The Conference of the Birds

Simple, elegant and a true masterpiece. Must read.

Fabulous

Beautiful languageExquisite poetryWork of great relevance

This book is basically a poem which is 260 pages long. Or perhaps you could call it a collection of poems which together tell a sequential story. Rather than focus on the theme of the poem, of which there are several reviews which are much better than what I would write here, I will just mention one or two things about this translation and edition.1. This is complete - I first read not this translation but the one by Edward Fitzgerald, which is freely available on the net. That translation is incomplete and translates only some of the poems. It is possible that Fitzgerald translated the complete poem and I got my hands on an abridged version, but then I could not find a complete Fitzgerald translation despite several searches on the net. This translation by Afkham Darbandi and Dick Davis is complete and this book is several times larger than Fitzgerald book. In fact, this is the only complete translation I could find in verse form. If there are others out there, please do comment on this review so that others can also know of them. The Edward Fitzgerald translation can be found here http://www.amazon.com/Conference-Birds-Illustrated-Farid-ud-Din-ebook/dp/B00AC9XP7E/ref=pd_sim_351_1/188-2646824-9954810?ie=UTF8&refRID=12Q5VAE95P18B2MHZX3W2. This is simple - The language used in this translation is fairly simple and modern. The words used, the turn of phrase and the way the sentences are broken to create rhyming lines are all as close as you can get prose written today while still retaining the character of a poem. In that sense, this is not a difficult poem to read. The Fitzgerald translation requires a little more concentration and I ended up repeating a few lines in my mind so that their rhythm would settle in, but I also found it more beautiful in some ways. I believe there is a translation by C.S.Nott which is in prose and should be even easier to read, but then I have not read that because I was looking for one in verse form.

All those lovely poems filled up my mind long after I finished the book! Those illustrations were impressive too! Highly recommend

The best translation that could ever have been done. Regarding the theme of the poem, u need to know basics of sufism; otherwise the meaning will be lost on you.

Didn't come with a good packing as usually penguin books come with....... Text is good but not the premium one..... Overall a piece one can have but seller can do a bit good.

This book is good for beginners. Who’ve just started following the path of sufism. Great book.

「PROLOGUE」に記されている文章が実に興味深い。聖預言者ムハムマッドが世界と信仰の主。これが、イランのスーフィズムの根幹にあることに驚かされる。なぜならば、通常のイスラム教の理解では、イスラム教の主は唯一の神アッラーと決まっているからである。そして、イランに伝わるゾロアスター教の理解がイスラム教として伝わっていることにも驚かされる。その例文を紹介しよう。And when God saw this perfect light, He lit a hundred further seas of light from it;He made him for Himself, and then created for him the world that he illuminated -Creation has no gorl but him, and he remains unrivalled in his purity.The first thing to emerge from darkest night was, without doubt, his pure refulgent light;From this there came the world, heaven's throne, the pen and tablet that record the fates of men;A trace of this light made the world, a trace created Adam and the human race.創造を行った神（God）を善神アフラ・マズダーだと理解すれば、善の世界と悪の世界の両方に名前が記されている預言者ムハムマッドは悪神アンラ・マンユとなり、その悪神アンラ・マンユの無知に向かって世界の創造が行われたとするゾロアスター教の神話が見えてくる。まず最初には、悪神アンラ・マンユは善神アフラ・マズダーの存在に気がつかなかったとされるので、最初に完全な光（perfect light）を見たのは善神アフラ・マズダーのほうである。それをプラス思考的に解釈しているのがイランのスーフィズムだとすれば、イスラム教とゾロアスター教の結びつきも見えてくる。イランのスーフィズムを理解するには、本文の「THE CONFERENCE OF THE BIRDS」だけでは足りない。理解の核心部分は、「PROLOGUE」にある。クルド人が孔雀天使と崇める孔雀（peacock）の紹介文には、次のように書いてある。このようにして、中東のイスラム教の理解は複雑怪奇な神秘主義として結びついている。Destroy its ugly charm and Adam then will welcome you to paradise again.

Les ecrits d'Attar sont divinement sublimes et vacillent dans les metaphores entre l'amour inter-humain et l'amour en vers Dieu. Je reste convaincu qu'il fait parti des Awliyas; que dis-je... j'aurais voulu plonger dans la voie et y progresser autant qu'il a pu le faire grace a l'Unique.

Good

Farid ud-Din Attar, also known as Attar of Nishapur, a Persian poet, was born in Nishapur, Iran in 1145. In his early career as a pharmacist, he helped many people in his home town. Later he abandoned his pharmacy and traveling to different countries became his intense interest. After meeting some Sufi leaders in India, he started promoting Sufi ideas as he returned to Nishapur. Attar's master piece, "The Conference of the Birds", is a poetic moral story of a flock of birds in the journey of seeking truth, the God. With aimless life style, birds around the world gather in a garden try to find out if there is a meaning in life and if there is a God. An intelligent bird, called hoopoe, led these birds and started their long journey of searching for truth, the meaning of existence. By using riddles and answers, hoopoe advised and encouraged all birds to be brave, grateful and to be truthful. Life is not an easy game and we all live to be reborn and we are born to learn how to live a fulfilling life.Translated by Afkham Darbandi(Davis's wife) and Dr. Dick Davis, this exceptional book catches man's heart for almost one thousand years. If you like Rumi and Hafez, you will enjoy this book much more profoundly. As a poem, it is exquisite and spectacular; as an epic allegory of seeking God, it is majestic and noble; as a spiritual guidance, this book leads you to your intellectual self. I read this book many years ago and at that time I was mainly focusing on the spiritual part of the book. After becoming a serious birder, revisit of this book brought me to a higher level of realization. I consider myself a fast reader. However, this is not a book you will want to read without a thought or many thoughts. You need to read this book like tasting a good wine and, you will swallow its essence only when you understand life should be embraced with love not hate, with peace not war.Happy birding and happy reading!WingsSpirit.com

A very inspiring poem, although sometimes difficult to understand.