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About this quote

What does it mean?
The speaker learned powerful skills from Hallaj but ultimately developed an even greater intensity of desire or ambition.
In plain terms
Learning from Hallaj made me stronger, but I ended up wanting more than a lion.
What can you take from it?
Mentorship can ignite a hunger that surpasses the teacher's own intensity.

Where it applies

  • mentorship
  • spiritual training
  • personal development

Putting it to work

  • seek transformative teachers
  • recognize growing ambition
  • understand influence

Questions to consider

  • How does learning change our desires?
  • What happens when ambition exceeds the model?

Another view

The metaphor relies on archaic symbolism that may be unclear to modern readers.

More from Al Hallaj

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  3. The beloved does not drink a single drop of water without seeing His Face in the cup. Allah is He Who flows between the pericardium and the heart, just as the …

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