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third, the disciple could not contain himself any longer: “Mulla, the water is running out. There is no bottom on that pitcher.” Nasrudin looked at him indignantly. “I am trying to fill the pitcher. In order to see when it is full, my eyes are fixed upon the neck, not the bottom. When I see the water rise to the neck, the pitcher will be full. What has the bottom got to do with it? When I am interested in the bottom of the pitcher, then only will I look at it.” This is why Sufis do not speak about profound things to people who are not prepared to cultivate the power of learning—something which can only be taught by a teacher to someone who is sufficiently enlightened to say: “Teach me how to learn.” There is a Sufi saying: “Ignorance is pride, and pride is ignorance. The man who says, ‘I don’t have to be taught how to learn’ is proud and ignorant.” Nasrudin was illustrating, in this story, the identity of these two states, which ordinary human kind considers to be two different things. Whose Shot was that? The Fair was in full swing, and Nasrudin’s senior disciple asked whether he and his fellow-students might be allowed to visit it. “Certainly,” said Nasrudin; “for this is an ideal opportunity to continue practical teaching.” The Mulla headed straight for the shooting-gallery, one of the great attractions: for large prizes were offered for even one bull’s-eye. At the appearance of the Mulla and his flock the townsfolk gath- ered around. When Nasrudin himself took up the bow and three arrows, tension mounted. Here, surely, it would be demonstrated that Nasrudin sometimes overreached himself.. “Study me attentively.” The Mulla flexed the bow, tilted his cap to the back of his head like a soldier, took careful aim and fired. The arrow went very wide of the mark. There was a roar of derision from the crowd, and Nasrudin’s pupils stirred uneasily, muttering to one another. The Mulla turned to move faster. Please tell me a secret, as I have heard you do with others.” “I will tell you when you are ready for it.” The man later returned to the same theme. “Very well. You know that your need is to emulate me?” “Yes.” “Can you keep a secret?” “I would never impart it to anyone.” “Then observe that I can keep a secret as well as you can.” The Wisdom of Silence Some hunters were in the woods looking for game. They discov- ered a group of three orangutans and managed to catch one of them. The other two orangutans escaped and hid behind some nearby bushes and trees. As the hunters were dressing the corpse of the first orangutan, a steam of blood issued forth. “How red the blood is!” cried a hunter. The second orangutan called out, “It’s red from eating so many raspberries.” Hearing the second orangutan, the hunters discovered its hiding place and began to beat it with sticks. As they were killing it, the second orangutan mourned out loud, “Now I know the wisdom of silence. If I had held my tongue, I wouldn’t have gotten killed.” Hearing his companion’s dying words, the third orangutan said, “Thank God I was wise enough to keep silent.” He was killed. Grateful to Allah One day Mulla found that his donkey was missing and began to cry. Suddenly he stopped crying and began to laugh and sing. He ran about the village rejoicing in his good fortune. A villager asked him why he was so happy about losing a donkey. Mulla replied, “At least I wasn’t riding the donkey when it disappeared. If I had been riding it, I would also have vanished!” Safety There was a slave on a boat that was being tossed about by some very turbulent weather. The slave screamed and yelled in fear, until the other passengers could stand it no longer. They asked Bohlul to deal with the slave. Bohlul told them, “Take the slave, attack a strong rope to him and throw him into the water until he begins to slip under the waves. At that point, pull him back into the boat so that he can realize the relative safety of the boat.” Happiness is not where you seek it Nasrudin saw a man sitting disconsolately at the way-side, and asked what ailed him. “There is nothing of interest in life, brother,” said the man; “I now have sufficient capital not to have to work, and I am on this trip only in order to seek something more interesting than the life I have at home. So far I haven’t found it.” Without another word, Nasrudin seized the traveler’s knapsack and made off down the road with it, running like a hare. Since he knew the area, Nasrudin was able to out-distance the tourist. The road curved, and Nasrudin cut across several loops, with the result that he was soon back on the road ahead of the man whom he had robbed. He gently put the bag by the side of the road and waited in concealment for the other to catch up. Presently the miserable traveler appeared, following the tortuous road, more unhappy than ever because of his loss. As soon as he saw his property lying there, he ran towards it, shouting with joy. “That’s one way of producing happiness,” said Nasrudin. 290 The Orchard A man snuck into another man’s orchard and filled his apron with lemons. On his way out of the orchard he was caught by the owner. The owner demanded, “Have you no shame before God?” The man casually replied, “I don’t see any reason to be ashamed. One of God’s creatures wants to eat a couple of God’s dates from one of God’s trees on God’s Earth.” The owner called to his gardner, “Bring me a rope, so that I may demonstrate my reply.” A rope was brought and the thief was tied to a tree. The owner took a stick and began to fiercely beat the thief. The thief cried out, “For God’s sake, stop it! You’re killing me!” The owner coolly told the thief, “Just a creature of God is hitting another creature of God with a stick from one of God’s trees. Every- thing is His and I, His servant and slave, do what He ordains. Who’s to blame?” “Great quibbler,” whimpered the thief, “From this day on, I give up my zealous Determinism. You made me see the truth of Free Will.” The Grammarian Nasruddin sometimes took people for trips in his boat. One day a fussy pedagogue hired him to ferry him across a very wide river. As soon as they were afloat the scholar asked whether it was going to be a rough ride. “Don’t ask me nothing about it,” said Nasrudin. “Have you never studied grammar?” “No.” replied the Mulla. “Then half of your life has been wasted.” clucked the Grammar- ian. Storm clouds began to fill the sky and powerful winds dragged the boat into the rapids and dangerously deep eddies. The boat was smashed and began to quickly fill with water. [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ] |