The highest good is like water.
Water gives life to all things and does not strive.
It flows in places men reject and so is like the Tao.

In dwelling, be close to the land.
In meditation, go deep in the heart.
In dealing with others, be gentle and kind.
In speech, be true.
In ruling, be just.
In daily life, be competent.
In action, be aware of the time and the season.

No fight: No blame.

They arrive and others arrive,
and then they go, and others go.
Day and night, a constant traffic.

Where do they come from?
Where do they go?

Does it MEAN anything?
Nothing, nothing, nothing.

-Lalla

when you are sorrowful,
look again in your heart,
and you shall see that,
in truth you are weeping
for that which has been
your delight.

- k gibran

Accept disgrace willingly.
Accept misfortune as the human condition.

'Accept disgrace willingly?'
Accept being unimportant.
Do not be concerned with loss or gain.

'Accept misfortune as the human body?'
Misfortune comes from having a body.
Without a body, how could there be misfortune?

Surrender yourself humbly; then you can be trusted to care for all things.
Love the world as your own self; then you can truly care for all things!

FOUR QUESTIONS:

Who is awake and who asleep?

What is this lake that is continually oozing back into the earth?

What can a human being offer to the Divine?

What do we most deeply want?


ANSWERS:

The mind is what sleeps.
What recognizes itself as the Divine is awake.

This always-disappearing lake is made of our appetites,
these movings-about, this talking and listening.

The only offering you can make to the Divine
is your increasing awareness.

And the last desire is to be God in human form.

-Lalla

Let them throw their curses.
If inside, I am connected
to what's true, my soul
stays quiet and clear.

Do you think Shiva worries
what people say?!

If a few ashes fall on a mirror,
use them to polish it.

-Lalla

If you're wise, be foolish.
If you can see, squint.

Though you can hear, sit
dumb as an old rock.

Whatever anyone says,
listen and agree.

This is a friendly practice,
and it leads to some truth.

-Lalla

I have drunk many times
the wine of existence, and the water
of this Sindhu River.

I've played many roles, been lots
of different human beings.

Still, I'm Lalla, the same.
Why have I gone through this?

-Lalla

I didn't trust it for a moment,
but i drank it anyway,
the wine of my own poetry.

It gave me the daring to take hold
of the darkness and tear it down
and cut it into little pieces.

-Lalla

The five colors blind the eye.
The five tones deafen the ear.
The five flavors dull the taste.
Racing around and hunting madden the mind.
Precious things lead one astray.

Therefore the sage is guided by what he feels and not by what he sees.
He lets go of that and chooses this.