TALES FROM SOOF: no. 23 High up above the tundra, tucked back in the bland hills, the king of Balkh sat on a throne of grey stone, happily imagined by him to be carved in jade, from which he continually gave away his possessions and tirelessly fasted and disabused himself of such pleasures as he imagined a man of his stature well deserved, all to the end of discovering god, in his kingdom, his body, his mind and in his heart. In his quiet vigil, he was obsessed with what he must do to find an openness of heart, but it would not arrive no matter how hard he tried to give away his selfishness in the form of the kingdoms endless wealth. One night, as he drowsed with eyes closed, he nevertheless felt in himself, a cloudy wakefulness continuing to rise. His guards were busily beating drums and wooden blocks with mallets and sticks, playing their neys and generally making a great din in order to keep away such thieves as the king feared would empty his kingdom of its wealth. One of the guards took the ney away from his lips, and inquired of one of the drummers, how is it that we must keep up this racket in order to keep thieves away, when there is nothing here for them to take? The king, after all, keeps giving away everything he gets his hands on, to anyone who approaches the throne. Is it not our protection alone that prevents him from knowing the grace he desires in giving our kingdom away? Should we not quiet ourselves, and allow these thieves of his imagination to come and strip away the means through which he continues to fool himself? The king, half-asleep on his throne, began murmuring to himself, what enemy do these guards keep away? The enemy is asleep within me, and cannot wake, even though I continue to give up all the material wealth of my kingdom, more with each passing day. What safety can arrive through the chaotic noise that these boorish guards provide? Is there any haven in these rooms that can rival the mercy of the god who nevertheless refuses my generous sacrifices in his name? As he slouched in his throne, and twisted about in his discomfort, he remained at the edge of consciousness, thinking how strange this was, to want to fall into the closed heart of sleep. How can a lover sleep? He wondered. Dream is not permitted to one who generously loves. In the meantime, his chambers had grown curiously quiet. There was no more drumming, and the neys through which the flautists had been sharply blowing, counting the passing seconds with their fingers, were now scattered around the room in silence. Suddenly, there was a lot of clatter from up above, of footsteps, and men shouting to each other. Thieves! thought the king, wondering where his guards had gone. He bolted awake, and tried to shout for them to take up their instruments and frighten away the crowd that was running and dancing on his roof, but he was suddenly lost to himself, and could not summon them, for he was frozen with terror. At that moment, a head appeared upsidedown in one of the windows, and one of the men from the roof, seeing the king sitting in terror on the far side of the room, grinned, and asked loudly, You there, stupid, there on the throne: Who are you? The king replied in a shaky voice, I am the king of Balkh. This is my kingdom. Who are you, and whats the idea, running so noisily on my roof? Well, we misplaced a whole string of camels earlier this evening, and, having looked almost everywhere else, thought they might have found their way on to your roof, the man apologetically replied. Fool! snapped the king. How could you have lost a whole string of camels to begin with, and what madness brought you to believe that these lost animals could be on my roof?! What person in their right mind would look for camels on a roof? Indeed, the man replied. But tell me: What person would look for god from the throne of his thoughts while heartlessly frittering his kingdom away? Open your eyes and let yourself be asked: Do you really think that god will manifest himself before a selfless king in amethyst pajamas? *
Posted on: Tue, 01 Apr 2014 21:30:20 +0000
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