instead, I will ask, ‘Why are you suffering? How can I help?’ And I will act on it.

For, my pains arise from great compassion. My pains push me to share and to give. Let me not give till it hurts, but rather let me give till I cry in joy.” - Sacred Tradition of Great Compassion

The winter is not serious as compared to Canada or USA, but those who are forced to sleep on street with no blanket, no roof on top or no wall to protect from cold wind at night, even relatively mild winter can be very hard and miserable. Whats more troubling for them is when these children or elderly ones from poor family catch serious cold, they can hardly afford to go to doctor or buy medicine (since food is already hard to come by, doctor and medicine becomes a luxury). So protecting them from cold does long way in saving them from further trouble in their life.

For every single person who does not have enough to cover himself or herself, winters, are much bigger, regular disasters. You can survive without food maybe for a day. But what about the basics? - Anshu Gupta, Goonj Exec Director

If you’d be so kind to join in, feel free to contribute, chip in and spread the words among your friends and family of generous heart who might also take part in it. A personal email to generous one with a genuine recommendation (with links to this post) to contribute perhaps would be the least we can do for this tear stained world.

3.
Start a huge, foolish project like Noah;
it makes absolutely no difference
what people think of you. ~ Rumi ~

Project: Spreading the Warmth

Where: Dhaka, Capital of Bangladesh (a country in South Asia, beside India), exact location where this project sets as beginning target can be viewed on google map here

What: Buying winter clothing for those who live on the street, priority given to children and elderly

Execution and Contact: Sadiq Alam, mysticsaint@gmail.com, +880-1924572887

Target: To reach 500 persons (in reality, even to alleviate the suffering of one and spread warmth to just one other person is worth the call and effort), Fund raising target 1000 USD.

If you'd like to start a similar project in your own city, you're most welcome to collaborate and share resources. Kindly email me (mysticsaint@gmail.com) with your intention, interest and brief plans. The more there are opportunities created in spreading the warmth, the better.

# Resources
. Not Just a Piece of Cloth (video)
A Global Oneness Project Video about Anshu Gupta who is the founder of Goonj, a volunteer-run recycling center in New Delhi. Anshu shows how Goonj recycles garments to provide clothes, schoolbags, sanitary napkins and other amenities for India’s poor. Anshu offers a heartfelt appeal to be mindful of the unused clothing taking space in your closet right now, and what a treasure it could be for someone in need.

. Ignorant Addiction to Transcendence
. Prophet's Eid and the Orphan
. World Street Children News
. The Blue Sweater: Bridging the Gap Between Rich and Poor in an Interconnected World

Sharing on Thanksgiving | Guest Blog

"Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise; be thankful unto Him, and bless His Name. " - Psalm

"If the only prayer you said in your whole life was, "thank you," that would suffice." - Meister Eckhart

"A true Muslim is thankful to Allah in prosperity, and resigned to His will in adversity." - Sacred Tradition of Islam, Muslim

"If you want to turn your life around, try thankfulness. It will change your life mightily." - Gerald Good

Guest Post by AV

It is Thanksgiving Day morning in America. God bless America from sea to shinning sea with Liberty and Justice for All. Amin. (Do Liberty and Justice apply to Americans of Islamic Faith too? Yes, it does!). As I finished my Fajr and Ishraq prayers this morning and began to reflect on the whole idea of thanks giving because I had earlier read an article titled “Why giving thanks is good for your health”. As I was preparing for my daily meditation session on thanksgiving and gratitude, I opened the Quran to Surah Rahman (55). In the commentary to the last verse of the Surah Rahman (55:78), Yusuf Ali, may God be pleased with him, wrote, “…the Duty of man to make himself worthy of nearness to Allah”.

This question came to my mind: How can one make himself/herself worthy of nearness to Allah? The immediate response was: By Gratitude. Being thankful and grateful. Much thanksgiving and gratitude.

In Surah Rahman, the verse “Then which of the favours of your Lord will ye deny?” is repeated 31 times.

“Allah tells us, “Then remember Me, I will remember you. Be grateful to Me, and do not reject Me”. (al-Baqarah 2: 152).

“And He has told us that only those who are grateful to Him truly worship Him: “…and be grateful to Allah, if it is Him you worship”. (al-Baqarah 2:172).

“Allah has mentioned gratitude alongside iman. Allah has divided people into two categories, the people of gratitude (shukr) and the people of ingratitude (kufr). The thing most disliked by Him is kufr and the people of kufr; the thing most likeed by Him is gratitude and the people of gratitude: “We showed him (i.e. man) the way: whether he be grateful or ungrateful (rests on his will).” (al Insan 76:3).

“The reward of gratitude is unlimited: “…If you are grateful, I will add more (favours) unto you…” (Ibrahim 14:7).

“But Allah has made the reward for gratitude free from any conditions, as in: “…And swiftly shall We reward those that (serve Us with) gratitude” (Al Imran 3:145).

“Allah has described the people of gratitude as being very few: “…But few of My slaves are grateful!” (Saba 43:13).

“Allah explained in the Quran that the only people who truly worship Him are those who give thanks (gratitude) to Him, so those who are not among the people of gratitude are not among the people of ibadah: “…and be grateful to Allah, if it is Him you worship”. (al-Baqarah 2:172).

Allah has told us that His pleasure may be attained through gratitude: “If you are grateful, He is pleased with you…” (az-Zumar 39:7).

“Allah praised Ibrahim (AS) for being grateful for His favours: “Ibrahim was indeed a model. Devoutly obedient to Allah, (and) true in faith, and he joined not gods with Allah. He showed his gratitude for the favours of Allah, Who chose him, and guided him to a straight way.” (an-Nahl 16:120:121).

“Allah mentioned that gratitude is the purpose of creation: “It is He Who brought you forth from the wombs of your mothers when you knew nothing; and He gave you hearing and sight and intelligence and affection: that you may give thanks (to Allah).” (an-Nahl 16:78).

“Allah had helped you at Badr, when you were contemptible little force, then fear Allah; thus may you show your gratitude.” (Al Imran 3:123).

“As well as being the purpose of creation gratitude was also the purpose of sending the Prophet (SAAS): “Then remember Me; I will remember you. Be grateful to Me, and do not reject Me.” (al Baqarah 2:152).

“Patience is an important milestone on the Path, but a person who has reached the station of gratitude (shukr) is already blessed by divine grace. There is no doubt that gratitude is superior to patience;…”

“Happy are they indeed whose Friend is God, Who, giving thanks, say ever, “He is God!”; Happy are they who always are at prayer, Eternal Heaven is their just reward”.

Izaak Walton (1593-1683) said, “God has two dwellings-one in heaven and the other in a thankful heart”.

# References:
. The Meaning of The Holy Quran, Abdullah Yusuf Ali, New Edition with Revised Translation and Commentary, Published by Amana Corporation.

. Patience and Gratitude: An Abridged translation of Uddat as-sabirin wa dhakhirat ash-shakirin by Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyya (1292-1350 CE). Translated by Nasiruddin al-Khattab.

. Mystical Dimensions of Islam by Annemarie Schimmel

. A Fool of God: The Mystical Verse of Baba Tahir, Persian text with translation by E. Heron-Allen

Clicks and Reads | Huston Smith and JPG Magazine

Lovers share a sacred decree to seek the Beloved.

They roll head over heels, rushing toward the Beautiful One
like a torrent of water.

- Rumi, One Whisper of the Beloved

1.
If you're a lover of beauty, you will appreciate JPG Magazine, as I did this morning after stumbling into this magazine online. The About page of the Magazine reads, "JPG is for people who love image-making without attitude. It's about the kind of photography you get when you love the moment more than the camera.. It's a showcase of brave new photography"

Check out Issue 20 of JPG Magazine which is themed as Beloved (photos of loved ones from every corner of the world) and Issue 19, is Faith that features an interview with a priest, an image of Mecca at full capacity, a shot of a spiritual guide at Sturgis, devotions and other examples of Faith from around the world.

[>] The ones we Love @ JPG MAG
[>] Explore Themes

2.
"Nobody wants to learn from a child how to die well, but I learned it from Karen" ~ Huston Smith

At Google News homepage a feature on Huston Smith, a modern sage of world religion caught my attention today which titles, Huston Smith's painful spiritual odyssey - about his firstborn child, Karens's death.

"Religion," Smith once wrote, is "the call to confront reality; to master the self." And what more nakedly brings a father to that reality when he has to face the death of his firstborn. In the article the writer shares Smith's daily prayer, a simple but profoundly grateful whisper to God. "God, you are so good to me."

Considered as perhaps the best authority in world faith traditions, Smith not only studied, but practiced Vedanta Hinduism, Zen Buddhism, and Sufism (influenced by the Traditionalist School of Rene Guenon) for over ten years each.

[>] Read the article via CNN

. Houston Smith | Official Web

3.
Have you met Delhi’s naked sufi?, asks Mayank Austen Soofi and writes just about him.

It features Sufi Sarmad who, according to accounts was an Armenian Jew from Iran who reverted to Islam, came to Sindh, fell in love with a Hindu boy, grew oblivious to society’s conventions, discarded clothes, became a naked fakeer, and arrived in Delhi. [>] Read here

4.
"Gratitude leads people to act in virtuous or more selfless ways and it builds social support, which we know is tied to both physical and psychological well being."

[>] Read Why giving thanks is good for your health via MSNBC (shared by AV)

..........................................

Have you stumbled into any interesting articles / resources recently and felt like sharing with others? You're welcome to share in the comment section.

Baba Taher Hamadani | MysticSaint and Poet

1.
More than a thousand hearts have You laid waste, More than a thousand suffer grief for You, More than a thousand wounds of Yours I've counted,
Yet the uncounted still are more than these.

Lord! who am I, and of what company? How long shall tears of blood thus blind my eyes? When other refuge fails I'll turn to You, And if You fail me, where shall I go?

I am that sea now gathered in a tear.
I am that universe now centered here.
I am that book of destiny which seems
To form a lonely dot of hope and fear.

If I am trapped in flesh and lust - I'm Thine
And though I doubt Thine ways, or trust - I'm Thine.
Whether to Christ I cling or Mazda's Wing
Behind these veils of dreams and dust - I'm Thine.

Whether I cling, whether I part- You know.
Whether I break or keep my heart - You know.
Whether I crown my head or drown my eyes,
You know my goal from end to start - You know.

I find my ill in You, my cure in You.
I part from You and then endure in You.
If knives would cut my tissues each from each,
My naked soul is e'er secure in You.

- Baba Taher, may God sanctify his soul

2.

Mystic, Saint and Poet Baba Taher Hamadani (1000-1060) is known as one of the most revered and respectable early poets in Persian literature. Most of his life is clouded in mystery. He probably lived in Hamadan, the capital city of the Hamedan Province in Iran.

Living in the first half of the 11th century A.D. Baba Taher was one of the great gnostics of Yaristan to which the gnostics dynesty of Kurdistan such as Eyn-ol-Quzat Hamadani, also a gnostic, belonged. He was known by the name of Baba Taher-e Oryan (The Naked), which suggests that he may have been a wandering dervish, a qalander. He was a "crazy saint" (madzhub), a dervish, or religiously inspired beggar, in bewildered condition he roamed the streets of Hamadan, the especially protected of God and the Prophet, the prefix Baba indicating the dervish, or kalandar condition, rather than prominence among the Sufi sect.

Legend tells that the poet, an illiterate woodcutter, attended lectures at a religious school, where he was ridiculed by the scholars and students because of his lack of education and sophistication. After experiencing a vision in which philosophic truths were revealed to him, he returned to the school and spoke of what he had seen, astounding those present by his wisdom.

Legend also has it that Baba Taher was a very simple and innocent man whom everyone mocked and made fun of in his town. He was not a poet to begin with. One very cold winter day, people of the town decided to make a fool out of him just for fun. They brought him to a frozen fountain and told him if he swim in the icy water, he will become a poet. Being innocent, he believed them. He took off his clothes and entered the icy water. Everyone started laughing at him as he was swimming in the cold water. He realized he was made fun of and was heart broken. He came out and, to everyone's surprise, a "true poet" was indeed born out of the icy water on that day. Hence, he is called "the naked". His poetry has touched many souls.

Baba Taher was major devotee of Shah Khoshin Lurestani (965-1026 A.D.), a Jāma or Dūn (God’s clothing, Avatara) in Yarsan, and was the master of the master of Ayn al-Quddat (1051-1084 A.D.), grand Sufi. Even if, Sometimes, Sufism and Yarsan have no obvious boundary in Western regions of Iran, but it can be said that Baba had been Sufi before his meeting with Shah Khoshin and after that his triaqah (path) is the synthesis of Sufism and Yarsan, as it is evident in a figure like Ayn al-Quddat Hamadani.

Baba Tahir is highly revered even now in Iran, where in Hamadan a mausoleum was erected for him during the 20th century. Many of his poems have been translated into English in E. Heron-Allen’s The Laments of Baba Tahir (1902), A.J. Arberry’s Poems of a Persian Sūfī (1937), and in Mehdi Nakhosteen’s The Rubáiyyát of Bábá Táher Oryán (1967).

3.
Sufi Aphorisms of Baba Taher

Attributed to him is a work by the name Kalemat-e qesaar, a collection of nearly 400 aphorisms in Arabic on Sufi themes, which has been the subject of commentaries, one allegedly by Ayn-al-Qoddat Hamadani.

- Knowledge (elm) is lightening and [divine] ecstasy (vajd) is burning.

- The end of reason is wondering (tahayyor) and the end of wondering is drunkenness (sokr).

- Heart is God’s instrument for balancing.

- There is nothing between soul and hereafter but one moment.

- Remembrance [of God] (zikr) is life of heart.

- Meditation (murāqiba) is certainty in knowledge (elm ul-yaqin) and [sacred] vision (muŝāhida) is certainty in eye (ayn ul-yaqin).

- He who desires God is separated from people, especially himself among them.

- Loving in truth is compulsory for all men.

- Sufism is a life without any death and is a death without any life.

- Knowledge is the guide to gnosis, and when gnosis has come the vision of knowledge lapses and there remain only the movements of knowledge to gnosis; knowledge is the crown of the gnostic, and gnosis is the crown of knowledge; whoever witnesses what is decreed by God remains motionless and powerless.

- Burnings are two types: burn by fire and by light; he who is burned by fire become ash without value, and he who is burned by light become lamp which is useful for men.

4.
Poetry and Quatrains

Baba Taher Oryan's mysticism, philosophy, and sentiments are captured in quatrains of simple and uniform metre. He was considered by his contemporaries as one of the most eminent, erudite mystics and sentimentalists of his time. He was one of the very first poets in the East to write rubaiyats. His poetry is written in a dialect of Persian, and he is most famous for his du-baytī (double distichs), exhibiting in melodious and flowing language a sincerity and spirituality with profound philosophical undertones.

har on baqē ke vāreŝ sar be dar bī
modāmeŝ bāqebun xūnin jigar bī
bebāyad kandaŝ az bix o az bon
agar bāresh hama la’l o gohar bī

When Trees to grow beyond their boundaries dare,
They Cause the Gardeners much anxious care;
Down to their very roots they must be pruned,
Though Pearls and Rubies be the Fruits they bear.

magar shēr o palanhē ey dil ey dil
be me dāyem be jangē ey dil ey dil
agar dastem rasa xūnet barējim
beuinim ta che rangē ey dil ey dil

A Lion or a Tiger thou might be,
Ever, O Heart, O Heart, at war with me;
Fall but into my hands, I’ll spill thy Blood,
That I may know what to make of thee.

xurāyīn cheh-rī-et afrūta tar bī
bejānim tir-i ishqet dūta tar bī
ze che xāl-i roxat zuni sīyāha?
har on nazdik-i khur bī sūta-tar bī

O may thy sunny face grow brighter yet,
May thy love’s arrow split my heart in twain;
Know thou why thy cheek’s mole is so black?
All things become burnt black close to the sun!

bē toe yikdam dilim xorram namuna
vagar rūyi toe vīinim qam namuna
agar dard-i dilim qesmat namāyand
dilē bē dard dar ālam namuna

Without thee my heart has no moment’s peace,
And if I see thy face my grief has fled;
If all men had a share in my heart’s grief;
No heart in all the world but would be sad.

bōra sūta dilun tā mā banālēm
ze dast-i yār-i bē parvā banalēm
baŝēm bā bulbul-i sheidā be gulŝan
agar bulbul nanāla mā banālēm

O Burnt-in-Heart, come ye and mourn with me,
Mourn we the flight of that most lovely Rose;
Vie we with the ecstatic Nightingale to the Garden,
And when she ceases mourning, we will mourn.

In a new rendition of Baba Tahir's poetry by David Pendlebury, titled The Ocean in a Jar: The Rubayat of Baba Tahir Hamadani, its written, "We are not looking here at some half-crazed ascetic, but at 'a man who for a time was both vessel and voice for an eternal and infinite mind'. Centuries before Jelaluddin Rumi, Hafez and Jami, we see clearly set out the preoccupations, themes and symbols that have characterised Persian poetry right down to the present day."

From that first day when you created us,
what have you seen from us but sin?
O Lord, by the truth of your holy Saints,
pass me by: turn a blind eye to what you see.

A Reviewer in Amazon writes: "This is a beautifully translated, clearly written and fascinating book. Having read the quatrains for the first time, I immediately began asking myself the impertinent question `What is Baba Tahir's poetry about?' and was helped by a sympathetic and informative afterword. In fact, I probably would have given up without the afterword.

The main emphasis of the quatrains seems to be on the heart. So, the quatrains could be read as 'food for the heart'. In this scientific age it seems almost provocative to use a phrase like `food for the heart' but, there it is. On the theme of the heart, it was not surprising to find two lines from a quatrain by Kalilullah Kahlili in the afterword:

My heart is, in all circumstances, my sustenance;
It is in this world of existence, my sovereign,
And when I am weary of the reign of reason,
God knows how grateful I am to my heart!

I feel grateful and fortunate to have found this book. Anyone who has read The Rubaiyyat of Omar Khayaam (Omar Ali-Shah Translation), The Quatrains of Kahlilullah Khalili (Octagon Press), the first line of the Masnavi of Rumi (Octagon Press) or Sufi works translated by David Pendlebury will feel at home here."

[>] Download, The lament of Baba Tahir; being the ruba'iyat of Baba Tahir, Hamadani ('Uryan) The Persian text ed., annotated and tr. by Edward Heron-Allen, and rendered into English verse by Elizabeth Curtis Brenton via Archive.org (PDF)


#Further:
. Bio of Baba Tahir
. Baba Tahir via Golden Chalice
. Poems of Baba Tahir via Farsinet
. Amazon: The Lament Of Baba Tahir
Being The Rubaiyat Of Baba Tahir, Hamadani Uryan
. The Ocean in a Jar: The Rubayat of Baba Tahir Hamadani

Path of Spiritual Chivalry | Way of Enlightened Behavior

If the love is true, then the lover must keep respect
to the Beloved and ethics
in manners with Him.
- Shaykh Nazim

Chivalry keeps men conversant with all
that is beautiful and sublime
in the intellectual and moral world.
- Marian Chivalry

O ye who believe! Be mindful of your duty to God, and seek the way of approach unto Him, and strive in His way in order that ye may succeed. - The Quran 5:35

So be mindful of your duty, and believe, and do good works; and again: be mindful of your duty, and believe; and once again: be mindful of your duty, and do good. God loveth those who do good.
- 5:93

1.

Beyond our occupation, each of us has a vocation, a calling toward sacred service. This calling may be understood as our life’s purpose, our personal contribution to the transformation of the world. Spiritual chivalry is the cultivation of our capacity to answer the call. It is to swear oneself body, heart, and soul to the ideals of truth, justice, peace, and beauty - and thus sworn, to go forth into the battle of life.

The heroes and heroines of the past are remembered for the exceptional ideals they personify, ideals that are essentially universal. In legend and history alike, heroism reveals itself in acts of pure love, compassion, self-sacrifice, discipline, loyalty, generosity and service to all.

The name of the heroic path, chivalry, carries the connotations of valor, prowess, strength of character and fortitude in adversity. But the defining feature of chivalry is an outlook on the world that is free of bias and enmity. It is said that the true hero or heroine on the path of spiritual chivalry is “the one who has no enemy.”

Drawing inspiration from heroes past and present, The Seven Pillars: House of Wisdom taking up the great task of our time, to revive these timeless virtues and foster their application to the challenges of our time under the banner of “peace with all.” Where does the modern heroic quest lead, what forces must today’s hero or heroine contend with, and what mode of enlightened action promises success?

2.
The Seven Pillars House of Wisdom website is hosting some wonderful articles of wisdom on the theme of Chivalry.

David Spangler in his article, The Chivalrous Path attempts to answer the question, "What is the chivalrous path, particularly as a spiritual practice?"

... Chivalry is not a code to which to aspire but a description of our innate capacities, an expression of qualities intrinsic to being human. What is at the heart of all these questions concerning chivalry is love. Indeed, love may be seen as the heart of chivalry itself. To act chivalrously is to act with love. We can see this in the evolution of chivalry from military unit to code of conduct. The mounted trooper had to love his horse, at least sufficiently to respect it, care for its well-being, and find that mutuality of partnership that good riding embodies. The knight had to love his companions to be loyal and faithful to them and to be willing to sacrifice himself for their well-being. And he had to respect his foe, a form of loving, in order to meet him in honorable battle according to the rules of knightly and chivalrous combat. And to the extent that knightly virtues also express an attitude of service to a larger whole or a greater cause - that, too, is a form of love that takes one beyond oneself. (read in full)

In his excellently written article, Chivalry of the Night and Day: Chivalry in Christianity and Islam, Mahmoud Shelton shared:

A Christian eyewitness to the rise of Islam characterized the Muslims in a significant way: “They are cavaliers in the day and monks in the night.” Knights belong to the day because it reveals the field of action, and the apparent distinctions between opponents as well as between the lover and beloved; it is the domain of movement, and so of love in the sense of Dante: “Love which moves the sun and the other stars.” Monks belong to the night because it has the quality of stillness; it allows contemplation and knowledge of hidden things, and is the domain of union. While there are no monks in Islam, there is Sufism, which preserves esoteric knowledge and the methods for its realization.

Although Christianity and Islam both include dimensions of love and knowledge, Christianity may be understood to have a “diurnal” orientation, with its solar calendar and Spring festival of Easter, and a corresponding emphasis on love. Islam, with its lunar calendar, emphasizes knowledge. Despite this orientation, the historical Jesus was not a horseman, unlike the Prophet of Islam; and in Islam, even the nocturnal festival commemorating the Night Journey and Ascension has a marked knightly aspect, since the Prophet, who is called the Beloved of God, undertook his supernatural movement by means of a heavenly horse.

For such reasons, to quote Titus Burkhardt, “knighthood as a spiritual path is organically inherent in Islam; it emerges from Christianity only indirectly.” Still, the models of knighthood mentioned in the Qur’an – the Companions of the Cave or Seven Sleepers, Joshua, and Abraham the “Father of Knights” – belonged both to Islam and Christianity.

Knighthood as a spiritual path is known is Islam as futuwwah, and developed under the guidance of Sufism. In the “Age of Chivalry” of the Christian West, when Courtly Love contrasted with a growing devotion to the Virgin Mary, a “new knighthood” was born under the patronage of Christian esoterism. Inaugurated by the Templars, this development united the action of the cavalier with the knowledge of the monk. During this age, even when outwardly in opposition, the knights of Islam and Christianity shared an ideal for which the most adequate word in English is “chivalry.” The Arthurian literature of the Grail Quest was shaped by this ideal, and within this Christian genre traces of Islamic esoterism may be found. More apparent is the dependence of the Divine Comedy upon Islamic accounts of the Night Journey and Ascension, even while Dante’s allegiance was to the Templars.

Chivalry is really a kind of balance. While love should be the cause of every action, chivalry balances knightly action with the spiritual knowledge of the reality of things. (read in full)

Also, H. Talat Halman writes another piece titled, “The Knight of Faith”: Imam Husayn’s Chivalry at Karbala

[>] Explore the Theme of Chivalry @ Seven Pillars House of Wisdom

3.
Forgive him who wrongs you;
join him who cuts you off;
do good to him who does evil to you;
and speak the truth
even if it be against yourself.
- Inscription on the sword of Prophet Muhammad
upon him be peace and blessings

The Prophet passed by some people of the tribe of Bani Aslam who were practicing archery. The Prophet said, "O Bani Ismail ! Practice archery as your father Isma'il was a great archer. Keep on throwing arrows and I am with Bani so-and-so." So one of the parties ceased throwing. Allah's Apostle said, "Why do you not throw?" They replied, "How should we throw while you are with them (i.e. on their side)?" On that the Prophet said, "Throw, and I am with all of you."
- Bukhari, Narrated by Salama bin Al-Akwa

The 'Prophet was the best and the bravest amongst the people. Once the people of Medina got terrified at night, so they went in the direction of the noise (that terrified them). The Prophet met them (on his way back) after he had found out the truth. He was riding an unsaddled horse belonging to Abu Talha and a sword was hanging by his neck, and he was saying, "Don't be afraid! Don't be afraid!".
- Bukhari, Narrated by Anas

4.
Upcoming Event: Spiritual Chivalry: Answering the Call

With Pir Zia Inayat-Khan, founder of Seven Pillars House of Wisdom and spiritual leader of the Sufi Order International

Friday, December 4, 2009
Georgetown University, Copley Hall Formal Lounge, Washington, D.C.

This evening lecture precedes a two-day Sufi retreat, The Path of the Heart, Saturday and Sunday, December 5 & 6, with Pir Zia.

[>] Read Details of Event


# Media: Video
. Pir Zia Introduces Chivalry Theme at Seven Pillars’ Inauguration
. Bishop Michael Banks on Chivalry at Seven Pillars’ Inauguration
. The Spiritual Undercurrents of the Crusades

# Further:
. Inheriting Islamic Chivalry
. Royal Chivalry (Al Futtuwa)
. Marian Chivalry
. Spiritual Chivalry and Henry Corbin
. Chivalry and the Church
. Futtuwah In Sufi Way
. Spiritual Chivalry | Event on Facebook

# Resources:
. The Royal Book of Spiritual Chivalry: Futuwat Namah Yi Sultani, Kamal al Din Husayn Kashifi
. The Way Of Sufi Chivalry: When The Light Of The Heart Is Reflected In The Beauty Of The Face, That Beauty Is Futuwwah by Ibn Al Husayn Al Sulami (Author), Toscun Bayrak Al-jerrahi
. God's Will be Done: The Psychology of Spiritual Chivalry
. Chivalry and Chivalric Order via Wikipedia

you've seen the beauty of individuality, now see the beauty of its disappearance

1.

You have to disappear. The world has to be left behind, the body has to be left behind, the mind has to be left behind; And then you have only one thing to lose -- yourself. You have enjoyed everything. You have enjoyed the purity of individuality; now you have to enjoy the disappearing of individuality. You have seen the beauty of individuality; now you have to see the disappearance and its beauty, and the silence that follows, that abysmal serenity that follows.

This way, each individual will go on moving into nothingness. And one day, the whole existence moves into nothingness and a great peace, a great night, a deep, dark womb, a great awaiting for the dawn.. And it has been happening always, and each time you are always born on a higher level of consciousness.

2.
Try to be so wakeful that you don't fall asleep again. Remain so alert that the future is not allowed to deceive you again as you had allowed it before. What has become past is nothing, but once it is your future then you get deceived by it. Now it is past; now another future is arriving. Every moment future is arriving, and future can deceive you only if you are asleep. Then again it will become past. Now let me tell you one thing: if you remain alert and you don't allow the future to deceive you in the present, the past disappears. Then there is no memory left of it, no trace of it. Then one is just a clean slate, a sky without any clouds, a flame without smoke.

That's what the state of enlightenment is -- so alert that only the witness is real and everything else is nothing but ripples on the surface of the water. Everything is passing, everything is a flux. Only one thing remains and remains and remains, and that is your consciousness, your awareness.

3.
After enlightenment, you have to disappear. The world is left behind, the body is left behind, the mind is left behind; just your consciousness, as individuality, is still there. To go beyond enlightenment is to go beyond individuality and to become universal. This way, each individual will go on moving into nothingness. And one day, the whole existence moves into nothingness and a great peace, a great night, a deep, dark womb, a great awaiting for the dawn.. And it has been happening always, and each time you are always born on a higher level of consciousness.

Enlightenment is the goal of human beings. But those who are enlightened cannot remain static; they will have to move, they will have to change. And now they have only one thing to lose - themselves. They have enjoyed everything. They have enjoyed the purity of individuality; now they have to enjoy the disappearing of individuality. They have seen the beauty of individuality; now they have to see the disappearance and its beauty, and the silence that follows, that abysmal serenity that follows.

4.

The experience of enlightenment is also beyond description, but it has been described by all who have experienced it. They all say it is beyond description and still they describe it - that it is full of light, that it is full of joy, that it is the ultimate in blissfulness. If this is not description then what is description? I am saying it for the first time: for thousands of years the people who have become enlightened have been saying that it cannot be described, and at the same time have been describing it, have been their whole lives singing it. But beyond enlightenment you certainly enter into a world which is indescribable. Because in enlightenment you still are; otherwise who is feeling the blissfulness, who is seeing the light? Kabir says, "... as if thousands of suns have risen." Who is seeing it?

Enlightenment is the ultimate experience - but still it is experience, and the experiencer is there. Going beyond it, there is no experiencer.

5.
You have to understand one thing: that enlightenment is not an escape from pain but an understanding of pain, an understanding of your anguish, an understanding of your misery -- not a cover-up, not a substitute, but a deep insight: "Why am I miserable, why is there so much anxiety, why is there so much anguish, what are the causes in me that are creating it?" And to see those causes clearly is to be free from them. Just an insight into your misery brings a freedom from misery. And what remains is enlightenment. Enlightenment is not something that comes to you. It is when pain and misery and anguish and anxiety have been understood perfectly well and they have evaporated because now they have no cause to exist in you -- that state is enlightenment.

6.
Enlightenment is the ultimate peak of sanity - when one becomes perfectly sane, has come to a point where silence, serenity, consciousness are twenty-four hours his, waking or sleeping. There runs a current of tranquility, blissfulness, benediction which is a nourishment, food from the beyond. Eastern psychology accepts mind as the lowest part of human consciousness - dismal and dark. You have to go beyond it. And enlightenment is not the end, because it is only individual consciousness. Individuality is still like two banks of a river. The moment the river moves into the ocean, all banks disappear, all boundaries are annihilated. You have gone beyond enlightenment.

7.

With thought the mind has boundaries. But without thought the mind is just infinite space.
That is why in thoughtless awareness one stops to be a drop and becomes oceanic. And then there is great energy.
This energy wipes out everything which is dead. It wipes out the whole Karmic past. And, with no effort at all.
The greater absorbs the lesser and remains untouched.

- Osho

On attainment of nearness of God | Discourse from Futuh ul-Ghayb

Bismillah

1.

When you are united with God, you attain to His nearness by His attraction and help; and the meaning of union with God is your going out of the creation and desire and purpose and becoming established in His action and His purpose without there being any movement in you or through you, in His creation unless it be with His order and action and command. This is the state of fana (annihilation) by which is meant union with God. But union with God, the Mighty, the Glorious, is not like union with anything in His creation, in an understandable and appointed manner:

Nothing is like Him; and He is the Hearing, the Seeing. (Qur'an, 42:11)

The Creator is above being similar to His creatures or bearing any resemblance to anything that He has made. Thus, union with Him is a thing which is well known to those people who have this experience of union, because of their realisation of it. Everyone of them has a different experience in this matter which is peculiar to himself and which cannot be shared by any other person.

With everyone among the prophets and the messengers and the saints (awliya) of God is to be found a secret which cannot be known by any other person, so much so that sometimes it so happens that the murid (spiritual pupil) holds a secret which is not known to the shaikh (the spiritual preceptor); and sometimes the shaikh holds a secret which is not known to the murid although the latter may in his spiritual journey have approached the very threshold of the door of the spiritual state of his shaikh. When the murid reaches the spiritual state of the shaikh, he is made to separate himself from the shaikh and he is cut off from him, and God becomes his guardian and He cuts him off from the creation altogether.

Thus the shaikh becomes like a wet nurse who has stopped suckling the baby after two years. No connection remains with the creation after the disappearance of low desires and human purpose. The shaikh is needed by him so long as he is infested with low desires and purposes which have to be crushed. But after the disappearance of these weaknesses of the flesh there remains no need of the shaikh because there remains no stain and no defect in the murid.

Thus when you unite with God as we have described, you will feel safe forever from whatever is besides Him. You will certainly see no existence at all besides His, either in profit or in loss or in gifts or with their withholding, in fear or in hope. You will find only Him, the Mighty, the Glorious, Who is worthy to be feared and worthy to be sought protection from. So keep on looking at His acts forever and expecting His order and remain engaged in obedience to Him, cut off from the whole of His creation whether of this world or of the hereafter. Let not your heart be attached to anything in His creation. Seek the protection of God from becoming blind after having possessed sight, and from being separated after being united, and from being taken afar after being near, and from going astray after having received guidance and from unbelief after having believed.

Thus the world is like the great flowing river, to which we have referred. Every day its water increases and it is the animal passion of mankind and the enjoyments which come to men from it. As for the arrows and various weapons, they are the trials which destiny brings to them. Thus, the predominant element in the worldly life of man is the trials and hardships and the sufferings and the struggles, and what they get as blessing and enjoyment is also guarded or surrounded by calamities. When any intelligent man takes a critical view of the matter, if of course he possesses a certain knowledge of the reality, he will understand that there is no real life except the life hereafter. Thus the Holy Prophet has said: "There is no life except the life of the hereafter."

This is particularly true in the case of a believer. Accordingly, the Holy Prophet (on whom be peace and blessings of Allah) has said: "The world is a prison for the believer and a heaven for the unbeliever."

And he (on whom be peace and blessings of Allah) also said: "The man of virtue is bridled."

How can a comfortable life in this world be possible and desired in face of this? Thus, real comfort lies in the Glorious, and in being in harmony with Him and in throwing oneself in absolute surrender before Him. When you do this you will be free from this world and then will be lavished on you compassion and comfort and kindness and prosperity and the favour of God.


2.
He (may God be pleased with him) said: I had a dream in which an old man asked me: "What makes a servant of God near to God"?

I said: "This process has a beginning and an end; so the beginning of it is piety and Godliness and its end is to be pleased with God and to surrender oneself to His way and to rely on Him entirely."

3.
The state of your affairs can be either one or the other of the following:

(1) Either you are not enjoying nearness to God, the Mighty, the Glorious, or

(2) You are close to Him.

Now if you are away from Him, how is it that you are sitting idle and are remiss in obtaining your large share and blessings and abiding honour and plentifulness and security and self-sufficiency and lavish care in this world and in the hereafter? So get up and hasten in your flight towards Him with your two wings. One of these wings is the renunciation of enjoyments and of unlawful desires for them and also of permissible things and all comforts; the other is the bearing of pain and unpleasant things and embarking on difficult adventures and getting away from people and desires and wishes in this world and in the hereafter so as to be successful in union with God and nearness to Him.

Then will you get all that a man may desire and obtain? You will then have great exaltation and honour. If you are among those who have been honoured with His kindness and whom His love has absorbed and who have received His mercy and compassion, then show the best of manners and do not be puffed up with the thought of the state you are in lest you should become negligent of your service and should lean towards the original arrogance, ignorance and oppression and hastiness. There is a word of God in this connection:

And man has turned unfaithful to it Surely he is unjust, ignorant (33:72).

Again: And man is ever hasty (17:11).

Protect your heart from being inclined towards what you have renounced of people and desires and wishes and option and effort and from losing patience and harmony and pleasure with God at the time of the befalling of calamity, but throw yourself before Him in the manner of a ball before a polo-rider who makes it revolve by his stick, and like a dead body in front of a man who gives it the funeral bath, and like a suckling babe in the lap of his mother or nurse. Be blind to what is besides Him so that you do not see anything but Him — nothing that exists, neither any harm, nor any benefit, nor any gift, nor any withholding of a gift. Consider people and worldly means at the time of suffering and calamity as lashes from Him, the Mighty, the Glorious, with which He strikes you, and consider them at the time of comfort and ease and gift as His hand that is feeding you.

- from REVELATIONS OF THE UNSEEN (Futuh ul-Ghayb) of master saint Abdul Qadir Jilani, may God sanctify his station

[>] Download Revelations of the Unseen (Futuh ul-Ghayb) (right click and select Save As)

4.

A lover of God doesn't figure the odds.

He figures he came clean from God

as a gift without a reason,

so he gives without cause or calculation or limit.

A lover gambles everything,

the self, the circle around the zero!

He or she cuts and throws it all away.

This is beyond any religion.

Lovers do not require from God any proof,

or any text,

nor do they knock on a door

to make sure this is the right street.

They run, and they run.

~ Rumi~

Like that may we come to awaken to our real sense of the True Goal and join the pilgrims of divine lovers and ever be attracted and drawn to the Nearness of the Presence. Indeed the All Encompassing Presence was and there was nothing with the Presence, and It remains as It was from the pre-eternity.

Huwa al-Awwalu wa al-Akhiru wa az-Zahiru wa al-Batinu,
wa Huwa bikulli shay-in AAaleem.

The First and The Last is He, The Evident and The Immanent is He,
and Cognizant of all things is He. - The Quran 57:3

Jodi Morome Lukaye Robay | Song of Atulprasad

Jodi Morome lukaye robay,
hridoye shukaye jabay
keno praano vora aasha dile go?

Tobo chorono shorno tore
eto bekulota vore
keno thai jodi nahi mile go?

If You're to remain
.. ever elusive within
.. the innermost heart chamber,
.... if You're to wither away
.... from the heart sanctuary,
.............. - why then You've given such
................ soul-saturating longing for You?

Remembrance of Your blessed presence
if fills my heart with such passion,
.... why then Your refuge
........ be turned into a mirage?

Papi tapi keno shobe
tomare dakiye kobe
mono betha tumi na shunile go?

Jodi modhuro shantona vore
tumi na muchabe kore
keno vashi noyono sholile go?

If You're not to hear the heart aches,
why then every imperfect beings
cry ever unto You?

Why I drown in my ocean of sorrow
if Your palm of divine mercy
not to erase away my tear drops?

Ananda ananto pran
koriche bondona gaan
obisranto ononto nikhile go.

Ogo shokoli ki orthoheen
shunno shunya hobe leen
tobe keno she geeto
shrijile go?

Souls brimming over with bliss
singing ceaseless celestial praise
in the boundless cosmos.
.... - If all this is in vain,
only to be lost in vast emptiness
why then You've created such
song celestial?

Etoi abeg Probhu
bartho ki hoibe kovu?
ekanto o chorone shopile go?

This passionate longing
offered in utter devotion
at Your Lotus Feet -
will you, O Lord, deem it all unworthy?

Jodi patoki na pae goti
keno Tri Bhubono Pati
Patito Paban Naam nile go?

If the fallen ones are not to find refuge with You
O Lord of the Multiverse, why then You've
adorned Yourself by the Holy Names
as Boundless Absolver, Infinite Forgiver?

Bolo jodi, Morome lukaye robay
hridoye shukaye jabay
keno praano vora aasha dile go?

Tobo chorono shorno tore
eto bekulota vore
keno thai jodi nahi milego?

O tell me, if You're to remain
... ever elusive within
.. the innermost heart chamber,
.... if You're to wither away
.......... from the heart sanctuary,
..........- why then You've given such
.............. soul-saturating longing for You?

Remembrance of Your blessed presence
if fills my heart with such passion,
.... why then Your refuge
.......... be turned into a mirage?

- Translation by Sadiq Alam, Original Bengali Lyrics by Atulprasad Sen (1871 – 934), Bengali poet from Bengal Renaissance period, particularly famous for his purely devotional song and compositions which carry the ability to melt both human heart and that of the divine.

[>] Download and Listen to this Classical Bengali Song by Atulprasad Sen

:: Glossary of Terms with comparison with Islamic Sufi Terms

Morom (Bengali): Innermost Heart, can be compared to Sirr (Arabic) in Sufi terminology, also simply called the Secret (of Adamic being)

Hridoy (Bengali): (Spiritual) Heart

Mon (Bengali): Mind

Praan (Bengali, Sanskrit): Soul, Spirit

Shoron (Bengali): Remembrance, Zikr or Dhikr (Arabic) in Sufi term

Bekulata (Bengali): Longing of the Heart

Ananda (Bengali, Sanskrit): Pure Happiness, Bliss, Ecstasy, can be compared with Sakeena (Arbic) or Shekina (Hebrew) - the divine grace sent upon the heart

Geet (Bengali, Sanskrit): Song, Hymn

Abeg (Bengali): Emotion, Passion

Probhu (Bengali, Sanskrit): Lord, Master, Mawla

Tri Bhubono Pati (Bengali): Owner of Three Worlds: World of Pre-Eternity, World of Forms and the Next World, Rabbul 'Aalamin (Lord of Multiverse) in Quranic term

Patito Paban (Bengali): Redeeming, Deliverer. Among 99 Divine Names similar qualities of the divine are Al-Hafiz (The Preserver), Al-Mani' (The Preventer of Harm), Al-Ghafur, Al-Ghaffar (The Forgiver, Absolver of Faults).


# Previous Translations of Bengali Songs:
. arrival of majestic presence
. i have died of myself in your love
. o mor bondhu dhon roshia

. art credit: Soul Calls by Sadiq Alam, digital collage

Heart of Compassion | Way of the Bodhisattvas

1.
~ Nama Lokeshvaraya ~
Praise be to Lord (Eeshvara) of the Worlds (Lok)

First of all I should make an effort
To meditate upon the equality between self and others:
I should protect all beings as I do myself
Because we are all equal in wanting pleasure and not wanting pain.

Although there are many different parts and aspects such as the hands; As a body that is to be protected they are one, likewise all the different sentient beings in their pleasure and their pain have a wish to be happy that is the same as mine.

The suffering that I experience
Does not cause any harm to others.
But that suffering is mine because of my conceiving of myself as "I";
Thereby it becomes unbearable.

Likewise the misery of others does not befall me.
Nevertheless, by conceiving of others as "I" their suffering becomes mine; therefore it too should be hard to bear.

Hence I should dispel the misery of others
Because it is suffering, just like my own,
And I should benefit others
Because they are sentient beings, just like myself.

When both myself and others
Are similar in that we wish to be happy,
What is so special about me?
Why do I strive for my happiness alone?

Those who cause me suffering
Are like Buddhas bestowing their blessings.
Since they lead me to liberating paths
Why should I get angry with them?

"Don't they obstruct your virtuous practice?"
No! There is no virtuous practice greater than patience;
Therefore I will never get angry
With those who cause me suffering.

If, because of my own shortcomings,
I do not practice patience with my enemy
It is not he, but I, who prevents me from practicing patience

- Bodhisattva's Way of Life, Shantideva (credit)

2.
Bodhisattva's Radical Heart of Compassion

Bodhisattva's are illuminated beings who vow to serve others in the spirit of compassion for all sentient beings. The name also means wisdom beings, a name given to anyone who, motivated by great compassion, has generated bodhicitta, which is a spontaneous wish to attain realization for the benefit of others.

In the Mahayana tradition, those who have the courage to undertake the profound change of attitude required to develop true compassion are called bodhisattvas. Their great resolve - to consider others’ needs as paramount, and thus to attain enlightenment for the sake of all living creatures - carries them beyond the limits imposed by the illusions of “I” and “mine,” culminating in the direct realization of reality, transcending dualistic notions of self and other.

What would be the practical implications of caring more about others than about yourself? This is the quest of the radical heart of a compassionate bodhisattva.

'Thirty-seven Verses on the Practices of Bodhisattvas' is a core scripture from Tibetan Buddhism has been relied upon for six centuries as a synthesis of the Mahayana teachings, and more specifically as a condensation of the famous (but longer) text called Bodhicharyavatara (The Way of the Bodhisattva) by Shantideva, a sage of Bengal. The teachings outline the path of the Bodhisattva, which is a unique and deeply psychological revolution. Understanding the deep message of this scripture intellectually is totally different from experiencing it. Every authentic traditions are based on experience, not intellectualism. This scripture is a food for meditation and daily practice.

From the description of the Book, The Heart of Compassion: The Thirty-seven Verses on the Practice of a Bodhisattva I quote, (it) is an extraordinary set of instructions, a training manual composed in the fourteenth century by the Buddhist hermit Ngulchu Thogme, translated by Dilgo Khyentse one of the great Tibetan Buddhist masters of the twentieth century.

This classic text presents ways that we can work with our own hearts and minds, starting wherever we find ourselves now, to unravel our small-minded preoccupations and discover our own potential for compassion, love, and wisdom. (Follow to read in full)

3.
A personal note, in defense of appreciation

Often time I am asked to explain that why I sometime bring in reference of Buddhism (specially when I come from the background of Islamic faith tradition)? Due to how our mind words, out of long conditioning, person born in one faith tradition has always been trained by the religious authority to be closed to other faith traditions and this is very true to Abrahamic traditions which each are quite exclusivist.

I see Buddha as a perfected human beings, a gnostic, insan kamil to borrow sufi term. Even though he is often misunderstood by people of Abrahamic faith tradition simply because Buddha's ingenious teaching avoided the direct usage of the G-word, God. Two earlier post Why Buddha is So Special, Is there God in Buddhism? can be read for some interesting thought reference.

Budha's mastery as spiritual genius can be appreciated well when one understand that he encouraged emptying one's heart and mind. Thus his emphasis was on freedom from attachment and craving because thats the central impulse that drive people into suffering. Buddha himsef helped people break free from superstitions, demigods, idol worship at a time when idol worship was rampant in India and everyone was inventing false gods. He knew well that the overly conditioned mind first be emptied so that human beings can be free from form.

Now Sufis knows well that when heart is sweeped clean, it become ready for the Truth, for the True King to take its Seat. And this Truth is beyond words, this special King has no comparison or description - so Buddha remained perfectly silent on the question of God because the very audience who ask the G-word are already full of ideas. Instead his mission was to free people from the bondage of forms. He himself never bowed to any statue, nor did his holy companions but they adored the Supreme Within Who is beyond Words and prepared the Heart by emptying it. Buddha's teaching of Emptiness is one of the most profound that pointed to the One Reality Indescribable (hence empty of conscious boundary of human mind) and thus often misunderstood by many (even so called Buddhists).

Buddha as I see him, was a perfected gnostic, a being of superluminal heart and the proof is that those who came to sit with him also received that quality of heart. This alone is a testimony for a great teacher. Every tree is known by its fruit, so is the authenticity of a tradition is known by the very flower it gives birth to. The brilliance of Buddha is already evident in the innumerable saintly beings this great path once gave birth to who carry the heart filled with the quality of loving-kindness, compassion and mercy. That alone speaks for the authenticity of the teacher.

Yes many of the original Buddhist teachings are lost and their subsequent explanations might not be of Buddha's, never the less the essential teaching of Buddha remains as valuable as it was in the beginning. To my personal view point Buddhist teachings are a common spiritual heritage of shared humanity regardless of what faith one is born into. The universal values that Buddha's teaching carry, if sincerely internalized by any human being - can help flowering a beautiful, balanced human heart and being.

4.
However endless the worldly life's delusions are, I vow to extinguish them all.

However innumerable souls are,
I vow to help awaken them all.

However innumerable spiritual disciplines are, I vow to master them all.

However beyond word 'The Truth' Is,
I vow to realize It completely.

- The Bodhisattva's Vow

5.
The Way of the Bodhisattva, a Sufi Perspective

Out of their compassionate heart the bodhisattva's make vow to be in the highest service to others. To compare from Sufi Perspective with an intention to offer an inclusive understanding, the vows that bodhisattvas take are like the bayat (taking hand) or holy vows in Sufi Path. Just as a Sufi vow is made for the pursuit and preservation of the highest ethical or moral alchemy as prescribed in the sharia (the greater Way or Tao), so is the vow of bodhisattva to hold highest the noble aim of human existence, namely to serve others.

The being of a bodhisattva is a quest which begins when a flame of deep compassion is ignited within the inner heart. By this flame one passionately feel compassion for other to the extent that in the process others take precedence before the self and its selfish needs (thus one cures the disease of selfishness or egotism). In this regard the path of a bodhisattva is a quest for a compassionate heart and thus carry the beautiful universal quality of Sufi path which is also a path centered around the heart and compassion being one of the foundation in the path.

A traditional definition (of something that is undefinable) of a Sufi describe:

......."A Sufi is one who possesses a heart
................ as soft
.................and
.................as warm
.................as wool."

This definition of a Sufi interestingly gives reference to one of the root meaning of the word "Sufi" which comes from the word Suf, meaning wool. This is because many Prophets such as John the Baptist, Jesus and both of their disciples and many companions of Prophet Muhammad used to wear a coarse woolen garb as a sign of simplicity and holy poverty. At the same time this definition that "A sufi is one who possesses a heart as soft and as warm as wool" is a testimony how compassion is the defining attribute of sufi heart.

Some mystically oriented scholars of Islam see the journey of ascension of Prophet Muhammad as an interesting example that can be seen through the spirit of bodhisattva. The journey of ascension is symbolized as the journey to the Highest, the Supreme Experience of Nearness to God, which is the ultimate goal of most faith traditions, to be close to God. But this journey once achieved was followed by a descent to the dusty earth.

When one to contemplate why after achieving the very purpose of the soul, that is the union with the Supreme Soul, why there is a descent again to planetary existence - if one is familiar with the way of the bodhisattva, one can't help but appreciate this journey back to earth from Supreme Presence as a hallmark of the perfected bodhisattva who postpone even the most desired goal, (namely Nirvana) for the sake of others.

A bodhisattva perspective will explain that the descent back from heaven to earth is only for the giving to the other. So instead of dwelling at the Highest Realm we find that the Prophet returned back to dusty earth so that he can magnanimously give the gift that he has received from the Divine. This is a selfless action of a realized human being, this is an example of perfect bodhisattva who after attaining the Highest (Nirvana) returns for the sake of those who are yet to attain the same. (its worth pointing out the connection that the primary gift that Prophet brought down with him from the Miraj or Ascent is the prescribed Islamic prayer, or salaat of islam and he himself said, 'Salaat is the Miraj of believers' - an interesting parallel from the way of bodhisattava that what he experienced, he came back to offer the same means and path to others).

6.
The Universal Spirit of Bodhisattva

The spirit of bodhisattva, serving in total selfless spirit where 'the other' is put before the self is found universally in the life of every major world teacher and great beings alike. Jesus washing his disciples' feet at the blessed evening before the Passover is an excellent example from the life of Christ. His saying reflect this: "Now that I, your Master and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another's feet. I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. I tell you the truth, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the One Who sent him."

In terms of realizing the Great Truth and helping other to awaken to the best of one's ability, Christ's saying, "Seek the Kingdom first, everything else will be given unto you" is a pointer to that quest of bodhisattva. Needless to say, Loving one's neighbor, meaning loving 'the other' is a message of compassion found also in the way of the bodhisattva.

In case of Prophet Muhammad, the example of his building the community (ummah) in medina in early days of Islam he demonstated the greatest example of bodhisattva ever. Any conscious reader of Prophet's authentic biography will find it recorded. The spirit of brotherhood in community (sangha in buddhist term) that was formed is historically unparalleled. He taught and lived his saying, "None of you are a believer (forget about your empty claim) until one loves for his brother what he loves for himself." In another place the companions ask the Prophet, "Ya Rasool-Allah, what shall we love for our brothers?" where the Prophet replied, "That they become fully divinely surrendered beings (muslims)." Selflessly emptying everything of his own was his way. "Ya Ummati", "Ya Ummati" (O my holy community, sangha) was his cry in his life time and also will be on the day of intercession - is a concern of a perfected bodhisattva. As an affirmation, the Prophetic model is description in the Quran as, "Harisun 'Alaykum bil mu`mineena Ra'ufun Rahim", 'ardently concerned about the believers, to the believers he is most kind and compassionate'

The Quran speaks of the highest modality of selflessness, in an example of charity, "And they feed, for the love of God, the poor, the orphan ... (saying),"we feed you for the sake of God alone: no reward do we desire from you, nor thanks".

The teaching of Spiritual Chivalry (Futtuwah) which is defined as "that native and foreigner are the same to you, no difference between the other and the self" is same the spirit of bodhisattva. The sufis masterfully crafted guideline of practicing spiritual chivalry which are equivalent to Santideva's outlined practices of bodhisattva in a sense that their goal is to create human being of highest sense of service to others, human beings who truly love their neighbors, put 'the other' before themselves.

7.
Practices of Bodhisattva

Now that I have this great ship, a precious human life, so hard to obtain, I must carry myself and others across the ocean of samsara.
To that end, to listen, reflect, and meditate
Day and night, without distraction, is the practice of a bodhisattva.

Like dew on a blade of grass, the delights of the three worlds
By their very nature evaporate in an instant.
To strive for the supreme level of liberation,
Which never changes, is the practice of a bodhisattva.

Through reliance on a true spiritual friend one's faults will fade
And good qualities will grow like a waxing moon
To consider him even more precious
Than one's own body is the practice of a bodhisattva.

If, lacking discipline, one cannot accomplish one's own good,
It is laughable to think of accomplishing the good of others.
Therefore, to observe discipline
Without samsaric motives is the practice of a bodhisattva.

If those who wish for enlightenment must give away even their own bodies, How much more should it be true of material objects?
Therefore, without expectation of result or reward,
To give with generosity is the practice of a bodhisattva.

- Selection from Thirty-seven Verses on the Practices of Bodhisattvas


:: Reference:
. The Heart of Compassion: The Thirty-seven Verses on the Practice of a Bodhisattva by Dilgo Khyentse (Google Book)
. The Thirty Seven Practices of the Path of the Bodhisattva, a Commentary by Dalai Lama
. The 37 practices of a Bodhisattva
. Shanti Deva Online
. The Way of the Bodhisattvas by Shantideva
. Buddha's Wisdom and Islamic Teachings
. Buddha never bowed before a statue