One of Abu Said's disciples was quite wealthy and proud of his fine clothes. When the master and his disciples went walking, he liked to go in front, showing off his clothes.
"No!" said Abu Said. "Walk behind!" So the man walked behind.
"No! Walk on my right!" The man did so.
"No! Walk on my left!" The man did so.
"No! Ahead! Behind! Right! Left!" commanded Abu Said.
The bewildered disciple finally shouted, "Master, where should I be?"
"Put the self away and walk the straight path," replied Abu Said.
At those words, the man awoke and became enlightened.
Inspired by: Under the Sufi's Cloak: Stories of Abu Said and His Mystical Teaching by Mohammad Ali Jamnia and Mojdeh Bayat
Notes: This story is on p. 34 of the book. For another story of "the path" see Being on the Path.
No comments:
Post a Comment