Odilia Carmen Chirica

"In the last century, a tourist from the States visited the famous Polish rabbi, Hafez Hayyim. He was astonished to see that the rabbi’s home was only a simple room filled with books. The only furniture was a table and a bench.  “Rabbi, where is your furniture?” asked the tourist.   “Where is yours?” said Hafez.  “Mine? But I’m passing through. I’m only a visitor here.”  “So am I.”" from the book "Song Of The Bird" by Anthony de Mello ...in truth,  OdiliaCarmen

"Disciple: I have come to you with nothing in my hands.  Master: Drop it at once!  Disciple: But how can I drop it? It is nothing.  Master: Then carry it around with you!  Your nothing can be your most valued possession." from the book  "Song Of The Bird"  by  Anthony de Mello ...in truth,  OdiliaCarmen

"Disciple: I have come to offer you my service.  Master: If you dropped the ‘I’ service would certainly follow.  You could give all your goods to feed the poor and your body to be burnt and not have love at all.  Keep your goods and drop the ‘I’. Don’t burn your body; burn the ego. Love will instantly arise." from the book  "Song Of The Bird"  by  Anthony de Mello ...in truth,  OdiliaCarmen

"The disciples were full of questions about God.  Said the Master, “God is Unknown, the Unknowable. Every statement about Him, every answer to your questions, is a distortion of the Truth.”  The disciples were bewildered. “Then why do you speak about Him at all?”  “Why does the bird sing?” said the Master.  Not because he has a statement, but because he has a song.  The words of the Scholar are to be understood. The words of the Master are not to be understood. They are to be listened to as one listens to the wind in the trees and the sound of the river and the song of the bird. They will awaken something within the heart that is beyond all knowledge." from the book  "Song Of The Bird"  by  Anthony de Mello ...in truth,  OdiliaCarmen

"Buddha was once asked, “What makes a person holy?” He replied, “Every hour is divided into a certain number of seconds and every second into a certain number of fractions. Anyone who is able to be totally present in each fraction of a second is holy.” The Japanese warrior was captured and thrown into prison. At night he could not sleep for he was convinced he would be tortured next morning. Then the words of his Master came to him: “Tomorrow is not real. The only reality is now.” So he came to the present — and fell asleep. The person over whom the Future has ‘lost its grip: How like the birds of the air and the lilies of the field. No anxieties for tomorrow. Total presence in the now. Holiness!" from the book  "Song Of The Bird"  by  Anthony de Mello ...in truth,  OdiliaCarmen

The Emperor of China sent ambassadors to a hermit living in the northern mountains. They were to invite him to become Prime Minister of the Kingdom.  After many days of travel the ambassadors arrived. The hermitage was empty! But nearby in the middle of a river was a half-naked man, seated on a rock, fishing with a line. Could this be the man the Emperor thought so highly of? Enquires at the village proved it was. So they returned to the river bank and, as respectfully as they could, attempted to attract the fisherman’s attention.  The hermit waded through the river and stood before the messengers barefoot, arms akimbo. “What is it you want?”  “Honoured sir. His Majesty the Emperor of China, having heard of your wisdom and your holiness has sent us with these gifts. He invites you to accept the post of Prime Minister of the Realm.”  “Prime Minister of the Realm?”  “Yes, respected Sir.”  “Me?”  “Yes, respected sir.”  “Is His Majesty out of his mind...

"The mystic was back from the desert. “Tell us,” they said, “what God is like.” But how could he ever tell them what he had experienced in his heart? Can God be put into words? He finally gave them a formula — inaccurate, inadequate—in the hope that some might be tempted to experience it for themselves. They seized upon the formula. They made it a sacred text. They imposed it on others as a holy belief. They went to great pains to spread it in foreign lands. Some even gave their lives for if. The mystic was sad. It might have been better if he had said nothing." from the book  "Song Of The Bird"  by  Anthony de Mello ...in truth,  OdiliaCarmen

"Nasruddin was in a philosophical frame of mind: “Life and Death—who can say what they are?” His wife looked up from her cooking and said, “You men ore all alike— unpractical. Anyone can fell that when a man’s extremities are rigid and cold, he is dead.”  Nasruddin was impressed by his wife’s efficient wisdom. One day he was out in the snow when his hands and feet went numb. “I must be dead,” he thought. Then came a further thought: “If I am dead, what am I doing walking about? I should be lying down like a normal corpse.” Which is exactly what he did.  An hour later, a group of traveller’s, finding him by the roadside; fell to arguing among themselves about whether he was dead or alive. Nasruddin yearned to cry out, “Fools, can’t you see my extremities are rigid and cold?” But he knew better than to say that, for corpses do not talk.  They finally concluded he was dead and put him on their shoulders to take him to the cemetery. They hadn’t gone a mile when they came to a...

"The Master was asked, “What is Spirituality?”  He said, “Spirituality is that which succeeds in bringing one to Inner Transformation.”  “But if I apply the traditional methods handed down by the Masters, is that not Spirituality?”  “It is not Spirituality if it does not perform its function for you. A blanket is no longer a blanket if it does not keep you warm.”  “So Spirituality does change?”  “People change and needs change. So what was Spirituality once is Spirituality no more. What generally goes under the name of Spirituality is merely the record of past methods.”  Don’t cut the person to fit the coat." from the book  "Song Of The Bird"  by  Anthony de Mello ...in truth,  OdiliaCarmen

"A relative came to visit Nasruddin bringing a duck as a gift. So the bird was cooked and eaten.  Soon a stream of guests began to call, each claiming to be a friend of the friend of the ‘man who brought you the duck.’ Each one, of course, expected to be fed and housed on the strength of that hapless bird.  The Mulla bore it manfully till the day a stranger arrived and said: “I am a friend of the friend of the kinsman who brought you the duck.” And, like the others, he sat down, expecting to be fed.  Nasruddin placed a bowl of steaming water under his nose. “What’s this?” asked the stranger. “This,” said the Mulla “is the soup of the soup of the duck that was brought to me by your friend.”  One hears of people who became the disciples of the disciples of someone who experienced the Divine. How can you transmit a kiss through a messenger?" from the book  "Song Of The Bird"  by  Anthony de Mello ...in truth,  OdiliaCarmen

"No Zen student would presume to teach others till he had lived with his Master for a minimum of ten years.  Tenno, having completed his ten years of apprenticeship, acquired the rank of teacher.  One day he went to visit the Master Nan-in. It was a rainy day, so Tenno wore wooden clogs and carried an umbrella.  When he walked in, Nan-in greeted him with, “You left your wooden clogs and umbrella on the porch didn’t you? Tell me, did you place your umbrella on the right side of the clogs or on the left?” Tenno was embarrassed, for he did not know the answer. He realized he lacked Awareness. So he became Nan-in’s student and laboured for ten more years to acquire Continual Awareness.  The person who is ceaselessly aware: the person who is totally there each moment: behold the Master!" from the book  "Song Of The Bird"  by  Anthony de Mello ...in truth,  OdiliaCarmen

"An elephant was enjoying a dip in a Jungle pool when a rat came up to insist that he get out.  “I won’t,” said the elephant.  “I insist you get out this minute,” said the rat.  “Why?”  “I shall tell you that only after you are out of the pool.”  “Then I won’t get out.”  But he finally lumbered out of the pool, stood in front of the rat and said, “Now then, why did you want me to get out of the pool?”  “To check if you were wearing my swimming trunks,” said the rat.  An elephant will sooner fit into the trunks of a rat than God into our notions of him." from the book  "Song Of The Bird"  by  Anthony de Mello ...in truth,  OdiliaCarmen

"I was a neurotic for years. Anxious, depressed, selfish. And everyone kept telling me to change. And I resented them, and agreed with them, and wanted to change, but simply couldn’t, no matter how I tried. What hurt the most was that, like the others, my closest friend kept urging me to change. So I felt powerless and trapped. One day he said “Don’t change. I love you as you are.” Those words were music to my ears: “Don’t change. Don’t change. Don’t change... I love you as you are.” I relaxed. I came alive. And, suddenly, I changed! Now I know that I couldn’t really change till I found someone to love me whether I changed or not. Is this how you love me, God?" from the book  "Song Of The Bird"  by  Anthony de Mello ...in truth,  OdiliaCarmen

"Uwais, the Sufi, was once asked: “What has Grace brought you?”  He replied:  “When I wake in the morning I feel like a man who is not sure he will live till evening.”  Said the questioner:  “But doesn’t everyone know this?”  Said Uwais: “They certainly do. But not all of them feel it.”  No one ever became drunk on the word wine. "   from the book  "Song Of The Bird"  by  Anthony de Mello ...in truth,  OdiliaCarmen

"The Seeker approached the Disciple and asked respectfully, “What is the meaning of human life?”  The Disciple consulted the Works of his Master and confidently replied: “Human life is nothing but the expression of God’s exuberance.  “When the Seeker addressed the same question to the Master himself, the Master said, “I do not know.”  The Seeker says, “I do not know.” That takes honesty. The Master says, “I do not know.” That takes a mystic’s mind that knows things through non-knowing. The Disciple says, “I know.” That takes ignorance in the form of borrowed knowledge." from the book  "Song Of The Bird"  by  Anthony de Mello ...in truth,  OdiliaCarmen

" The industrialist was horrified to find the fisherman lying beside his boat, smoking a pipe.  “Why aren’t you out fishing?” said the industrialist.  “Because I have caught enough fish for the day.”  “Why don’t you catch some more?”  “What would I do with it?”  “Earn more money. Then you could have a motor fixed to your boat and go into deeper waters and catch more fish. That would bring you money to buy nylon nets, so more fish, more money. Soon you would have enough to buy two boats... even a fleet of boats. Then you could be rich like me.”  “What would I do then?”  “Then you could really enjoy life.”  “What do you think I am doing now?”  Which would you rather have: a fortune or a capacity for enjoyment?" from the book  "Song Of The Bird"  by  Anthony de Mello ...in truth,  OdiliaCarmen

"Each time the guru sat for worship with his students the ashram cat would come in to distract them, so he ordered them to tie it when the ashram was at prayer. After the guru died the cat continued to be tied at worship time. And when the cat expired, another cat was brought into the ashram to make sure that the guru’s orders were faithfully observed at worship time. Centuries passed and learned treatises were written by the guru’s scholarly disciples on the liturgical significance of tying up a cat while worship is performed."   from the book " Song Of The Bird " by Anthony de Mello ...in truth,  OdiliaCarmen

"The village priest was distracted at his prayer by the children. To get rid of them he said, “Hurry to the river and you will see a monster breathing fire through his nostrils.”  Soon the whole village had heard of this monstrous apparition and was rushing to the river. The priest too joined the crowd. As he panted his way through four solid miles, he kept saying to himself, “It is true I invented the story. But you never can tell I”  A good way to believe in the gods we have created is to convince others of their existence."   from the book  "Song Of The Bird"  by  Anthony de Mello ...in truth,  OdiliaCarmen

"A mother could not get her son to come home before sunset. So, she told him that the road to their house was haunted by ghosts who come out after dusk. By the time the boy grew up he was so afraid of ghosts that he refused to run errands at night. So she gave him a medal and taught him that it would protect him. Bad religion gives him faith in the medal. Good religion gets him to see that ghosts do not exist." from the book  "Song Of The Bird"  by  Anthony de Mello ...in truth,  OdiliaCarmen

THEREFORE YOU ALSO MUST BE READY; FOR THE SON OF MAN IS COMING AT AN HOUR YOU DO NOT EXPECT. -MATTHEW 24:44 " Sooner or later there arises in every human heart the desire for holiness, spirituality, God, call it what you will. One hears mystics speak of a divinity all around them that is within our grasp, that would make our lives meaningful and beautiful and rich, if we could only discover it. People have some sort of a vague idea as to what this thing is and they read books and con­sult gurus, in the attempt to find out what it is that they must do to gain this elusive thing called Holiness or Spirituality. They pick up all sorts of methods, techniques, spiritual exercises, formulas; then after years of fruitless striving they become discouraged and confused and wonder what went wrong. Mostly they blame themselves. If they had practiced their tech­niques more regularly, if they had been more fervent or more generous, they might have made it. But made what? They have no clear ide...