Noticing that his father was growing old, the son of a burglar said, Father, teach me your trade so that when you retire I may carry on the family tradition. The father did not reply but that night he took the boy along with him to break into a house. Once inside, he opened a…
A gambler once said to the Master, “I was caught cheating at cards yesterday, so my partners beat me up and threw me out of the window. What would you advise me to do?” The Master looked straight through the man and said, “If I were you, from now on I would play on the…
To the disciples who were always asking for words of wisdom the Master said, Wisdom is not expressed in words. It reveals itself in action. But when he saw them plunge headlong into activity, he laughed and said, That isn’t action. That’s motion. This is from One Minute Wisdom by Anthony de Mello. What is…
“How shall I get the grace of never judging my neighbor?” “Through prayer.” “Then why have I not found it yet?” “Because you haven’t prayed in the right place.” “Where is that?” “In the heart of God.” “And how do I get there?” “Understand that anyone who sins does not know what he is doing…
A Quaker had this sign put on a vacant piece of land next to his home: “THIS LAND WILL BE GIVEN TO ANYONE WHO IS TRULY SATISFIED.” A wealthy farmer who was riding by, stopped to read the sign and said to himself, “Since our friend the Quaker is so ready to part with this…
King Pyrrhus of Epirus was approached by his friend Cyneas and asked, If you conquer Rome, what will you do next, sir? Pyrrhus replied, Sicily is next door and will be easy to take. And what shall we do after Sicily is taken? Then we will move over to Africa and sack Carthage. And after…
A man and his wife went to visit friends in another part of the country and were taken to a racecourse. Fascinated by the sight of horses chasing one another around a track, the two of them kept betting all evening till they had no more than two dollars left. The following day the man…
Buddha seemed quite unruffled by the insults hurled at him by a visitor. When his disciples later asked him what the secret of his serenity was, he said: “Imagine what would happen if someone placed an offering before you and you did not pick it up. Or someone sent you a letter that you refused…
Buddha was once threatened with death by a bandit called Angulimal. “Then be good enough to fulfill my dying wish,” said Buddha. “Cut off the branch of that tree.” One slash of the sword, and it was done! “What now?” asked the bandit. Put it back again,” said Buddha. The bandit laughed. “You must be…
There was a group of elderly gentlemen in Japan who would meet to exchange news and drink tea. One of their diversions was to search for costly varieties of tea and create new blends that would delight the palate. When it was the turn of the oldest member of the group to entertain the others,…
