While I peer up the lofty stupa
towering into the red dawn
softly my tears fall

Yamada Roshi

Ten Thousand Idiots

It is always a danger
To aspirants
On the
Path

When they begin
To believe and
Act

As if the ten thousand idiots
Who so long ruled
And lived
Inside

Have all packed their bags
And skipped town
Or
Died.

Hafiz

Just Sit There

Just sit there right now.
Don't do a thing.
Just rest.

For your separation from God
Is the hardest work in this world.

Let me bring you trays of food
And something
That you would like to drink.

You can use my soft words
As a cushion
For your
Head.

Because Of Our Wisdom

In many parts of this world water is
Scarce and precious.

People sometimes have to walk
A great distance

Then carry heavy jugs upon their
Heads.

Because of our wisdom, we will travel
Far for love.

All movement is a sign of
Thirst.

Most speaking really says,
"I am hungry to know you."

Every desire of your body is holy;

Every desire of your body is
Holy.

Dear one,
Why wait until you are dying

To discover that divine
Truth?

Hafiz

Carrying God

No one can keep us from carrying God
Wherever we go.

No one can rob His Name
From our heart as we try to relinquish our fears
And at last stand - Victorious.

We do not have to leave him in the mosque
Or church alone at night;

We do not have to be jealous of tales of saints
Or glorious masts, those intoxicated souls
Who can make outrageous love with the Friend.

We do not have to be envious of our spirit's ability
Which can sometimes touch God in a dream.

Our yearning eyes, our warm-needing bodies,
Can all be drenched in contentment
And Light.

No one anywhere can keep us
From carrying the Beloved wherever we go.

No one can rob His precious Name
From the rhythm of my heart -
Steps and breath.

Hafiz


I Follow Barefoot

I long for You so much
I follow barefoot Your frozen tracks

That are high in the mountains
That I know are years old.

I long for You so much
I have even begun to travel
Where I have never been before.

Hafiz, there is no one in this world
Who is not looking for God.

Everyone is trudging along
With as much dignity, courage
And style

As they possibly
Can.

Hafiz

Security is mostly a superstition.
It does not exist in nature,
nor do the children of men as a whole experience it.
Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run
than outright exposure.
Life is a daring adventure,
or nothing.
To keep our faces toward change
and behave like free spirits
in the presence of fate is strength
and undefeatable.

Helen Keller

The Subject Tonight Is Love

The subject tonight is Love
And for tomorrow night as well.
As a matter of fact,
I know of no better topic
For us to discuss
Until we all
Die!

Hafiz

Last Night

Last night, as I was sleeping,
I dreamt - marvelous error!
That a spring was breaking
Out in my heart.
I said: Along which secret aqueduct,
Oh water, are you coming to me,
Water of a new life
That I have never drunk?

Last night, as I was sleeping,
I dreamt- marvelous error!
That I had a beehive
Here inside my heart.
And the golden bees
Were making white combs
And sweet honey
From my old failures.

Last night, as I was sleeping,
I dreamt- marvelous error!
That a fiery sun was giving
Light inside my heart.
It was fiery because I felt
Warmth as from a hearth,
And sun because it gave light
And brought tears to my eyes.

Last night, as I slept,
I dreamt- marvelous error!
That it was God I had
Here inside my heart.

Antonio Machado

To Anything That Moved

Yesterday it was sweet madness,
Reciting poems for hours

And talking about love to anything that
Moved.
I lay down late thinking I might be able to sleep

All the way until there was light
Of resplendent sounds - and polished jokes
From the morning birds.

That was foolish of me,
For in just a few minutes, three worlds
Crawled from a cave in my heart,
Built a huge fire and yelled,
"Get Up!"

They could not contain their happiness
Living in one as ripe as I.

We began jumping up and down
And banging our heads
Like a drunk bronze clapper in a sacred Buddhist bell

Against the fields and mountains,
Against all the jeweled walls of this Universe.

Yesterday was such exquisite madness,
Singing about the Friend for hours

And talking about love to anything
That dared to move.
Yet I believe another wonderful day,
And perhaps even a sweeter height of rare, inspired insanity,
0 Hafiz, has just begun.

Hafiz

God is Shy of Strangers

God exists. If you are convinced of God's existence then it rests with you to seek Him, to see Him and to realize Him.
Do not search for God outside of you. God can only be found within you, for His only abode is the heart.
But you have filled His abode with millions of strangers and He cannot enter, for He is shy of strangers.
Unless you empty His abode of these millions of strangers you have filled it with, you will never find God.
These strangers are your age - old desires - your millions of wants.
They are strangers to God because want is an expression of incompleteness and is fundamentally foreign to him who is All-sufficient and wanting in nothing.
Honesty in your dealings with others will clear the strangers out of your heart.
Then you will find Him, see Him and realize Him.

Meher Baba
the everything and nothing

Where Dolphins Dance

Again
The work starts
As soon as you open your eyes in the
Morning.

Hopefully you got
Some good rest last night.

Why go into the city or the fields
Without first kissing
The Friend

Who always stands at your door?
It takes only a second.

Habits are human nature
Why not create some that will mint
Gold?

Your arms are violin bows
Always moving.

I have become very conscious upon
Whom we all play.

Thus my eyes have filled with warm
Soft oceans of divine music

Where jeweled dolphins dance
Then leap into this
World.

Hafiz

Absolutely Clear

Don't surrender your loneliness
So quickly.
Let it cut more deep.

Let it ferment and season you
As few human
Or even divine ingredients can.

Something missing in my heart tonight
Has made my eyes so soft,
My voice
So tender,

My need of God
Absolutely
Clear.

Hafiz

Venus Just Asked Me

Perhaps
For just one minute a day,

It might be of value to torture yourself
With thoughts like,

"I should be doing
A hell of a lot more with my life than I am -
Cause I'm so damned talented."

But remember,
For just one minute out of the day.

With all the rest of your time,
It would be best
To try
Looking upon your self more as God does.

For He knows
Your true nature.

God is never confused
And can see Only Himself in you.

My dear,
Venus just leaned down and asked me
To tell you a secret, to confess

She's just a mirror who has been stealing
Your light and music for centuries.

She knows as does Hafiz,
You are the sole heir to
The King.

Hafiz

"Allah, Allah"

One night a man was crying "Allah, Allah."
Ibis lips grew sweet with the praising.

Until a cynic said:
"I've heard.you calling out, but have you ever gotten any response?"

The man had no answer for that.
Ile quit praying, and fell into a confused sleep.
He dreamed he saw Kidhr, the Guide of Souls, in a thick
green foliage.
"Why did you stop praising?"
"Because I've never-heard anything back."
"This longing you express is the returned message.
The grief you cry out from draws you towards union.
Your pure sadness that wants help is the secret cup.
Listen to the moan of a dog for its master.
That whining is the connection.
There are love dogs that no one knows the names of.
Give your life to be one of them!"

The certain Sufi tore his robe in grief
And the tearing brought such relief.
He gave the robe the name Faraji,
Which means "ripped open," or happiness,
Or "one who brings the joy of being opened."
It comes from Faraj, which also refers to the genitals,
male and female.
His teacher understood the purity of the action,
While others saw just the ragged appearance.

If you want spiritual peace and purity,
Tear your coverings.
This is the purpose of emotion
To let the streaming beauty flow through you.
Call it spirit, elixir, or the original agreement between yourself and God.
Opening into that gives peace, a song of being empty,
pure silence.

Mevlana Jelaluddin Rumi