Seven Advices: “… In compassion and grace: be like the sun …” ~ Rumi
We continue to express our deepest gratitude to all the people on the “COVID-19 Frontline”
THANK YOU
As the planet navigates life with COVID-19 impact, the first responders/public-servants are ensuring our safety and well being by being at the frontlines of this “battle.” These responders are from all the pertinent segments such as healthcare professionals – doctors, nurses, hospital/medical-services staff – firefighters, law enforcement, volunteers, and any/all the people involved in keeping the “system-at-large” functioning for ALL of us.
Thank You – our lives would not be possible without your dedication.
It is vital that all of us, who are able to live “inside and do remote work,” do our part in ensuring the safety and well being of these responders … so please visit our post Kindness: Buddha & Dalai Lama & COVID-19 for how you can support these frontline responders.
In this post, we continue our theme of cultivating and deepening qualities that bring us together while we live with “social distancing,” which is an essential action that needs to be sustained and supported by all of us so we can collectively stem and halt the spread of COVID-19.
Cultivation and deepening of compassion or kindness or forgiveness is worthwhile at any time but is especially important as we deal with COVID-19’s far reaching impacts that are also transforming the social norms.
Rumi’s poems transcend any spiritual boundaries so it was no surprise to find his poem as an anchor for an an essay on Love and Compassion, by Dr. Thomas Lau, in a buddhist context … As Dr Lau aptly states that Rumi:
“… teaches unconditional acceptance, tolerance, patience, love, compassion, and benevolence. His famous ‘Seven Advices’ has passed down all the years and is still very much revered in the present time. The Seven Advices epitomizes the highest sentiment of humanity, transcends religious boundaries, and encompasses the common values of all religions …”
So here are Rumi’s Seven “reminders” about how to be …
Seven Advices
In generosity and helping others: be like the river
In compassion and grace: be like the sun.
In concealing others’ faults: be like the night.
In anger and fury: be like the dead.
In modesty and humility: be like the soil.
In tolerance: be like the ocean.
Either you appear as you are, or: be as you appear.
~~ Rumi
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May you remain safe and healthy as you navigate this global crisis.
This poem was found in an essay by Dr. Thomas Lau titled: Love and Compassion: Rumi’s Seven Pieces of Advice. This essay was originally written in Chinese by Dr. Thomas Lau with Translation by Isabelle Tsang and English editing by Dr. Thomas Lau.
The exact same essay (published ion the same date) was also found on The Pearl Institute.
Despite some extensive web research, we were unable to find the actual source book containing the translation of the original poem. We always endeavor to attribute the source … but felt it was important to share the above poem in the spirit of spreading compassion in these challenging times. If any reader is able to find the source, or if the translator sees this post, please contact us (and/or leave a comment on this post) so we can add the proper attribution.
UPDATE May 4, 2021: We are most grateful to one of our website visitors (Tim Musgrove), who, upon reading our above remarks re attribution, took the time to research and provide us the actual source for the original poem. Please see Tim’s comment below (time stamped April 29, 2021. We deeply appreciate your time and effort, Tim!
The original poem (slightly different than the version we published is likely due to “going from English to Chinese then back to English”) is from Love’s Ripening: Rumi on the Heart’s Journey, translated by Kabir Helminski and Ahmad Rezwani. It is excerpted from the Introduction of this book, with the attribution noted as “Received from oral tradition; paraphrased by Kabir Helminski.” The original version is also included in Tim’s comment – which is after the end of this post, just scroll down and you’ll see.
Images: (edited and logo added): Featured and 1) Sunrise in the sea by Ivantsov, 2) Beautiful landscape of a river cascading over rocks in wilderness by elenathewise 3) Colorful dawn over the sea by vrstudio.. All purchased from depositphotos, for use only on our website/social channels (these images are not permitted to be shared separate from this post).
thank you,thats all I can say over and over gratitude for life
thank you,thats all I can say , gratitude for life
You mention you are looking for the source of this poem. It is on page xxix of the Introduction of “Love’s Ripening: Rumi on the Heart’s Journey” — a collection of not only writings, but also oral traditions of Rumi, and translated by Kabir Helminski. In a footnote, Helminski attributes this poem to oral tradition, so it is not surprising that it is hard to find elsewhere.
Also it seems that the translation here has undergone change by its going from English into Chinese and then back into English again. The original English version from Kabir Helminski is:
In generosity and helping others, be like a river.
In compassion and grace, be like the sun.
In concealing others’ faults, be like the night.
In anger and fury, be as if you have died.
In modesty and humility, be like the earth.
In tolerance, be like the sea.
Appear as you are, or be as you appear.
I am indebted to Philip Chircop for helping me trace this source (philipchircop.com)
Thank You so very much Tim for taking the time to post this comment with the actual attribution – and with such thorough detail!
My apologies for the delayed moderation/approval of your comment of April 29th. Am tied up all of today (May 4th) but will be emailing you – latest by end of tomorrow – with something else to share, as part of our gratitude for your time and effort.
Take care and be safe and well
Namaste’
Sanjiv