Fame or integrity: which is more important?
Money or happiness: which is more valuable?
Success or failure: which is more destructive?If you look to others for fulfillment,
you will never truly be fulfilled.
If your happiness depends on money,
you will never be happy with yourself.Be content with what you have;
rejoice in the way things are.
When you realize there is nothing lacking,
the whole world belongs to you.
poezja mistyczna
33. Tao te Ching
知 人 者 智 , 自 知 者 明 。
勝 人 者 有 力 , 自 勝 者 強 。
知 足 者 富 。
強 行 者 有 志 。
不 失 其 所 者 久 。
死 而 不 亡 者 壽 。
50. Tao te Ching
出 生 入 死 。
生 之 徒 , 十 有 三 ﹔
死 之 徒 , 十 有 三 ﹔
人 之 生 , 动 之 于 死 地 , 亦 十 有 三 。
夫 何 故 。
以 其 生 之 厚 。
盖 闻 善 摄 生 者 , 路 行 不 遇 兕 虎 , 入 军 不 被 甲 兵 ﹔
兕 无 所 投 其 角 , 虎 无 所 用 其 爪 , 兵 无 所 容 其 刃 。
夫 何 故 。 以 其 无 死 地 。
Rumi
The angel of death arrives,
and I spring joyfully up.
No one knows what comes over me
when I and that messenger speak!
Rumi from The Soul of…
Rumi On the day I die
On the day I die, when I’m beeing carried
toward the grave, don’t weep. Don’t say,
„He’s gone! He’s gone”. Death has nothing
to do with going away. The sun sets and
the moon sets, but they’re not gone.
Death is a coming together. The tomb
looks like a prison, but it’s really
release into union. The human seed goes
down in the ground like a bucket into
the well where Joseph is. It grows and
comes up full of some unimagined beauty.
Your mouth closes here and immediatly
opens with a shout of joy there.
Rumi „On the day I die” from Soul of Rumi”
Book Beauty Jalal al-Din Rumi
Here’s the end of that story about the old woman who wanted
to lure a man with strange
cosmetics. She made a paste of pages from the Qur’an to fill
the deep creases on her face and
neck with. This is not about old woman, dear reader. It’s
about you, or anyone who tries
to use books to make themselves attractive. There she is,
sticking scripture, thick with
saliva, on her face. Of course, the bits keep falling off.
”The devil,” she yells, and
he appears! „This is a trick I’ve never seen. You don’t need me. You are yourself a troop
of demons!” So people steal inspired words to get compliments.
Don’t bother. Death comes
and all talking, stolen or not, stops. Pity anyone unfamiliar
with silence when that happens.
Polish your heart with meditation and quietness. Let the inner
life grow generous and handsome
like Joseph. Zuleikha did that and her „old woman’s spring
cold snap” turned to mid-July. Dry
lips wet from within. Ink is not rouge. Let language lie
bygone. Now is where love breathes.
Dżalal ad-Din ar-Rumi „Book beauty”
Lao Tse
Senza uscire dalla porta
si conosce il mondo.
Senza affaciarsi alla finestra
si vede la Via del cielo.
Più si va lontano e meno si sa.
Perciò l’uomo saggio
conosce senza viaggiare
comprende senza guardare
e agisce senza fare.Lao Tse, Tao Te Ching, 47