A Few Dates, Some Rice....

The Madman sat under a date palm eating
some of its fruits and enjoying the sun
on his face. He saw someone approaching,
and sat up a bit to receive the person, as they
were walking directly toward him. As the man drew
nearer he could see it was a philosopher
from the university.

"Ho, dervish!" the man said.

"At your service, good sir, and Peace to you."

"I have a question for you."

"That is fine. I have so many of my own,
what is one more."

"What are you?"

"A dervish, a man, a skin bag with a soul."

"No, no. You have told me WHO you are. I asked
WHAT you are."

The Madman thought for several minutes as the
man impatiently shifted from one foot to the
other.

"A bowl of rice." He said.

"What did you say?" the philosopher asked.
incredulously.

"A bowl of rice."

"That is just not possible. As a matter of empirical fact
it is ridiculous. You are no more a bowl of rice than I am a
fig tree. You think me a fool, answering like that?" he said to
the Madman, raising his voice.

"I told you I am a bowl of rice, and so I am."

The philosopher walked away several steps,
turned and walked back. "Look here, I ask you
once more, WHAT are you?"

"A bowl of rice." the dervish said evenly.

The philosopher walked away again, going a
bit farther this time. He stopped, scratched his head
and walked back to the dervish. "WHAT are you, dervish?
You are supposed to be wise, but I only see a fool, with
foolish answers."

"A bowl of rice."

The man slapped himself on the forehead and walked
across the road to the tea Shoppe where he purchased a
glass of mint tea to cool himself. He drank the tea as he looked at the
contentedly munching dervish under the date palm.

Returning to where the Madman sat, the philosopher
pointed his finger at the dervish, and again asked him,
"WHAT are you?"

"Love" the dervish said, smiling.

"Love? I thought you were a bowl of rice!"

"Well," said the Madman,

"You returned and took so many bites of me,

that the rice is gone, and when things are all

gone, only Love remains."

The philosopher stared blankly, setting down with

a thud. After a bit he got up, went back to his

house, threw all his books into the road, and

began himself, to walk the road of the Lovers.

TF 020910