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Some say that a teacher should perform miracles and demonstrate
wonders; however, what is needed is that he should possess all
that the student needs.
Muhiyudin Ibn al Arabi, quoted by Idries Shah in Special
Problems in the study of Sufi Ideas in the West (Octagon) 1969
Nasrudin sometimes took people for trips in his boat. One
day a fussy pedagogue hired him to ferry him across a very wide
river. As soon as they were afloat the scholar asked whether
it was going to be rough. 'Don't ask me nothing about that,'
said Nasrudin. 'Have you never studied grammar?' 'No,' said Nasrudin.
'In that case, half your life has been wasted.' The Mulla said
nothing. Soon a terrible storm blew up. The Mulla's crazy cockleshell
was filling with water. He leaned over to his companion. 'Have
you ever learned to swim?' 'No,' said the pedant. 'In that case,
schoolmaster, all your life is lost,
for we are sinking.'
Idries Shah The Exploits of the Incomparable Mulla
Nasrudin (Cape) 1969. P18.
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