Another bird said to the hoopoe: “O thou whose faith is sincere! I have not a breath of goodwill. I have passed my whole life in sorrow, longing for the ball of the world. There is such grief in my heart, full of blood, that it is continually in mourning. I have always been in bewilderment and helplessness, and, when I have been content, I have been faithless. As a result of all this sorrow, I have become a dervish, and I hesitate when I enter upon the spiritual path. If I were not so sorrowful, my heart would be charmed by this journey; but since my heart is full of blood, what shall I do? I have laid my condition before thee; what must I do now?”
“To thee, whom pride has made foolish!” replied the hoopoe, “thou who art wholly plunged in madness, though thou struggle as thou mayest, heedlessness of spiritual things and love of the world pass away in a moment. Since the world passes away, pass thou beyond it, abandon it, and do not even look at it; for whosoever attaches his heart to what is transient has no share in the spiritual life.”
“To thee, whom pride has made foolish!” replied the hoopoe, “thou who art wholly plunged in madness, though thou struggle as thou mayest, heedlessness of spiritual things and love of the world pass away in a moment. Since the world passes away, pass thou beyond it, abandon it, and do not even look at it; for whosoever attaches his heart to what is transient has no share in the spiritual life.”