On 8/9/2012 6:32 AM, mike brown wrote:
>With them the Seed of Wisdom did I sow,
And with my own hand labour'd it to grow:
Sounds familiar!
Mike
No doubt. With your present understanding, you grasp the familiar. What
of the two lines to follow? Perhaps another translation (by same
translator) may shed a clearer light:
Alike for those who for TO-DAY prepare,
And those that after a TO-MORROW stare,
A Muezzin from the Tower of Darkness cries
"Fools! your Reward is neither Here nor There."
Or from a different translator:
Some are thoughtful on their way
Some are doubtful, so they pray.
I hear the hidden voice that may
Shout, "Both paths lead astray."
their version 2:
Some always seek the rational mind
Some will appeal to faith that’s blind
If you turn within, you’ll surely find
Both paths will lead further behind.
or a third perhaps more 'zen'-like expression:
Some are in endless pursuit
Some seek the forbidden fruit
I fear the voice that is mute
Cry out, "path ain’t fruit nor root!"
It might be fun try my hand at a translation, but I don't read Farsi.
Besides, it's a poem, not textbook. Whether it appears wise or foolish,
is not a matter of the poem's words. Reflect on this without grasping or
rejecting.
KG
PS - For fun, try reading just the last line of each quatrain (any
translation) - the clinchers - the punch lines. Doesn't spoil the joke.
PSS - The bit above the one you landed on may be worth another look:
"Myself when young did eagerly frequent
Doctor and Saint, and heard great Argument
About it and about: but evermore
Came out by the same Door as in I went."
One who has thus gone (tathā-gata) and one who has thus come
(tathā-āgata). Beyond all coming and going - Tathāgata. Surely this
expression is also familiar?
