Anthony de Mello: As the Japanese Zen masters say, “Don't seek the tru...

You will seek for God in vain till you understand that God can't be seen as a "thing"; he needs a special way of looking - similar to that of little children whose sight is undistorted by prefabricated doctrines and beliefs.

Anthony de Mello

special sight children

The feigning sleeper can delude others he cannot delude himself. The false mystic, unfortunately, can delude both others and himself.

Anthony de Mello

feigning mystic sleepers

Take the leap! You cannot cross a chasm in little jumps.

Anthony de Mello

leap crosses littles

If the heart is unobstructed, the result is love.

Anthony de Mello

results ifs heart

Sinners often speak the truth. And saints have led people astray. Examine what is said, not the one who says it.

Anthony de Mello

saint speak people

The seeker says, "I do not know." That takes honesty. The master says, "I do not know." That takes a mystic's mind that knows things through non-knowing. The disciple says, "I know." That takes ignorance, in the form of borrowed knowledge.

Anthony de Mello

honesty ignorance spiritual

Tell me," said the atheist , "Is there a God really?" Said the master, "If you want me to be perfectly honest with you, I will not answer." Later the disciples demanded to know why he had not answered. "Because the question is unanswerable," said the Master. "So you are an atheist?" "Certainly not. The atheist makes the mistake of denying that of which nothing may be said... and the theist makes the mistake of affirming it.

Anthony de Mello

atheist answers mistake

What is the work of a Master?" said a solemn-faced visitor. "To teach people to laugh ," said the Master gravely.

Anthony de Mello

visitors laughing people

There's nothing you can do to see — it is a gift.

Anthony de Mello

can-do

My commitment is not to consistency but to the Truth.

Anthony de Mello

consistency commitment

To those who seek to protect their ego true Peace brings only disturbance.

Anthony de Mello

disturbance ego protect

The Master was exceedingly gracious to university dons who visited him, but he would never reply to their questions or be drawn into their theological speculations. To his disciples, who marveled at this, he said, "Can one talk about the ocean to a frog in a well or about the divine to people who are restricted by their concepts?

Anthony de Mello

frogs ocean people

the greatest learning of the ages lies in accepting life exactly as it comes to us.

Anthony de Mello

accepting age lying

We live in a flash of light; evening comes and it is night forever. It's only a flash and we waste it. We waste it with our anxiety, our worries, our concerns, our burdens.

Anthony de Mello

light worry night

Said the master: "Where does your question come from?"

Anthony de Mello

masters spiritual doe

A lost coin is found by means of a candle; the deepest truth is found by means of a simple story.

Anthony de Mello

simple stories mean

There were rules in the monastery, but the Master always warned against the tyranny of the law. 'Obedience keeps the rules,' he would say. 'Love knows when to break them.'

Anthony de Mello

obedience break law

People who want a cure, provided they can have it without pain, are like those who favour progress, provided they can have it without change.

Anthony de Mello

progress pain people

This is what is ultimate in our human knowledge of God, to know that we do not know.

Anthony de Mello

knowledge-of-god humans knows

The important thing is not to know who "I" is or what "I" is. You'll never succeed. There are no words for it. The important thing is to drop the labels.

Anthony de Mello

succeed labels important

As the Japanese Zen masters say, “Don't seek the truth; just drop your opinions”. Drop your theories; don't seek the truth.