Idries Shah, Caravan Of Dreams Quotes

He discards a quilt for fear of bugs.

The happiness of the superficial: when a man who has lost his donkey finds it again.

Life: sometimes the man on the saddle, sometimes the saddle on the man.

The liar has a bad memory.

For every Pharoah there is a Moses.

Definitions from Mulla Do-PiazaCommunity: Irrationals unified by hope of the impossible.

Definitions from Mulla Do-PiazaPatience: A support for the disappointed.

Definitions from Mulla Do-PiazaPenitent: Someone who has been made incapable of enjoying himself.

Definitions from Mulla Do-PiazaSupporter: Someone who will say anything.

Definitions from Mulla Do-PiazaBribe Substitute for law, which is a substitute for justice.

Saying of the ProphetDesireDesire not the world, and God will love you. Desire not what others have, and they will love you.

Definitions from Mulla Do-PiazaIntellectual: One who knows no craft.

You call me an unbeliever. I shall therefore call you a True Believer since a lie is best met with one of similar magnitude.

Definitions from Mulla Do-PiazaEmotionalist:A man or woman who thinks he has experienced the divine.

Definitions from Mulla Do-Piaza.Poverty: The result of marriage.

Definitions from Mulla Do-PiazaFlattery:One of the most promising of businesses: always brisk.

Three ThingsThree things cannot be retrieved:The arrow once sped from the bowThe word spoken in hasteThe missed opportunity.(Ali the Lion, Caliph of Islam, son-in-law of Mohammed the Prophet),

Any society which enjoins its members to adhere to both of these (politeness and truth) is a fraud.

Saying of the ProphetInk and BloodThe ink of the learned is holier than the blood of the martyr.

Haste is from the Devil.

Mediation - Before you learn how to meditate, you must unlearn what you think meditation might be.

Saying of the ProphetSleepSleep is the brother of death.

Saying of the ProphetDeathDie before your death.

Saying of the ProphetHumilityHumility and courtesy are themselves a part of piety.

Saying of the ProphetStruggleThe holy warrior is he who struggles with himself.

Definitions from Mulla Do-PiazaTruthful man:He who is, secretly, regarded by everyone as an enemy.

Day and NightThe night is long: do not shorten it by sleep. The day is fair: do not darken it with wrongdoing.

Much travel is needed before the raw man is ripened.

Inner Knowledge -- You want to become wise in one lesson: First become a real human being.

Saying of the ProphetAngerYou ask for a piece of advice. I tell you : 'Do not get angry.' He is strong who can withhold anger.

TeachingOne hour's teaching is better than a whole night of prayer.

Show me a person who really knows what 'good' is, and I will show you that he almost never uses the word.

When Fortune knocks, open the door, ' they say. But why should one make fortune knock, by keeping the door shut?

Saying of the ProphetEnvyEnvy devours good deeds, as a fire devours fuel.

Saying of the ProphetAngerYou ask for a piece of advice. I tell you: 'Do not get angry.' He is strong who can withhold anger.

Saying of the ProphetThe JudgeA man appointed to be a judge has been killed without a knife.

Saying of the ProphetThe TongueA man slips with his tongue more than with his feet.

Saying of the ProphetUnderstandingSpeak to everyone in accordance with his degree of understanding.

Definitions from Mulla Do-Piaza. Worry: Something to make you unnecessarily ill.