Idries Shah Quotes and Sayings - Page 1
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“Enlightenment must come little by little - otherwise it would overwhelm.”
-- Idries ShahSource : Idries Shah (1999). “The Sufis”, p.124, Octagon Press Ltd
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“The proverb says that 'The answer to a fool is silence'. Observation, however, indicates that almost any other answer will have the same effect in the long run.”
-- Idries Shah -
“It is not only a matter of not caring who knows - it is also a matter of knowing who cares.”
-- Idries ShahSource : Idries Shah (1983). “Reflections”, p.44, Octagon Press Ltd
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“MAN: Kick him-he'll forgive you. Flatter him-he may or may not see through you. But ignore him and he'll hate you”
-- Idries Shah -
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“When tomorrow comes, think tomorrow's thoughts.”
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“It is not important to have said a thing first, or best - or even most interestingly. What is important is to say it on the right occasion.”
-- Idries Shah -
“Trying to force something is the best way to stop it happening.”
-- Idries ShahSource : Idries Shah (1997). “The Commanding Self”, p.39, Octagon Press Ltd
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“Enemies are often former or potential friends who have been denied - or think that they have been denied - something.”
-- Idries Shah -
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“Man (and woman) has an infinite capacity for self-development. Equally, he has an infinite capacity for self-destruction. A human being may be clinically alive and yet, despite all appearances, spiritually dead.”
-- Idries Shah -
“You must empty out the dirty water before you fill the pitcher with clean.”
-- Idries Shah -
“To 'see both sides' of a problem is the surest way to prevent its complete solution. Because there are always more than two sides.”
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“Study the assumptions behind your actions. Then study the assumptions behind your assumptions.”
-- Idries ShahSource : Idries Shah (1978). “Learning how to Learn: Psychology and Spirituality in the Sufi Way”, p.91, Octagon Press Ltd
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“Opinion is usually something which people have when they lack comprehensive information.”
-- Idries ShahSource : Idries Shah (2015). “Reflections”, p.54, ISF Publishing
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“The Way of the Sufis cannot be understood by means of the intellect or by ordinary book learning.”
-- Idries Shah -
“The more you look at 'common knowledge', the more you realise that it is more likely to be common than it is to be knowledge. No real knowledge is common.”
-- Idries ShahSource : Idries Shah (1983). “Reflections”, p.140, Octagon Press Ltd
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“From time to time ponder whether you are unconsciously saying: 'Truth is what I happen to be thinking at this moment.”
-- Idries ShahSource : Idries Shah (1983). “Reflections”, p.140, Octagon Press Ltd
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“Please, not again what you studied, how long you spent at it, how many books you wrote, what people thought of you - but: what did you learn?”
-- Idries ShahSource : Idries Shah (1983). “Reflections”, p.142, Octagon Press Ltd
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“Knowledge is not gained, it is there all the time. It is the "veils" which have to be dissolved in the mind.”
-- Idries ShahSource : Idries Shah (2002). “Neglected Aspects of Sufi Study”, p.39, Octagon Press Ltd
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“You need not wonder whether you should have an unreliable person as a friend. An unreliable person is nobody's friend.”
-- Idries Shah -
“The sufis believe that they can experience something more complete.”
-- Idries Shah -
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“It is the message, not the man, which is important to the Sufis.”
-- Idries Shah -
“If you give what can be taken, you are not really giving. Take what you are given, not what you want to be given. Give what cannot be taken.”
-- Idries Shah -
“If, from time to time, you give up expectation, you will be able to perceive what it is you are getting.”
-- Idries ShahSource : Idries Shah (1983). “Reflections”, p.141, Octagon Press Ltd
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“You have not forgotten to remember; You have remembered to forget. But people can forget to forget. That is just as important as remembering to remember - and generally more practical.”
-- Idries Shah -
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“Mediation - Before you learn how to meditate, you must unlearn what you think meditation might be.”
-- Idries Shah -
“Have you noticed how many people who walk in the shade curse the Sun?”
-- Idries ShahSource : Idries Shah (1983). “Reflections”, p.125, Octagon Press Ltd
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“A generous person may not have wisdom: but, unlike others, he has the means to gain it.”
-- Idries Shah -
“Knowledge is something which you can use. Belief is something which uses you.”
-- Idries ShahSource : Idries Shah (1983). “Reflections”, p.125, Octagon Press Ltd
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“One of the tragedies of modern times is that people have come to believe that something said by someone in the past, perhaps for illustrative or provocation purposes, actually represents that person's beliefs at the time.”
-- Idries Shah -
“Materialism, attachment to things of the world, includes pride. Many religious people suffer from pride: taking pleasure or even delight in being good, or religious.”
-- Idries ShahSource : Idries Shah (1990). “Sufi Thought and Action”, p.3, Octagon Press Ltd
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