Anthony de Mello Quotes

“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.”

“As soon as you look at the world through an ideology you are finished. No reality fits an ideology. Life is beyond that. That is why people are always searching for a meaning to life.

Meaning is only found when you go beyond meaning. Life only makes sense when you perceive it as mystery and it makes no sense to the conceptualizing mind.”

“Ask for a peaceful heart, no matter what the situation.”

“Enlightenment is: absolute cooperation with the inevitable.”

“I have no fear of losing you, for you aren’t an object of my property, or anyone else’s. I love you as you are, without attachment, without fears, without conditions, without egoism, trying not to absorb you. I love you freely because I love your freedom, as well as mine”

“If what you seek is truth, there is one thing you must have above all else. An unremitting readiness to admit you may be wrong.”

“People mistakenly assume that their thinking is done by their head; it is actually done by the heart which first dictates the conclusion, then commands the head to provide the reasoning that will defend it.”

“Stories are the creative conversion of life itself into a more powerful, clearer, more meaningful experience. They are the currency of human contact.”

“The philosopher Diogenes was eating bread and lentils for supper. He was seen by the philosopher Aristippus, who lived comfortably by flattering the king.

Said Aristippus: If you would learn to be subservient to the king you would not have to live on lentils.

Said Diogenes: Learn to live on lentils and you will not have to be subservient to the king.”

“The tragedy of an attachment is that if its object is not attained it causes unhappiness. But if it is attained, it does not cause happiness – it merely causes a flash of pleasure followed by weariness, and it is always accompanied, of course, by the anxiety that you may lose the object of your attachment.”

“There is only one cause of unhappiness: the false beliefs you have in your head, beliefs so widespread, so commonly held, that it never occurs to you to question them.”

“These things will destroy the human race: politics without principle, progress without compassion, wealth without work, learning without silence, religion without fearlessness, and worship without awareness.”

“This truth I firmly hold, all evidence to the contrary notwithstanding; my life has been a gift, a blessing to the world.”

“When you get rid of your fear of failure, your tensions about succeeding... you can be yourself. Relaxed. You'll no longer be driving with your brakes on.”

“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.”

“You have to understand, my dears, that the shortest distance between truth and a human being is a story.”

“If what you said was true, where was the need to shout?”

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

“The genius of a composer is found in the notes of his music; but analyzing the notes will not reveal his genius. The poet's greatness is contained in his words; yet the study of his words will not disclose his inspiration.

God reveals himself in creation; but scrutinize creation as minutely as you wish, you will not find God, any more than you will find the soul through careful examination of your body.”

“There are two ways to wash dishes: One is to wash them in order to make them clean; the other is to wash them in order to wash them.”

“Anytime you have a negative feeling toward anyone, you’re living in an illusion. There’s something seriously wrong with you. You’re not seeing reality. Something inside of you has to change.

But what do we generally do when we have a negative feeling? 'He is to blame, she is to blame. She’s got to change.' No! The world’s all right. The one who has to change is you.”

“As one man said: I got a pretty good education. It took me years to get over it.

That's what spirituality is all about, you know: unlearning. Unlearning all the rubbish they taught you.”

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

“Do you think you help people because you are in love with them? Well, I’ve got news for you. You are never in love with anyone. You’re only in love with your prejudiced and hopeful idea of that person.

Take a minute to think about that: You are never in love with anyone, you’re in love with your prejudiced idea of that person.”

“Don't ask the world to change... you change first.”

“Don’t try to make them happy, you’ll only get in trouble. Don’t try to teach a pig to sing; it wastes your time and it irritates the pig.”

“Happiness is our natural state. Happiness is the natural state of little children, to whom the kingdom belongs until they have been polluted and contaminated by the stupidity of society and culture. To acquire happiness you don't have to do anything, because happiness cannot be acquired.

Does anybody know why? Because we have it already. How can you acquire what you already have? Then why don't you experience it? Because you've got to drop something. You've got to drop illusions. You don't have to add anything in order to be happy; you've got to drop something.

Life is easy, life is delightful. It's only hard on your illusions, your ambitions, your greed, your cravings. Do you know where these things come from? From having identified with all kinds of labels!”

“If you find me charming, it means that right now you’re in a good mood, nothing more.”

“People don’t really want to grow up, people don’t really want to change, people don’t really want to be happy.

As someone so wisely said to me: Don’t try to make them happy, you’ll only get in trouble. Don’t try to teach a pig to sing; it wastes your time and it irritates the pig.”

“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.”