Tierno Bokar

White Birds and Black Birds

Not only did Tierno Bokar obstain from judging others, but he went further and tried to make us understand that a good thought is always preferable to a bad one, even when it concerns those whom we consider our enemies. It was not always easy to convince us, as shown by the following anecdote in which he spoke to us of white birds and black birds.

On that day, Tierno had commented for us on the Qur’anic verse:

And whoso doeth good an atom’s weight will see it then,

And whoso doeth ill an atom’s weight will see it then. (Qur’an: 99, vs. 7-8)

“The most beneficial good action is that which consists of praying for one’s enemies.”

“How so?” a student exclaimed with surprise. “Generally, people tend towards speaking ill of their enemies rather than blessing them. Wouldn’t this make us look a little stupid to pray for our enemies?”

“Maybe,” replied Tierno, “but only in the eyes of those who do not understand. Men certainly have the right to speak ill of their enemies, but they wrong themselves more by speaking ill of them than by blessing them.”

“I do not understand,” the student replied. “If a man speaks ill of his enemy and if his malediction holds, it could destroy the enemy. Shouldn’t this rather put him at ease?”

“In appearance, maybe,” responded Tierno, “but this then is only a satisfaction of the egoistical soul (nafs, the ego) therefore a satisfaction at a lower material level. From a secret point of view, the fact of blessing one’s enemy is more beneficial. Even if one passes for an imbecile in the eyes of ignorant people, one shows by this, in reality, one’s spiritual maturity and the degree of one’s wisdom.”

“Why?” another student asked him.

To help us understand, it was then that Tierno spoke of white birds and black birds.

“In relation to one another,” he said, “humans are comparable to walls located facing one another. Each wall is pierced by a multitude of small holes where white birds and black birds are nested. The black birds are bad thoughts and bad words. The white birds are good thoughts and good words. Because of their form, the white birds can only enter into holes for white birds and the same for black birds who can only nest in holes for black birds. Now, imagine two men who believe they are enemies of each other. Let us call them Yousef and Ali.

One day, Yousef, persuaded that Ali wishes bad for him, feels full of anger for Ali and sends him a very bad thought. In doing this, Yousef releases a black bird and at the same time liberates a corresponding hole. His black bird flies towards Ali and looks for an empty hole adapted to his form to nest in. If, from his side, Ali has not sent a black bird towards Yousef, that is, if Ali has not emitted any bad thought, none of his black holes will be empty. Finding no place to lodge itself, Yousef’s black bird will be obliged to return to its original nest, taking with him the evil which he was burdened with, an evil which will end up eroding and destroying Yousef himself.

But let us imagine that Ali too has emitted a bad thought. By doing this, he has liberated a hole in which Yousef’s black bird will be able to enter in order to deposit part of his evil and accomplish there his mission of destruction. During this time, Ali’s black bird will fly towards Yousef and will alight in the hole freed up by Ali’s black bird. Thus, the two black birds will have obtained their goal and will have worked to destroy the men whom they were each destined for.

But once their task is accomplished, the birds will each return to their nest of origin because, it is said: ‘Everything returns to its source.’ Since the evil they were burdened with is not exhausted, this evil will turn against their authors and will end up destroying them. The author of a bad thought, of a bad wish, or of an ill-spoken word is therefore attacked by both the black bird of his enemy and by his own black bird when this latter returns to him.

The same thing happens with white birds. If we emit only good thoughts towards our enemy, whereas the enemy only addresses bad thoughts to us, the enemy’s black birds will not find any place to lodge themselves with us and will return to their sender. As for the white birds who bear good thoughts that we have sent to him, if they find no free place with our enemy, they will return to us charged with all the beneficial energy which they are carrying.

Thus, if we emit only good thoughts, no evil, no ill-spoken words can ever reach into our being. That is why one should always ask for blessings on both one’s friends and one’s enemies. Not only does the benediction go towards its objective to accomplish its mission of pacification, but also it comes back to us, one day or another, with everything with which it is laden.

This is what the Sufis called “desirable egoism”. It is the valid Love of Self, likened to respect for oneself and for one’s neighbor because every man, good or bad, is the depository of a part of the divine Light. That is why the Sufis, in conformity with the teaching of the Prophet, do not want to soil either their mouth or their being by bad words or bad thoughts, even by apparently benign criticisms.”

Because of the principle that wills that “everything returns to its source” he urged his students to only generate their most pure spiritual vibrations by consecrating their thoughts and tongues to the recitation of the Name of God (dhikrullah).

Tierno Bokar (1875-1939) afrikanischer Sufi-Meister (Mali) in:

Amadou Hampâté Bâ, „A spirit of tolerance – the inspiring life of Tierno Bokar,“ World Wisdom Books, S. 143-146