The Proud Man and the Blind Beggar

I heard that a haughty man, drunk with pride, shut his door in a beggar's face. The beggar sank into a corner and sat down, his heart burning, sighing from a chest gone cold with grief. A blind man heard him and asked what was the cause of his bitterness and anger. He told his story and wept there in the dust of the alley, over the insult that man had thrown in his face. The blind man said, 'Friend, let go of your hurt; tonight come and break your fast with me.' With kindness and gentle coaxing he drew him along, brought him home and laid out a table. The bright-hearted dervish found peace and said, 'May God give you light.' That night a few tears fell from his eyes, and at dawn he opened them and saw the world. The story swept through the city and stirred a commotion: that the blind man had gained his sight last night. The hard-hearted lord heard the news, the very one who had sent the dervish away broken-hearted. He said, 'Tell me your tale, lucky man. How did this hard thing come so easy to you? Who lit for you this world-illuminating lamp?' The dervish replied, 'You cruel man of ruined days, you were shortsighted and weak in judgment, busying yourself with an owl instead of the royal phoenix. The one who opened this door for me was the very door you slammed shut in his face.' If you kiss the ground before true men, be sure that light will come to you through their manhood. Those whose hearts' eyes are closed are simply unaware of this healing balm. When the man of turned fortune heard the reproach, he bit his fingertip in astonishment, saying, 'My royal falcon has fallen into your trap; the fortune that was mine went to your name.' When a man has a noble falcon in hand, yet sinks his teeth into greed like a mouse... Listen: if you seek the people of the heart, never be careless of serving them for a moment. Feed the sparrow, the partridge and the dove, so that one day a phoenix may fall into your net. When you send your arrow of need to every corner, there is hope that suddenly you will strike a prize. A pearl emerges from among so many shells; out of a hundred arrows, one hits the mark.