Why scurry about searching for the truth?
It vibrates in everything and every not-thing,
Right off the tip of your nose.
Can you be still and see it in the mountain, the pine tree, yourself?
 
Don’t imagine you will discover it by accumulating more knowledge.
Knowledge creates doubt and doubt makes you ravenous for more knowledge.
You can’t get full eating this way.
 
The wise person dines on something more subtle.
They eat the understanding that the name was born from the unnamed,
That all being flows from non-being,
That the describable world emanates from an indescribable source.
They find the subtle truth inside their own self and become completely content.
So, who can be completely still and watch the chess game of the world?
 
The foolish are always making impulsive moves.
But the wise know that victory and defeat are decided by something more subtle.
They see something perfect exists before any move is made.
This subtle perfection deteriorates when artificial action is taken.
So be content. Be content not to disturb the peace.
Remain quiet, discover a harmony in your own being.
Embrace it wholeheartedly.
 
If you can do this, you will gain everything, and the world will become healthy again.
If you cannot, you will be lost in the shadows forever.
The Mystery does not come and go
It is always present everywhere,
Just like the sky.
If your mind is clouded, you won’t see it.
But that does not mean it is not there.
All misery is created by the activity of the mind.
Can you let go of words and ideas, attitudes and expectations?
If so, then the Mystery will loom into view.
Can you be still and look inside?
If you can, then you will see the truth is always available, always responsive.
 
Words can never convey the beauty of a tree.
To understand it you must see it with your own eyes.
Language cannot capture the melody of a song.
To understand it you must hear it with your own ears.
So it is with the Mystery. The only way to understand it is to directly experience it
The subtle truth of the universe is unsayable and unthinkable.
Therefore, the highest teachings are wordless
 
My own words are not the medicine but a prescription,
Not the destination but a map to help you reach it.
When you get there, quiet your mind and close your mouth.
Don’t analyze the Mystery.
Strive instead to live it silently, undividedly, with your whole harmonious being.

Inside this river there is a moon
which is not a reflection.

From the river bottom the moon speaks.
I travel in continuous conversation
with the river as it goes.

Whatever is above
and seemingly outside this river
is actually in it.

Merge with it, in here or out there,
as you please.

This is the river of rivers
and the beautiful silence of endless talking.

- Rumi, 13th century poet