M3:2876 — بار دیگر سوی این دام آمدیت / خاک اندر دیدهٔ توبه زدیت

This couplet comes from a section where Rumi is using the allegory of a bird repeatedly falling into a hunter's snare due to its greed and heedlessness. The bird has been caught, freed by divine grace (the 'Tawwab' or Oft-Forgiving), and has made vows of repentance. However, time and again, it succumbs to the same temptation. The phrase 'you cast dust into the eye of repentance' is a powerful Persian idiom meaning to scorn, disregard, or blind one's repentance. It implies that the bird's prior vows were not sincere or strong enough to withstand the lure of the grain, effectively nullifying its past contrition. Rumi uses this animal fable to illustrate the human condition: how easily we forget our past sufferings and the lessons learned, and how readily we break our promises of reform when faced with familiar temptations. It's a critique of superficial repentance that doesn't lead to a genuine change in behavior or inner disposition.