Showing posts with label sufism. Show all posts
Showing posts with label sufism. Show all posts

Thursday, March 20, 2014

Failed in all three

The three-gated word check applied to a poem as it is coming into existence

I
Is it true?
No.

II
Is it necessary?
Probably not.

III
Is it kind?
Definitely not.

– Leonard Blumfeld (© 2014)

Written in response to a sufi saying encountered on the Internet:

Before you speak, let your words pass through three gates:

At the first gate, ask yourself:
'Is it true?'

At the second gate, ask:
'Is it necessary?'

At the third gate, ask:
'Is it kind?'

This explains why sufis don't talk a lot and why there's a lot of poetry.


Saturday, February 20, 2010

A cuddly ride

Not necessarily a cuddly ride, one might surmise.
But the sufi master is unperturbed.


I took this picture at an exhibition of sufi posters from Pakistan in Munich last fall.