Many years ago, a very kind and gentle, caring man, Scott Reeves, used to moderate a mailing list called the Wisdom List in which he provided a daily dose from this book, so that the recipients could take time out in their busy day to take solace and comfort and to inject calm in their lives. Sadly, at the time Scott provided these gems of Wisdom, I was too preoccupied with getting on with (what I thought was 'Life'. More recently I have come to the realisation that I was 'existing' rather than 'living'.
So in my brother's memory and as a tribute to Scott, who recognised the value in his words, I will post One Minute Wisdom for all who care to avail themselves.
I send you all greetings of Peace, Happiness and Love. Please read the foreword to this treasure:
ONE MINUTE WISDOM
Tony de Mello
A TRIBUTE TO THE AUTHOR
What’s behind this phenomenal
success? Very simply, it is a manifestation of the hunger for the spiritual
spreading around the world. It’s a hunger with very special characteristics.
People aren’t buying set formulas any more, or plus platitudes redolent of an
era gone by; beaten tracks that did not succeed in bringing people to a
spiritual awakening. There is an anguished search, sometimes confused in its
direction, for a more liberal outlook. Modern man mired in profound cultural
change first wants to know who he is, what imprisons his soul, what stands in
the way of spiritual progress. He wants to rediscover the God beyond all that
has been identified through the years with the name of God: laws, norms,
doctrines not made flesh, words stranged from life.
That is why Tony de Mello said that
“our violent spirituality has created problems for us”, that “Jesus Christ has
got a bad name because of what is said of Him from pulpits” and that “it is very
difficult to recognise a saint because he looks like the rest of us”. In short,
what Tony de Mello is telling us is that if we want to make Christianity
credible we need to plumb the depths of the human spirit, to reach beyond our
present frontiers.
From “Vida Nueva”. Madrid . Sept, 12th. 1987,
“Is there such a thing as One Minute Wisdom?’ “There certainly is,” said the
Master. “But surely one minute is too
brief?” “It is fifty-nine seconds too long. “
To his puzzled disciples the Master later said.
“How much time does it take to catch sight of the moon?”
“Then why all these years of spiritual
endeavour?”
“Opening one’s eyes may take a lifetime. Seeing
is done in a flash. “
The Master in these tales is not a single
person. He is a Hindu Guru, a Zen Roshi, a Taoist Sage, a Jewish Rabbi, a
Christian Monk, a Sufi Mystic. He is Lao Tzu and Socrates. Buddha and Jesus,
Zarathustra and Mohammed. His teaching is found in the 7th century B.C. and
the 20th century A.D. His wisdom belongs to East and West alike. Do his
historical antecedents really matter? History, after all, is the record of
appearances, not Reality; of doctrines, not of Silence.
It will only take a minute to read each of the
anecdotes that follow. You will probably find the Master’s language baffling,
exasperating even downright meaningless. This, alas, is not an easy book! It
was written, not to instruct, but to Awaken. Concealed within its pages (not in
the printed words, not even in the tales, but in its spirit, its mood, its
atmosphere) is a Wisdom which cannot be conveyed in human speech. As you read
the printed page and struggle with the Master’s cryptic language it is
possible that you will unwittingly chance upon the Silent Teaching that lurks
within the book, and be Awakened — and transformed. This is what Wisdom means:
To be changed without the slightest effort on your part, to be transformed,
believe it or not, merely by waking to the reality that is not words that lies
beyond the reach of words.
If you are fortunate enough to be Awakened
thus, you will know why the finest language is the one that is not spoken, the
finest action is the one that is not done and the finest change is the one that
is not willed.
Caution: Take
the tales in tiny doses — one or two at a time. An overdose will lower
their potency.
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