English
The Patience and Steadfastness of the Seekers
Here is a tale I have from the men of the path:
the poor are truly rich, and beggars are kings.
One morning an old man went out to beg;
he saw a mosque and called out for alms.
Someone told him, 'This is not a house of ordinary people
where you'll be given something. Don't stand there being a nuisance.'
He answered, 'Then whose house is this,
that has no mercy on anyone's condition?'
The man said, 'Quiet! What a wrong thing to say.
The Lord of this house is our own Lord, God.'
The old man looked, and saw the lamp and the prayer niche;
from the depths of his soul he let out a burning cry.
'It would be a shame to move on beyond this place,
a pity to leave this door with empty hands.
I have never left any street ashamed and empty;
why should I turn away pale from the door of God?
Right here I will stretch out my hand in need,
for I know I will not go back with nothing.'
I heard that for a whole year he stayed there,
his hands raised like one crying out for help.
One night his life's foot sank into the mud;
from his weakness his heart began to flutter.
At dawn a man carried a lamp to his bedside
and found in him only the flicker of a dawn candle.
Yet joyfully, bubbling over, he kept saying,
'I knocked at the door of the Generous One, and it opened.'
The seeker must be patient and enduring,
for I have never heard of an alchemist growing weary.
How much gold they bury in black earth,
hoping that one day they will turn copper into gold.
Gold is good for buying something,
but you will never buy anything better than the memory of the Friend.
If your heart grows weary of one beloved,
you can find another comfort to hold.
Do not carry away a bitter life over a sour face;
put out that fire with fresh water elsewhere.
But if the beloved has no equal in beauty,
do not abandon them over a little heartache.
You can turn your heart away only from someone
you know you can live without.