Remember God and practice austerities.
When your appetite for food is lost,
you will become graceful.
Your greed and anger will die
and hate and pride will not last.
Performing actions with detachment will bear fruit.
Only then empty vessels will be filled to the brim.

* * *

Stagnant water does not contain pearls.
Trapped birds do not sing.
Daffodils do not bloom in heaps of ashes.
Pearl necklaces are not found
in glass-blowers’ shops.

* * *

Knowingly sow the seeds of friendship.
Sacrifice your very life to nurture them.
What will you  do if you don’t see the Friend?
The Friend will never abandon a friend.

 

Nuruddin Rishi
1377-1440
tr. Jaishree K. Odin