Quote

As the Arabs say, The nature of rain is the same, but it makes thorns grow in the marshes and flowers in the gardens.

Anthony de Mello

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Anthony de Mello
Age: 55 †
Born: 1931
Born: September 4
Died: 1987
Died: June 2
Philosopher
Priest
Psychologist
Theologian
Writer
Bombay
Nature
Thorns
Flowers
Rain
Garden
Flower
Grow
Marshes
Grows
Arabs
Makes
Gardens

More quotes by Anthony de Mello

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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.
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Any time you are with anyone or think of anyone you must say to yourself: I am dying and this person too is dying, attempting the while to experience the truth of the words you are saying. If every one of you agrees to practice this, bitterness will die out, harmony will arise.
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the greatest learning of the ages lies in accepting life exactly as it comes to us.
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A writer arrived at the monastery to write a book about the Master. People say you are a genius . Are you? he asked. You might say so. said the Master, none too modestly. And what makes one a genius? The ability to recognize. Recognize what? The butterfly in a caterpillar: the eagle in an egg the saint in a selfish human bein
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People kill for money or for power. But the most ruthless murderers are those who kill for their ideas.
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What is my identity ? Nothing, said the Master. You mean that I am an emptiness and a void? said the incredulous disciple. Nothing that can be labeled. said the Master.
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What, concretely, is Enlightenment ? Seeing Reality as it is, said the Master. Doesn't everyone see Reality as it is? Oh, no! Most people see it as they think it is. What's the difference? The difference between thinking you are drowning in a stormy sea and knowing you cannot drown because there isn't any water in sight for mil
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The day you are happy for no reason whatsoever, the day you find yourself taking delight in everything and in nothing, you will know that you have found the land of unending joy called the kingdom.
Anthony de Mello
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I wish to become a teacher of the Truth.
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To relate is to react. To react is to understand oneself. To understand oneself is to be enlightened. Relationships are schools for enlightenment.
Anthony de Mello
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Religion is the finger pointing to God. People are too busy licking the finger to notice where it's pointing.
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Before enlightenment, I used to be depressed after enlightenment, I continue to be depressed.
Anthony de Mello
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The present moment is never intolerable. What's intolerable is what's going to happen in the next four hours. To have your body here at 8 pm and your mind at 10:30 pm, that's what causes us suffering.
Anthony de Mello
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God in heaven holds each person by a string. When you sin, you cut the string. Then God ties it up again. Making a knot, bringing you a little closer to Him. Again and again your sins cut the string and with each knot God keeps drawing you closer and closer.
Anthony de Mello
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When the eye is unobstructed, the result is sight. When the ear is unobstructed, the result is hearing. When the mind is unobstructed the result is truth. When the heart is unobstructed, the result is joy and love.
Anthony de Mello
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You are so proud of your intelligence, said the master. You are like a like a condemned man, proud of the vastness of his prison cell.
Anthony de Mello
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The disciples were absorbed in a discussion of Lao-Tzu's dictum: Those who know, do not say Those who say, do not know. When the master entered, they asked him what the words meant. Said the master, Which of you knows the fragrance of a rose? All of them indicated that they knew. Then he said, Put it into words. All of them were silent
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Isn't there such a thing as social liberation? Of course there is, said the Master. How would you describe it? Liberation from the need to belong to the herd.
Anthony de Mello
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If I haven't received any grace today, then I was not at home. This is because God is sending deliveries constantly.
Anthony de Mello
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Nobody is afraid of the unknown, what you really fear is the loss of the known.
Anthony de Mello