Love and Compassion: Rumi's Seven Pieces of Advice, Buddhist Perspective

Love and Compassion: Rumi's Seven Pieces of Advice Buddhistdoor International Dr. Thomas Lau

Extract:

This summer, the Anatolia Cultural & Dialog Centre of Turkey and the Hong Kong University Centre of Buddhist Studies Alumni Association jointly arranged a tour to Turkey. It offered the chance of a brief encounter of the Turkish cultural and religious life. Turkey is a secular country by constitution. In actual fact, more than 99% of the population is of Islamic background. Muslim practices are deeply seeded in the daily life of common people, and most people do not have any knowledge of Buddhism. During the tour, we visited the Mevlâna Museum and the tomb of Rumi in Konya, a city in central Turkey. The full name of Rumi (1207-1273) is Mevlânâ Celâleddin Mehed Rumi. He is a Sufi scholar, writer and poet, and he is one of the most famous masters in the history of Islam. Not only that his poetries are wide acclaimed, but his teachings are also very much inspiring and far-reaching. He 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:

 

1.       In generosity and helping others: be like the river

2.       In compassion and grace: be like the sun.

3.       In concealing others’ faults: be like the night.

4.       In anger and fury: be like the dead.

5.       In modesty and humility: be like the soil.

6.       In tolerance: be like the ocean.

7.       Either you appear as you are, or: be as you appear. continue reading

On the same shelf:

 Seven Advice of Mevlana [Jalal ad-Din Rumi] - YouTube

 The Odyssey: Seven Advice Of Rumi

 Mawlana Jalaluddin Rumi | Healing Hearts