ONE MINUTE WISDOM

"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, a Taoist Sage, a Jewish Rabbi,
a Christian Monk, a Sufi Mystic. he is Lao-tzu and Soc-
rates. 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 mat-
ter? 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 in-
struct 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 in not done and
the finest change is the one that is not willed.

TODAYS ONE MINUTE WISDOM
by ANTHONY DE MELLO S.J.