"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 endeavor?"
"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, 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 seventh century B.C. and the twentieth 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 in this book. 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.
Copyright © 1988 by Anthony De Mello. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.