In ecstasy, Bayazid al-Bistami exclaimed, "I am God!"
His disciples were shocked. The next day they told him what had happened.
"If I do that again, strike me with your knives," Bayazid told them. "You must kill me."
Later, ecstasy transported again. "God is here in my cloak; why seek heaven and earth?"
The disciples struck with their knives, but Bayazid was not wounded. As they struck him, the disciples themselves were wounded in the very same parts of the body that they struck. Many died.
Thousands flocked to Bayazid in wonder. "Your body is no human body," they said.
Inspired by: The English prose version of Rumi in More Tales from the Masnavi by A. J. Arberry.
Notes: This is story 117 in the book. You can read more about Bayazid at Wikipedia.
No comments:
Post a Comment