Religion (11)

A traveler was walking along the road one day when a man on horseback rushed by. There was an evil look in his eyes and blood on his hands.

Minutes later a crowd of riders drew up and wanted to know if the traveler had seen someone with blood on his hands go by. They were in hot pursuit of him

"Who is he?" the traveler asked.

"An evil-doer," said the leader of the crowd. "And you pursue him in order to bring him to justice?"

"No," said the leader, "we pursue him in order to show him the way."

Reconciliation alone will save the world, not justice which is generally another word for revenge.

Anthony de Mello

Religion (10)

A priest ordered his deacon to assemble ten men to chant prayers for the recovery of a sick man.

When they had all come in, someone whispered into the ear of the priest, "There are some notorious thieves among those men."

"All the better," said the priest. "When the Gates of Mercy are shut, these are the experts who will open them."

Anthony de Mello

Religion (9)

Mullah Nasruddin's house was on fire, so he ran up to his roof for safety. There he was, precariously perched on the roof, when his friends gathered in the street below holding a stretched-out blanket for him and shouting, "Jump, Mullah, jump!"

"Oh no I won't," said the Mullah. "I know you fellows. If I jump, you'll pull the blanket away just to make a fool of me!"

"Don't be silly, Mullah. This isn't a joke. This is serious. Jump!"

"No," said Nasruddin. "I don't trust any of you. Lay that blanket on the ground and I'll jump."

Anthony de Mello

Religion (2)

The Kamakura Buddha was lodged in a temple until one day a mighty storm brought the temple down. Then for many years the massive statue stood exposed to sun and rain and wind and the changes of the weather.

When a priest began to raise funds to rebuild the temple, the statue appeared to him in a dream and said, "That temple was a prison, not a home. Leave me exposed to the ravages of life. That's where I belong."

Anthony de Mello

Awareness (20)

The Guru meditating in his Himalayan cave opened his eyes to discover an unexpected visitor sitting there before him - the abbot of a well-known monastery.

"What is it you seek?" asked the Guru.

The abbot recounted a tale of woe. At one time his monastery had been famous throughout the western world. Its cells were filled with young aspirants and its church resounded to the chant of its monks. But hard times had come on the monastery. People no longer flocked there to nourish their spirits, the stream of young aspirants had dried up, the church was silent. There was only a handful of monks left and these went about their duties with heavy hearts.

Now this is what the abbot wanted to know: "is it because of some sin of ours that the monastery has been reduced to this state?"

"Yes," said the Guru, "a sin of ignorance."

"And what sin might that be?"

"One of your number is the Messiah in disguise and you are ignorant of this." Having said that the Guru closed his eyes and returned to his meditation.

Throughout the arduous journey back to his monastery the abbot's heart beat fast at the thought that the Messiah - the Messiah himself - had returned to earth and was right there in the monastery. How was it he had failed to recognize him? And who could it be? Brother Cook? Brother Sacristan? Brother Treasurer? Brother Prior? No, not he; he had too many defects, alas. But then, the Guru had said he was in disguise. Could those defects be one of his disguises? Come to think of it, everyone in the monastery had defects. And one of them had to be the Messiah!

Back in the monastery he assembled the monks and told them what he had discovered. They looked at one another in disbelief. The Messiah? Here? Incredible! But he was supposed to be here is disguise. So, maybe. What if it were so-and-so? Or the other one over there? Or . . .

One thing was certain. If the Messiah was there in disguise, it was not likely that they would recognize him. So they took to treating everyone with respect and consideration. "You never know," they said to themselves when they dealt with one another, "maybe this is the one."

The result of this was that the atmosphere in the monastery became vibrant with joy. Soon dozens of aspirants were seeking admission to the Order - and once again the church echoed with the holy and joyful chant of monks who were aglow with the spirit of love.

Of what use is it to have eyes if the heart is blind?

Anthony de Mello

About Prayer (24)

Once upon a time there was a forest where the birds sang by day and the insects by night. Trees flourished, flowers bloomed, and all manner of creatures roamed about in freedom

And all who entered there were led to Solitude, which is the home of God, who dwells in Nature's silence and Nature's beauty.

But then the Age of Unconsciousness arrived, when it became possible for people to construct buildings a thousand feet high and to destroy rivers and forests and mountains in a month. So houses of worship were built from the wood of the forest trees and from the stone under the forest soil. Pinnacle, spire, and minaret pointed toward the sky; the air was filled with the sound of bells, with prayer and chant and exhortation.

And God was suddenly without a home.


God hides things by putting them before our eyes!
Hark! Listen to the song of the bird, the wind in the trees, the ocean's roar; look at a tree, a falling leaf, a flower as if for the first time.
You might suddenly make contact with Reality, with that Paradise from which we, having fallen from childhood, are excluded by our knowledge.
Says the Indian mystic Saraha: "Know the taste of this flavor which is the absence of Knowledge."

Anthony de Mello

About Prayer (22)

When the Master invited the Governor to practice meditation and the Governor said he was too busy, this is the reply he got: " You put me in mind of a man walking blindfolded into the jungle - and being to busy to take the blindfold off."

When the Governor pleaded lack to time, the Master said, "It is a mistake to think that meditation cannot be practiced for lack of time. The real reason is agitation of the mind."

Anthony de Mello

About Prayer (21)

A monk was walking in the monastery grounds one day when he heard a bird sing.

He listened, spellbound. It seemed to him that never before had he heard, really heard, the song of a bird.

When the singing stopped he returned to the monastery and discovered, to his dismay, that he was a stranger to his fellow monks, and they to him.

It was only gradually that they and he discovered that he was returning after centuries. Because his listening was total, time had stopped and he had slipped into eternity.


Prayer is made perfect when the timeless is discovered.
The timeless is discovered through clarity of perception.
Perception is made clear when it is disengaged from preconceptions and from all consideration of personal loss or gain.
Then the miraculous is seen and the heart is filled with wonder.

Anthony de Mello