Nasrudin Tales: Lost in the Jungle

http://pages.britishlibrary.net/lobster/nasrudin/

One day Mulla Nasrudin got lost in the jungle. The whole day he spent trying to find a way out, but he could not...
He was tired, hungry, exhausted, bleeding, and his clothes were torn apart because the jungle was so thick and thorny. It was getting darker, the sun was setting and the night was near.
The Mulla had not been attending the mosque and prayer lately, and feared his predicament might be a result of his neglect.
So he knelt down on the ground and he said, "Dear Lord, please help me find my way out of this jungle, and I will always worship you. I will start attending the mosque regularly. I will faithfully follow all the rituals of Islam."
"I promise you! Just save me. Forgive me. I apologize for my negligence. I was a fool, an utter fool!"
Just at that moment a bird passed overhead and dropped something in his outspread hands.
He said "Please Lord, don't give me any of that shit. I'm really lost!"

***

Nasrudin sat on a river bank when someone shouted to him from the other bank:
"Hey! how do I get across?"
"You are across!" Nasrudin shouted back.


***

Nasrudin returned from the imperial capital, and the villagers gathered around to hear what had passed.
"At this time," said Nasrudin, "I only want to say that the King spoke to me."
All the villagers but the stupidest ran off to spread the wonderful news.
The remaining villager asked, "What did the King say to you?"
"What he said - and quite distinctly, for everyone to hear - was 'Get out of my way, Imbecile!'"

http://www.lifepositive.com/Spirit/world-religions/sufism/nasruddin-mulla.asp

Mulla Nasruddin was a Sufi visionary who lived during the 13th century in the Middle East. Roaming around the deserts of Arabia, this mystic jester brought humor to the Sufi tradition and life to stoicism. His stories appear in literature and oral traditions from nations in the Middle East to China. Most of them claim this lovable son of the soil to be their own native.
It was Idries Shah who introduced us to the wisdom, wit and charm of this mysterious mentor through his collection of stories. These teaching stories are like koans of the Zen tradition, which reveal the paradoxes of conditioned living with humor.

In one such story, Nasruddin is a magistrate who in his first case agrees with both the plaintiff and the defendant. When the court clerk objects that both cannot be right, Nasruddin says: ''I believe you are right.'' Here we are able to see the paradox clearly. In our conditioning, we see things as either right or wrong, black or white. Linear thinking does not allow one to think holistically. Our minds wrestle in the dark dens of logic and lose the gist of life.

According to legend, Nasruddin was blessed with an open mind to carry the message of freedom. He was chosen because he could make people laugh, and his humor was sharp enough to crack even the most rigidly conditioned mind.

Even today, Sufis use these stories as teaching exercises.

I wasn't aware of that.

Unfortunately, on the surface the statements look like a potential slam on Muslims-that's why I wasn't sure what to think.

One evening a friend of Nasrudin's came to visit him. He saw Nasrudin crawling on the ground looking for something. Nasrudin said that he had lost a valuable coin. The friend knelt down to help Nasrudin look for the money. After they had crawled all over the yard, Nasrudin's friend asked, "Exactly where did you drop the money?" I dropped it in the house," answered Nasrudin, "But we cannot look for the money in there. It's much too dark."

http://www.public.asu.edu/~apnilsen/afghanistan4kids/nasrudin.html

A man had fallen between the rails in an Underground station when Nasrudin came along one afternoon. People were crowding around, all trying to get him out before a train ran him over.

They were shouting, 'Give me your hand!' But the man would not reach up.

The Mulla elbowed his way through the crowd and leant over to the man. 'Friend,' he said, 'what is your profession?'

'I am an income-tax inspector,' gasped the man.

'In that case,' said Nasrudin, 'take my hand!' The man immediately grasped the Mulla's hand and was hauled to safety.

Nasrudin turned to the open-mouthed audience. 'Never ask a tax man to give you anything, you fools,' he said, and walked away.

Once a renowned philosopher and moralist was traveling through Nasruddin's village and asked Nasruddin where there was a good place to eat. Nasruddin suggested a place and the scholar, hungry for conversation, invited Mullah Nasruddin to join him. Much obliged, Mullah Nasruddin accompanied the scholar to a nearby restaurant, where they asked the waiter about the special of the day.

"Fish! Fresh Fish!" replied the waiter.

"Bring us two," they requested.

A few minutes later, the waiter brought out a large platter with two cooked fish on it, one of which was quite a bit smaller than the other. Without hesitating, Mullah Nasruddin took the larger of the fish and put in on his plate. The scholar, giving Mullah Nasruddin a look of intense disbelief, proceed to tell him that what he did was not only flagrantly selfish, but that it violated the principles of almost every known moral, religious, and ethical system. Mullah Nasruddin listened to the philosopher's extempore lecture patiently, and when he had finally exhausted his resources, Mullah Nasruddin said,

"Well, Sir, what would you have done?"

"I, being a conscientious human, would have taken the smaller fish for myself." said the scholar.

"And here you are," Mullah Nasruddin said, and placed the smaller fish on the gentleman's plate.

:thumbsup:

:D

politicos in many nations could learn a few things from him.

My husband introduced me to these stories years ago, and they never fail to amuse and instruct.