온 인류가 코로나 펜데믹 이후 우리가 앞으로 살아갈 세상은 어떻게 바뀔 것인가, 아니, 어떻게 바뀌어야 할 것인가를 우리 모두 심각하고도 진지하게 생각해 볼 기회가 현재 우리에게 주어진 것 아닌가.
우물 안 개구리 식의 근시안적인 기존의 생활방식, 자업자득으로 기후변화를 초래한 자연 생태계 파괴와 오염으로 자멸(自滅)을 초래할 수밖에 없고, 더 이상 유효할 수 없는 인본(人本) 자본주의(資本主義) 물질문명을 어서 탈피(脫皮) 졸업(卒業)하여, 우리 본연의 자본(自本) 우본주의(宇本主意) 우주자연관에 바탕을 둔 새로운 코스미안시대를 열어볼 수 있는 절호의 기회 말이다.
오늘 10월 3일, 우리 조상님 단군 할아버지와 곰할머니께서 하늘 문을 열고 홍익인간(弘益人間)/홍익만물(弘益萬物)하러 지상으로 내려오신 개천절(開天節)을 맞아 새삼 다짐해보자. 바꿀 수 있는 것이 ‘운명(運命)이라면 숙명(宿命)은 바꿀 수 없는 것이리라. 운명이 작은 그림이라면 숙명은 큰 틀이라고 해야 하지 않을까. 어떤 종(種)으로 어느 때 어느 곳에 어떤 환경에 어떤 DNA를 갖고 태어나느냐가 숙명이라면 이 프레임 안에다 어떠한 그림을 그리는가가 운명이 되는 것이리라.
그런데 이 프레임이라 할까 박스로 말할 것 같으면 전혀 다른 두 가지가 있지 않은가. 하나는 사실적이고 현실적인 것이고 또 하나는 비자연적이고 가공적인 것으로, 문학적으로 말해서 하나는 논픽션이고 또 하나는 픽션이라면 컴퓨터 용어로는 현실, 가상현실, 그리고 증강현실이 될 것이다.
우리의 일상생활이 전자라면 모든 인위적으로 조작 조정하는 자의적(恣意的) 이데올로기 이념이다, 사상이다, 종교다, 예술이다, 문화다, 정치다, 경제다 등 독선과 위선에 찬 도그마들은 후자가 되지 않을까.
좋든 싫든 전자를 우리는 기정사실로 받아들일 수밖에 없다. 그러나 후자의 경우에는 이렇게 부자연스러운 프레임이나 박스 속에 갇혀 안주할 것인가 아니면 이 모든 노예의 사슬을 풀고 새장에서 벗어난 새처럼 자유롭게 하늘로 비상할 것인가는 우리 각자가 결정할 일 아닌가. 바꿀 수 없는 숙명이든 바꿀 수 있는 운명이든, 어떻든 이 시점(時點/視點)에서 우리 모두 각자 자신 스스로에게 만족하고 행복하려면 어떻게 해야 할까.
미국의 제16대 대통령 에이브러햄 링컨(Abraham Lincoln 1809-1865)의 말을 우리 함께 경청(傾聽/敬聽)해 보리라.
“선행(善行)을 할 때 내 기분 좋고 악행(惡行)할 때 내 기분 나쁘다. 이것이 내 종교이다…미래를 예측하는 최선의 방법은 미래를 창조하는 것이다.”
If what can be changed is ‘destiny,’ ‘fate’ must be what cannot be changed. If destiny is the small picture, fate must be the big frame. If how you happened to be born into a certain species, time and space, in the environmental setting, with your kind of DNA is your fate, then what picture you draw within the frame must be your destiny.
As for the frame or box we are in, there are two different kinds, so separate from each other. One is factual and real and the other is all made-up and unnatural. They are non-fiction and fiction in literary terms, and reality, virtual reality and augmented reality in computer terms.
If our daily lives are the former, all the other arbitrarily and artificially imposed and manipulated ideological thoughts, religious dogma, arts, and literature must be the latter.
Like it or not, one has to accept the former as a given. But as to the matter of the latter, one has to decide whether to settle down in the box or get out of the frame, breaking every chain and throwing off all the shackles of slavery like a bird flying out of the cage and soaring freely into the sky.
Anyway, be it the fate or the destiny, if one has to be happy with oneself, after all, it behooves us all to ponder what Abraham Lincoln, the 16th U.S. President, had to say:
“When I do good, I feel good; when I do bad, I feel bad; that’s my religion…The best way to predict the future is to create it.”
우리의 선각자 칼릴 지브란(Kahlil Gibran 1883-1931)은 그의 ‘예언자의 뜰(The Garden of the Prophet, 1933)에서 이렇게 말한다.
만물에 깃든 숨이
성당의 종소리 들리는
일요일 한 제자 묻기를
하느님은 어떤 분인가요?
알무스타파 대답하기를
사랑하는 나의 벗들이여
모든 마음을 합한 마음
모든 사랑을 합한 사랑
모든 영혼을 합한 영혼
모든 음성을 합한 음성
모든 침묵을 합한 침묵
시작도 끝도 없는 시간
이 모두를 생각해보게.
이렇게 우리 알 수 없는
하느님보다 차라리 우리
자신에 관해 얘기해보세.
구름까지 올라가 그것을
우리는 높이라 생각하고
바다를 건너가서 그것을
우리는 거리라 말하지만
땅속에 씨앗을 심을 때
우리는 더 높이 오르고
이웃과 다정히 지낼 때
우리는 더 멀리 간다네.
어미 새가 하늘로만 날면
누가 둥지 속 새끼 새의
먹이 물어다가 줄 것이며
벌의 도움 없이 그 어떤
꽃이 열매 맺을 수 있나.
하느님의 숨결과 향기가
우주만물에 깃들여 있음을
아는 것으로 충분하다네.
바람에 노래 실어
하루는 제자 한 사람이
새 옷이 필요하다 하자
알무스타파 말해 가로되
자네 헌 옷 벗어보게나
그가 벌거벗은 몸 되자
알무스타파가 말하기를
벌거벗어야 햇볕 쬐고
걸침 없어야 바람 쐬며
천 번 길을 잃어버리는
사람이 집을 찾게 되지.
천사가 내게 일러주길
겉이 두꺼운 자를 위해
지옥이 만들어졌다고
껍데기 녹여 버리려고
나의 다정한 벗들이여
땅속으로 뿌리 내리고
하늘로 가지 뻗어 올려
바람에 노래 실어 보세.
우리 살아 있음이란
또 한 제자가 말하기를
우리도 선생님 말씀처럼
노래가 되고 향기롭도록
그 비결 가르쳐주십시오.
알무스타파 대답하기를
말보다 삶이 앞서야지만
그 말도 노래와 향이 되지.
하늘 높이 오르기도 하고
땅속 깊이 뿌리 내리는.
또 다른 제자가 묻기를
있다는 존재란 무엇이죠.
알무스타파 말해 가로되
우리 지금 살아 있음이란
바보처럼 슬기로워짐이오.
약자를 위해 강해짐이며
어버이나 스승이 아니고
어린아이들 소꿉동무로
재밌게 같이 노는 것이지.
아름다움 찾아 그 어느 곳
세상 끝까지라도 좇음이지.
아름다움 없는 곳이라면
아무것도 없는 세상이지.
참으로 살아 있다는 것은
울타리 없는 집안의 뜰이
밭지기가 없는 포도밭이
문 없는 주막집 되는 것.
가진 것 모두 빼앗기고
세상의 웃음거리 되어도
빙그레 한번 웃는 거지.
다정한 나의 벗들이여
겁먹지 말고 대담하게
하늘같은 정신 키우고
바다같은 마음 품게나.
이렇게 그가 말을 하자
그 말 이해하지 못하는
아홉 제자 모두 흩어져
그의 곁을 떠나가 버리고
알무스타파 혼자 남았다.
길가의 갈대 되리
밤 되어 알무스타파 그의
어머니 묻혀있는 무덤가
삼나무 밑에 가서 앉았다.
그러자 하늘로부터 빛이
땅속에 빛나는 보석처럼
온 뜰을 밝게 비춰주었다.
온 누리 고요한 가운데
알무스타파 외쳐 말하되
잘 익은 열매와도 같이
잘 익은 포도주와 같이
그 어떤 주리고 목마른
사람의 넋을 달래 줄까.
길거리에라도 앉아서
두 손 가득 보석들을
나누어 주려고 해도
받아 줄 사람 없으니
나 이를 어쩔 것인가.
차라리 이렇게 될 바엔
빈손 벌리고 구걸하는
걸인이라도 되었을걸.
푸짐하게 상 차려놓고
손님 기다려도 아무도
오는 사람 그림자도
없다면 이를 어쩌나.
차리리 이렇게 될 바엔
떠돌아다니며 빌어먹는
거렁뱅이가 되었을걸.
내가 어느 나라 공주로
한밤중 잠에서 깨어나
은빛 찬란한 옷 걸치고
보석 반지 목걸이 하고
값진 향수 몸에 뿌린 채
밤이슬에 빛나는 황금빛
신발 신고 대궐 안 뜰을
거닐며 두루 찾아봐도
사랑을 속삭여 줄 왕자
없다면 이를 또 어쩌나.
차라리 이렇게 될 바엔
들판에서 양떼를 몰다
저녁이면 풀향기 밴 몸
맨발로 집으로 돌아와
밤 깊어질 때를 기다려
날 사랑하는 젊은이가
기다리고 있는 골짜기
시냇물가로 달려가는
농부 딸이 되었을걸.
아니면 차라리 수도원
수녀라도 되었을 것을.
내 마음 향불처럼 피워
내 혼 촛불처럼 태우는.
그도 아니라면 차라리
옛날의 추억을 더듬는
할머니라도 되었을걸.
밤이 깊어 알무스타파도
밤처럼 깊어가는 생각에
다시 혼잣소리로 말하되
아름답게 피어도 봐 줄
맛있게 익어도 먹어 줄
그런 사람 하나 없다면
차라리 꽃도 피지 않고
열매도 맺지 않는 나무
그런 나무 되었을 것을.
샘이 넘치는데 마실 이
없는 샘물 되는 것보다
차라리 마른 우물되어
지나가는 길손 돌 던짐
견디기 더 쉬웠을 것을.
아무리 훌륭한 악기라도
그 악기를 타 줄 사람도
그 악기소리 들어 줄 이
아무도 없는 집에 놓여
버림받은 악기 되느니
차라리 발길에 짓밟히는
나 저 길가 갈대가 되리.
못다 한 말 있다면
일곱 낮과 밤 지나도록
아무도 찾아오지 않았다.
그러다 카리마가 찾아와
마실 것과 먹을 것들을
아무 말 없이 놓고 갔다.
얼마 후 카리마를 따라
아홉 제자들이 나타났다.
알무스타파 반갑게 맞아
카리마가 차려논 음식
다 같이 즐겁게 먹었다.
저녁을 다 먹고 난 다음
아무스타파 말해 가로되
나의 다정한 벗님들이여
이제 우리 헤어져야겠네.
우리 사나운 바다 건너
세찬 비바람을 맞으며
여러가지 어려움 같이
여러가지 즐거움 함께
우리 나누지 않았는가.
나의 다정한 벗님들이여
이제 헤어질 때 되었고
나는 나의 길 가야 하네.
부디 벗님들 안녕하시게.
그러나 헤어지기에 앞서
벗님들에게 내가 끝으로
꼭 하고 싶은 말 있다네.
벗님들 모두 각자대로
제 길 찾아갈 것이로되
제 노래 부를 것이로되
노래마다 짧게 하시게.
입술에서 일찍 숨지는
노래라야 듣는 사람의
가슴에 오래도록 남지.
아름다운 진실은 말하되
아름다운 노래는 부르되
그렇지 않다면 입 다물고
험담에는 귀머거리 되게.
다정한 나의 벗님들이여
그대들이 가는 길에 혹
발굽 가진 이 만나거든
그대들의 날개 달아주게.
다정한 나의 벗님들이여
그대들이 가는 길에 혹
뿔 달린 사람 만나거든
그에게 월계관 씌워주게.
다정한 나의 벗님들이여
그대들이 가는 길에 혹
발톱 사나운 이 있거든
그대들의 꽃잎 달아주게.
다정한 나의 벗님들이여
그대들이 가는 길에 혹
거짓말 하는 이 있거든
그에게 꿀을 먹여 주게.
다정한 나의 벗님들이여
이밖에도 여러 사람들을
그대들 만나보게 되겠지.
목발을 파는 절름발이와
거울을 파는 눈먼 장님
또 사원 앞에서 구걸하는
부자를 만나보게 되겠지.
그 가운데서 부자 거지를
가장 불쌍하게 여기게나.
다정한 나의 벗님들이여
사자들과 토끼들이 함께
이리떼와 양떼가 더불어
같이 노는 놀이터 되게.
그대들의 스승으로 나를
잊지 않고 기억하겠다면
난 주기보다 받을 것을
버리지 말고 채울 것을
노예가 아닌 벗으로서
그 어떤 욕망 욕구라도
억제 말고 충족시키라고
입가에 미소를 띄우면서
그대들의 깨우침을 받은
선생 제자로 기억해주게.
잠잠히 고요히 있기보다
너무 크지 않은 목소리로
모두 함께 같이 출렁이는
저 바다의 물방울들처럼
모든 사람들과 더불어서
우리도 춤추듯 노래하세.
이렇게 말을 마친 다음
알무스타파 뜰로 나가자
제자들 그 뒤를 따랐다
알무스타파에게 다가와서
카리마가 애틋하게 말하길
내일 길을 떠나가시는데
드실 것 좀 준비할께요.
이렇게 말하는 카리마를
애타는 눈길로 바라보며
알무스타파 대답하기를
나의 누이 나의 님이시여
준비 아니 해도 좋아요.
내일 먹고 마실 것들이
어제와 오늘처럼 언제나
다 마련되어 있으니까요.
나 이제 떠나간다 해도
못다 한 말 남아 있다면
내 몸과 마음 흩어진대도
그 말이 날 반드시 다시
걷어 모아 줄 때가 되면
새롭게 태어난 숨소리로
그대들 앞에 나타나 그
못다 한 말하게 되리오.
나 이제 사라진다 해도
그동안 보여주지 못한
아름다운 진실 있다면
그 진실이 나를 또다시
찾아줄 것이고 그때 나
새로이 빚어진 모습으로
그대들 앞에 다시 나타나
그 진실 밝히게 되리오.
아름답고 참된 진실이란
언제고 드러나 보이리요.
나 죽음 너머 영생하리.
몸 떠난 내 넋이 있어
안개로 돌아가 떠돌며
파도소리 바람소리로
그대들 가슴속에 살아
그대들 밥상에도 앉고
그대들과 같이 거닐며
우리 다 함께 노래하리.
죽음이란 우리가 쓰는
우리 얼굴 탈바꿈이리.
땅에서 노래하던 사람
살아도 죽어도 가수로
바닷속과 하늘에서도
어디에서나 노래하리.
제자들 모두 하나같이
돌처럼 굳어져 있었다.
알무스타파 떠나는걸
아무도 막을 수 없었고
그를 따라갈 수 없었다.
눈 깜짝할 사이에 마치
세차게 불어오는 바람에
나무잎 하나 날아가듯
알무스타파 멀리 떠났다.
엷은 한 줄기 빛살같이
그는 하늘로 사라졌다.
그러자 아홉 제자 모두
뿔뿔이 제 갈 길 가고
카리마만 남아 있었다.
어둠 속으로 사라지는
저 멀리 한 줄기 빛을
꼼짝 않고 지켜보면서
카리마 가슴 속 깊이
스며드는 외로운 슬픔
그리고 참을 수 없게
사무치는 그리움에서
알무스타파가 남기고
간 말들을 되새겼다.
나 이제 떠나간다 해도
그대에게 못다 한 말
남아 있다면 그 말이
날 걷어 모아 줄 테고
나 그대에게 돌아오리.
우리 새로 태어나리
저녁노을 언덕에 올라서
짙은 안개 속에 휩싸이자
저 아래 세상으로부터는
가려 보이지 아니 하는
구름 바위 구름 숲에서
알무스타파 외쳐 가로되
오 내 누이 하얀 안개여
아직 모두어지지 않은 숨
입 밖에 나오지 않은 말
당신에게 나 돌아옵니다.
오 내 누이 하얀 안개여
날개 돋친 하늘 숨결이여
우리 이제 같이 있어요.
다음 세상에 우리 새로
태어날 그 날까지 함께.
아 정녕 그날이 오면
당신은 그 어느 풀잎에
맺혀 반짝이는 이슬방울
나는 미지의 어떤 여인
따뜻한 품 속 갓난애로
우리 다시 태어나겠지요.
오 내 누이 하얀 안개여
당신의 가슴처럼 스스로
깊은 속 찾는 마음으로
당신의 욕망처럼 스스로
뛰놀듯 하는 바람으로
당신의 생각처럼 스스로
떠도는 방랑의 꿈꾸면서
당신에게 나 돌아옵니다.
영원과 무한과 절대이신
우리 어버이의 첫 아이
오 나의 누이 하얀 안개
당신에게 나 아무것도
갖고 오지 못했어요.
오 내 누이 하얀 안개여
당신이 나보고 뿌리라던
씨앗들 아직까지 그대로
내 두 손에 남아 있고요.
당신이 나보고 부르라던
노래들 아직까지 그대로
내 입술에 붙어 있으니
어떤 씨앗의 열매 하나
어떤 노래의 메아리조차
난 갖고 오지 못했어요.
내 손이 밤처럼 무겁고
내 입술 떼어지지 않아.
오 다정한 누이 안개여
나의 말 좀 들어보세요.
난 삶을 무척 사랑했고
사람들 날 사랑해줬죠.
세상 기쁨에 한껏 웃고
세상 슬픔에 울었었죠.
그렇지만 넘을 수 없는
커다란 간격이 있었어요.
세상과 나 사이에서요.
죽음 모르는 영원한 안개
오 사랑하는 나의 누이여
나 이제 당신과 하나되어
더 이상 내가 나 아니죠.
우리 사이 벽 다 무너져
모든 사슬이 다 풀렸어요.
그래서 이렇게 피어올라
나 또한 안개가 되었지요.
그러니 우리 함께 더불어
생명의 바다 위로 떠돌다
삶의 또 하루 맞게 되면
아 그날 그 새벽 아침에
당신은 그 어느 풀잎에
나는 어느 여인 품속에
우리 새로 태어나겠지요.
And on the first day of the week when the sounds of the temple bells sought their ears, one spoke and said:
"Master, we hear much talk of God hereabout. What say you of God, and who is He in very truth?"
And he stood before them like a young tree, fearless of wind or tempest, and he answered saying: "Think now, my comrades and beloved, of a heart that contains all your hearts, a love that encompasses all your loves, a spirit that envelops all your spirits, a voice enfolding all your voices, and a silence deeper than all your silences, and timeless.
"Seek now to perceive in your selffulness a beauty more enchanting than all things beautiful, a song more vast than the songs of the sea and the forest, a majesty seated upon the throne for which Orion is but a footstool, holding a sceptre in which the Pleiades are naught save the glimmer of dewdrops.
"You have sought always only food and shelter, a garment and a staff; seek now One who is neither an aim for your arrows nor a stony cave to shield you from the elements.
"And if my words are a rock and a riddle, then seek, none the less, that your hearts may be broken, and that your questionings may bring you unto the love and the wisdom of the Most High, whom men call God."
And they were silent, every one, and they were perplexed in their heart; and Almustafa was moved with compassion for them, and he gazed with tenderness upon them and said:
"Let us speak rather of the gods, your neighbours, and of your brothers, the elements that move about your houses and your fields.
"You would rise up in fancy unto the cloud, and you deem it height; and you would pass over the vast sea and claim it to be distance. But I say unto you that when you sow a seed in the earth, you reach a greater height; and when you hail the beauty of the morning to your neighbour, you cross a greater sea.
"Too often do you sing God, the Infinite, and yet in truth you hear not the song. Would that you might listen to the song-birds, and to the leaves that forsake the branch when the wind passes by, and forget not, my friends, that these sing only when they are separated from the branch!
"Again I bid you to speak not so freely of God, who is your All, but speak rather and understand one another, neighbour unto neighbour, a god unto a god.
"For what shall feed the fledgling in the nest if the mother bird flies skyward? And what anemone in the fields shall be fulfilled unless it be husbanded by a bee from another anemone?
"It is only when you are lost in your smaller selves that you seek the sky which you call God. Would that you might find paths into your vast selves; would that you might be less idle and pave the roads!
"My mariners and my friends, it were wiser to speak less of God, whom we cannot understand, and more of each other, whom we may understand. Yet I would have you know that we are the breath and the fragrance of God. We are God, in leaf, in flower, and oftentimes in fruit."
And on a morning when the sun was high, one of the disciples, one of those three who had played with him in childhood, approached him saying:
"Master, my garment is worn, and I have no other. Give me leave to go unto the market-place and bargain that perchance I may procure me new raiment."
And Almustafa looked upon the young man, and he said:
"Give me your garment." And he did so and stood naked in the noonday.
And Almustafa said in a voice that was like a young steed running upon a road:
"Only the naked live in the sun. Only the artless ride the wind. And he alone who loses his way a thousand times shall have a home-coming.
"The angels are tired of the clever. And it was but yesterday that an angel said to me: 'We created hell for those who glitter. What else but fire can erase a shining surface and melt a thing to its core?'
"And I said: 'But in creating hell you created devils to govern hell.' But the angel answered: 'Nay, hell is governed by those who do not yield to fire.'
"Wise angel! He knows the ways of men and the ways of half-men. He is one of the seraphim who come to minister unto the prophets when they are tempted by the clever. And no doubt he smiled when the prophets smile, and weeps also when they weep.
"My friends and my mariners, only the naked live in the sun. Only the rudderless can sail the greater sea. Only he who is dark with the night shall wake with the dawn, and only he who sleeps with the roots under the snow shall reach the spring.
"For you are even like roots, and like roots are you simple, yet you have wisdom from the earth. And you are silent, yet you have within your unborn branches the choir of the four winds.
"You are frail and you are formless, yet you are the beginning of giant oaks, and of the half-pencilled patterned of the willows against the sky.
"Once more I say, you are but roots betwixt the dark sod and the moving heavens. And oftentimes have I seen you rising to dance with the light, but I have also seen you shy. All roots are shy. They have hidden their hearts so long that they know not what to do with their hearts.
"But May shall come, and May is a restless virgin, and she shall mother the hills and plains."
And one who had served in the Temple besought him saying:
"Teach us, Master, that our words may be even as your words, a chant and an incense unto the people."
And Almustafa answered and said:
"You shall rise beyond your words, but your path shall remain, a rhythm and a fragrance; a rhythm for lovers and for all who are beloved, and a fragrance for those who would live life in a garden.
"But you shall rise beyond your words to a summit whereon the star-dust falls, and you shall open your hands until they are filled; then you shall lie down and sleep like a white fledgling in a white nest, and you shall dream of your tomorrow as white violets dream of spring.
"Ay, and you shall go down deeper than your words. You shall seek the lost fountain-heads of the streams, and you shall be a hidden cave echoing the faint voices of the depths which now you do not even hear.
"You shall go down deeper than your words, ay, deeper than all sounds, to the very heart of the earth, and there you shall be alone with Him who walks also upon the Milky Way."
And after a space one of the disciples asked him saying:
"Master, speak to us of being. What is it to be?"
And Almustafa looked long upon him and loved him. And he stood up and walked a distance away from them; then returning, he said:
"In this Garden my father and my mother lie, buried by the hands of the living; and in this Garden lie buried the seeds of yesteryear, bought hither upon the wings of the wind. A thousand times shall my mother and my father be buried here, and a thousand times shall the wind bury the seed; and a thousand years hence shall you and I and these flowers come together in this Garden even as now, and we shall be, loving life, and we shall be, dreaming of space, and we shall be, rising towards the sun.
"But now today to be is to be wise, though not a stranger to the foolish; it is to be strong, but not to the undoing of the weak; to play with young children, not as fathers, but rather as playmates who would learn their games;
"To be simple and guileless with old men and women, and to sit with them in the shade of the ancient oak-trees, though you are still walking with Spring;
"To seek a poet though he may live beyond the seven rivers, and to be at peace in his presence, nothing wanting, nothing doubting, and with no question upon your lips;
"To know that the saint and the sinner are twin brothers, whose father is our Gracious King, and that one was born but the moment before the other, wherefore we regard his as the Crowned Prince;
"To follow Beauty even when she shall lead you to the verge of the precipice; and though she is winged and you are wingless, and though she shall pass beyond the verge, follow her, for where Beauty is not, there is nothing;
"To be a garden without walls, a vineyard without a guardian, a treasure-house for ever open to passers-by;
"To be robbed, cheated, deceived, ay, misled and trapped and then mocked, yet with it all to look down from the height of your larger self and smile, knowing that there is spring that will come to your garden to dance in your leaves, and an autumn to ripen your grapes; knowing that if but one of your windows is open to the East, you shall never be empty; knowing that all those deemed wrongdoers and robbers, cheaters and deceivers are your brothers in need, and that you are perchance all of these in the eyes of the blessed inhabitants of that City Invisible, above this city.
"And now, to you also whose hands fashion and find all things that are needful for the comfort of our days and our nights—
"To be is to be a weaver with seeing fingers, a builder mindful of light and space; to be a ploughman and feel that you are hiding a treasure with every seed you sow; to be a fisherman and a hunter with a pity for the fish and for the beast, yet a still greater pity for the hunger and need of man.
"And, above all, I say this: I would have you each and every one partners to the purpose of every man, for only so shall you hope to obtain your own good purpose.
"My comrades and my beloved, be bold and not meek; be spacious and not confined; and until my final hour and yours be indeed your greater self."
And he ceased speaking and there fell a deep gloom upon the nine, and their heart was turned away from him, for they understood not his words.
And behold, the three men who were mariners longed for the sea; and they who had served in the Temple yearned for the consolation of her sanctuary; and they who had been his playfellows desired the market-place. They all were deaf to his words, so that the sound of them returned unto him like weary and homeless birds seeking refuge.
And Almustafa walked a distance from them in the Garden, saying nothing, nor looking upon them.
And they began to reason among themselves and to seek excuse for their longing to be gone.
And behold, they turned and went every man to his own place, so that Almustafa, the chosen and the beloved, was left alone.
And when the night was fully come, he took his steps to the grave-side of his mother and sat beneath the cedar-tree which grew above the place. And there came the shadow of a great light upon the sky, and the Garden shone like a fair jewel upon the breast of earth.
And Almustafa cried out in the aloneness of his spirit, and he said:
"Heavy-laden is my soul with her own ripe fruit. Who is there would come and take and be satisfied? Is there not one who has fasted and who is kindly and generous in heart, to come and break his fast upon my first yieldings to the sun and thus ease me of the weight of mine own abundance?
"My soul is running over with the wine of the ages. Is there no thirsty one to come and drink?
"Behold, there was a man standing at the cross-roads with hands stretched forth unto the passers-by, and his hands were filled with jewels. And he called upon the passers-by, saying: 'Pity me, and take from me. In God's name, take out of my hands and console me.'
"But the passers-by only looked upon him, and none took out of his hand.
"Would rather that he were a beggar stretching forth his hand to receive—ay, a shivering hand, and brought back empty to his bosom—than to stretch it forth full of rich gifts and find none to receive.
"And behold, there was also the gracious prince who raised up his silken tents between the mountain and the desert and bade his servants to burn fire, a sign to the stranger and the wanderer; and who sent forth his slaves to watch the road that they might fetch a guest. But the roads and the paths of the desert were unyielding, and they found no one.
"Would rather that prince were a man of nowhere and nowhen, seeking food and shelter. Would that he were the wanderer with naught but his staff and an earthen vessel. For then at nightfall would he meet with his kind, and with the poets of nowhere and nowhen, and share their beggary and their remembrances and their dreaming.
"And behold, the daughter of the great king rose from sleep and put upon her silken raiment and her pearls and rubies, and she scattered musk upon her hair and dipped her fingers in amber. Then she descended from her tower to her garden, where the dew of night found her golden sandals.
"In the stillness of the night the daughter of a ploughman, tending his sheep in a field, and returning to her father's house at eventide with the dust of the curving roads upon her feet, and the fragrance of the vineyards in the folds of her garment.
And when the night is come, and the angel of the night is upon the world, she would steal her steps to the river-valley where her lover awaits.
"Would that she were a nun in a cloister burning her heart for incense, that her heart may rise to the wind, and exhausting her spirit, a candle, for a light arising toward the greater light, together with all those who worship and those who love and are beloved.
"Would rather that she were a woman ancient of years, sitting in the sun and remembering who had shared her youth."
And the night waxed deep, and Almustafa was dark with the night, and his spirit was as a cloud unspent. And he cried again:
"Heavy-laden is my soul with her own ripe fruit;
Heavy-laden is my soul with her fruit.
Who now will come and eat and be fulfilled?
My soul is overflowing with her wine.
Who now will pour and drink and be cooled of the desert heat?
"Would that I were a tree flowerless and fruitless,
For the pain of abundance is more bitter than barrenness,
And the sorrow of the rich from whom no one will take
Is greater than the grief of the beggar to whom none would give.
"Would that I were a well, dry and parched , and men throwing stones into me;
For this were better and easier to be borne than to be a source of living water
When men pass by and will not drink.
"Would that I were a reed trodden under foot,
For that were better than to be a lyre of silvery strings
In a house whose lord has no fingers
And whose children are deaf."
Now, for seven days and seven nights no man came nigh the Garden, and he was alone with is memories and his pain; for even those who had heard his words with love and patience had turned away to the pursuits of other days.
Only Karima came, with silence upon her face like a veil; and with cup and plate within her hand, drink and meat for his aloneness and his hunger. And after setting these before him, she walked her way.
And Almustafa came again to the company of the white poplars within the gate, and he sat looking upon the road. And after a while he beheld as it were a cloud of dust blown above the road and coming toward him. And from out the cloud came the nine, and before them Karima guiding them.
And Almustafa advanced and met them upon the road, and they passed through the gate, and all was well, as though they had gone their path but an hour ago.
They came in and supped with him at his frugal board, after that Karima had laid upon it the bread and the fish and poured the last of the wine into the cups. And as she poured, she besought the Master saying: "Give me leave that I go into the city and fetch wine to replenish your cups, for this is spent."
And he looked upon her, and in his eyes were a journey and a far country, and he said: "Nay, for it is sufficient unto the hour."
And they ate and drank and were satisfied. And when it was finished, Almustafa spoke in a vast voice, deep as the sea and full as a great tide under the moon, and he said: "My comrades and my road-fellows, we must needs part this day. Long have we climbed the steepest mountains and we have wrestled with the storms. We have known hunger, but we have also sat at wedding-feasts. Oftentimes have we been naked, but we have also worn kingly raiment. We have indeed travelled far, but now we part. Together you shall go your way, and alone must I go mine.
"And though the seas and the vast lands shall separate us, still we shall be companions upon our journey to the Holy Mountain.
"But before we go our severed roads, I would give unto you the harvest and the gleaning of my heart:
"Go you upon your way with singing, but let each song be brief, for only the songs that die young upon your lips shall live in human hearts. "Tell a lovely truth in little words, but never an ugly truth in any words. Tell the maiden whose hair shines in the sun that she is the daughter of the morning. But if you shall behold the sightless, say not to him that he is one with night.
"Listen to the flute-player as it were listening to April, but if you shall hear the critic and the fault-finder speak, be deaf as your own bones and as distant as your fancy.
"My comrades and my beloved, upon your way you shall meet men with hoofs; give them your wings. And men with horns; give them wreaths of laurel. And men with claws; give them petals for fingers. And men with forked tongues; give them honey words.
"Ay, you shall meet all these and more; you shall meet the lame selling crutches; and the blind, mirrors. And you shall meet the rich men begging at the gate of the Temple.
"To the lame give your swiftness, to the blind of your vision; and see that you give of yourself to the rich beggars; they are the most needy of all, for surely no man would stretch a hand for alms unless he be poor indeed, though of great possessions.
"My comrades and my friends, I charge you by our love that you be countless paths which cross one another in the desert, where the lions and the rabbits walk, and also the wolves and the sheep.
"And remember this of me: I teach you not giving, but receiving; not denial, but fulfilment; and not yielding, but understanding, with the smile upon the lips.
"I teach you not silence, but rather a song not over-loud.
"I teach you your larger self, which contains all men."
And he rose from the board and went out straightway into the Garden and walked under the shadow of the cypress-trees as the day waned. And they followed him, at a little distance, for their heart was heavy, and their tongue clave to the roof of their mouth.
Only Karima, after she had put by the fragments, came unto him and said: "Master, I would that you suffer me to prepare food against the morrow and your journey."
And he looked upon her with eyes that saw other worlds that this, and he said:
"My sister, and my beloved, it is done, even from the beginning of time. The food and the drink is ready, for the morrow, even as for our yesterday and our today.
"I go, but if I go with a truth not yet voiced, that very truth will again seek me and gather me, though my elements be scattered throughout the silences of eternity, and again shall I come before you that I may speak with a voice born anew out of the heart of those boundless silences.
"And if there be aught of beauty that I have declared not unto you, then once again shall I be called, ay, even by mine own name, Almustafa, and I shall give you a sign, that you may know I have come back to speak all that is lacking, for God will not suffer Himself to be hidden from man, nor His word to lie covered in the abyss of the heart of man.
"I shall live beyond death, and I shall sing in your ears
Even after the vast sea-wave carries me back
To the vast sea-depth.
I shall sit at your board though without a body,
And I shall go with you to your fields, a spirit invisible.
I shall come to you at your fireside, a guest unseen.
Death changes nothing but the masks that cover our faces.
The woodsman shall be still a woodsman,
The ploughman, a ploughman,
And he who sang his song to the wind shall sing it also to the moving spheres."
And the disciples were as still as stones, and grieved in their heart for that he had said: "I go." But no man put out his hand to stay the Master, nor did any follow after his footsteps.
And Almustafa went out from the Garden of his mother, and his feet were swift and they were soundless; and in a moment, like a blown leaf in a strong wind, he was far gone from them, and they saw, as it were, a pale light moving up to the heights.
And the nine walked their ways down the road. But the woman still stood in the gathering night, and she beheld how the light and the twilight were become one; and she comforted her desolation and her aloneness with his words:
"I go, but if I go with a truth not yet voiced, that very truth will seek me and gather me, and again shall I come."
And now it was eventide.
And he had reached the hills. His steps had led him to the mist, and he stood among the rocks and the white cypress-trees hidden from all things, and he spoke and said:
"O Mist, my sister, white breath not yet held in a mould,
I return to you, a breath white and voiceless,
A word not yet uttered.
"O Mist, my winged sister mist, we are together now,
And together we shall be till life's second day,
Whose dawn shall lay you, dewdrops in a garden,
And me a babe upon the breast of a woman,
And we shall remember.
"O Mist, my sister, I come back, a heart listening in its depths,
Even as your heart,
A desire throbbing and aimless even as your desire,
A thought not yet gathered, even as your thought.
"O Mist, my sister, first-born of my mother,
My hands still hold the green seeds you bade me scatter,
And my lips are sealed upon the song you bade me sing;
And I bring you no fruit, and I bring you no echoes
For my hands were blind, and my lips unyielding.
"O Mist, my sister, much did I love the world, and the world loved me,
For all my smiles were upon her lips, and all her tears were in my eyes.
Yet there was between us a gulf of silence which she would not abridge
And I could not overstep.
"O Mist, my sister, my deathless sister Mist,
I sang the ancient songs unto my little children,
And they listened, and there was wondering upon their face;
But tomorrow perchance they will forget the song,
And I know not to whom the wind will carry the song.
And though it was not mine own, yet it came to my heart
And dwelt for a moment upon my lips.
"O Mist, my sister, though all this came to pass,
I am at peace.
It was enough to sing to those already born.
And though the singing is indeed not mine,
Yet it is of my heart's deepest desire.
"O Mist, my sister, my sister Mist,
I am one with you now.
No longer am I a self.
The walls have fallen,
And the chains have broken;
I rise to you, a mist,
And together we shall float upon the sea until life's second day,
When dawn shall lay you, dewdrops in a garden,
And me a babe upon the breast of a woman."
[이태상]
서울대학교 졸업
코리아타임즈 기자
합동통신사 해외부 기자
미국출판사 Prentice-Hall 한국/영국 대표
오랫동안 철학에 몰두하면서
신인류 '코스미안'사상 창시
전명희 기자
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
