Hafiz in Hilarious Hotei Dhotiage w/James & Bill Still Thrillin'

[Guest guest]

Love wants to reach out and manhandle us,

Break all our teacup talk of God.

If you had the courage and

Could give the Beloved His choice, some nights,

He would just drag you around the room

By your hair,

Ripping from your grip all those toys in the world

That bring you no joy.

Love sometimes gets tired of speaking sweetly

And wants to rip to shreds

All your erroneous notions of truth

That make you fight within yourself, dear one,

And with others,

Causing the world to weep

On too many fine days.

God wants to manhandle us,

Lock us inside of a tiny room with Himself

And practice His dropkick.

The Beloved sometimes wants

To do us a great favor:

Hold us upside down

And shake all the nonsense out.

But when we hear

He is in such a "playful drunken mood"

Most everyone I know

Quickly packs their bags and hightails it

Out of town.

("The Gift" - trans. Daniel Ladinsky)

 

 

 

What is Love?

Yes! What? is Love.Love is the Living Questionthat is eternally

answered aswhat is in this moment.Thus it can never be knownbecause

it is the Numberless OneLoving. Love Loves Love.Love, Love Loves

Itself QuestionsLove, Love Loves Its QuestionlessnessLove, Love is

the Question-Questioner-QuestioningLove is, What? - Love is That.Love

is, Why? - Love is Whys.Love is, When? - Love is Then.Love is, Where?

- Love is Here.Love is, Who? - Love is You.Love is, How? - Love is

Now.Love is the Quest.There is no way to Love.There is only The Way

of Love.All-Ways are LoveLove is Always -One Love,LoveLove and

Gratitude,James

 

 

This place where you are right nowGod circled on a map for

you.Wherever your eyes and arms and heart can moveAgainst the earth

and sky,The Beloved has bowed there -Our beloved has bowed there

knowingYou were coming.I could tell you a priceless secret aboutYour

real worth, dear pilgrim,But any unkindness to yourself,Any confusion

about others,Will keep oneFrom accepting the grace, the love,The

sublime freedomDivine knowledge always offers to you.Never mind,

Hafiz, aboutThe great requirements this path demandsOf the

wayfarers,For your soul is too full of wine tonightTo withhold the

wondrous Truth from this world.But because I am so clever and

generous,I have already clearly woven a resplendent lockOf His

tressesAs a remarkable truth and giftIn this poem for you.~ Hafiz,

'The subject tonight is love' - Daniel Ladinsky

Bill Rishel wrote and shared this litte large piece yesternow, POW!

Kick it up notch in Emeril-Spear ridin' angels like Hafiz flirted

out...

 

"Who am I?" is not a question any more. It has vanished.

 

The steep depth has no flavor. The moment has no taste.

Even *intent* has slipped beyond the edge of knowing,

Like a dark sun slipped past the edge of time.

 

 

(Bill)

 

 

 

And now the Hafizling handing our Candy for the Lovers:

 

STAY CLOSE TO THOSE SOUNDS

The sun turns a key in a lock each dayAs soon as it crawls out of bed.

Light swings open a doorAnd the many kinds of love rush outOnto the infinite green field.

Your soul sometimes plays a noteAgainst the Sky's ear that excitesThe birds and planets.

Stay close to any soundsThat make you glad you are alive.

Everything in this world isHelplessly reeling.

An invisible wake was createdWhen God said to His beautiful dead lover,"Be."

Hafiz, who will understand youIf you do not explain that last line?Well then,

I will sing it this way,

When God said to illusion,"Be."

("The Gift" -- versions of Hafiz by Daniel Ladinsky)

LoveAlways,

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