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Listen, Listen: Or, Rumi as a Zen Master<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n James Ishmael Ford<\/p>\n A few days ago I posted a Rumi quote on my Facebook page. It goes, \u201cSit, be still, and listen, listen, because you\u2019re drunk and we\u2019re at the edge of the roof.\u201d My friend and colleague in UU world, Roger Butts, challenged me as a Zen teacher to explain what is it, exactly, that I see in this quote.<\/p>\n If you\u2019ve been living in a cave somewhere you may not know Rumi. His full name is Jalaladdin Rumi, and he was a Thirteenth century Muslim theologian, a poet, and a Sufi master. A couple of years ago it was widely reported that Rumi was the best-selling poet in America. Might still be so.<\/p>\n What I really like about him is that Sufi thing. He was a follower of the mystical traditions of Islam. And in fact, he established the Mevlevi Sufi Order, best known as the whirling dervishes.<\/p>\n If his writings are a way to judge him, he profoundly understood the spiritual life from a perspective that while totally Muslim, was also fully universalist. His words have touched many hearts across many cultures and ages. Including mine. I often find he says what the Zen teachers say, but with, perhaps, more heart.<\/p>\n I thought that lovely verse a perfect example.<\/p>\n