From: mw@ki.fht-mannheim.de
Newsgroups: soc.religion.eastern
Subject: "The Song Of The Bird" (book)
Date: 11 Dec 92 21:10:06 GMT
Article-I.D.: ogicse.47217
Distribution: world
Organization: ----

Yesterday I've found a book with a beautyful collection of stories from various
religions, in the book "The song of the bird", by Anthony de Mello.
(German title: "Warum der Vogel singt")

A few (retranslated) examples are below.
Maybe you do even find relations to recent threads in this newsgroup :-)

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Eat your fruit

A disciple complained to his teacher: You are telling us stories, but you never
explain their meaning! The master replied: How would you like eaten fruits?

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True spirituality

The master was asked "What is spirituality?"
He said "Spirituality is that what performs the inner transformation of humans"
 "But when I apply the traditional methods of the masters, is that not
spirituality?"
 "When it does not perform anything for you, it is not spirituality. A covering
is no more a covering when it does not warm you."
 "So spirituality does change?"
 "Humans do change and need change. What once has been spirituality is that no
more today. What is usually called spirituality is merely the memory of passed
methods."

The author's remarks:
Make coats according to humans. Don't make humans according to coats.

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A critical difference

Uwais, the Sufi, was once asked: "What did the grace bring you?"
He replied: "Whenever I awake in the morning, I feel as a human who is not
secure whether he will experience the evening."
The foreigner asked: "But is that not alike for all humans?"
Uwais said: "Sure. But not all do feel it."

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Don't change yourself

For years I have been neurotic. I have been fearful and depressive and selfish.
And everybody again and again told me I should change. And everybody told me
again and again how neurotic I were.
And I disliked them, though I agreed with them, and I wanted to change myself,
but I was not able to do it, trying as much as I could.
What hurted me most was that my best friend also told me again and again how
neurotic I were. He also repeated again and again that I should change.
And I agreed with him, too; but I did not dislike him, I could not go so far.
I felt so powerless and captive.
Then some day he said: "Don't change. Stay as you are. It's really unimportant
whether you change or not. I love you like you are. That's just how it is."
These words sounded like music in my ears:
"Don't change, don't change ... I love you"
And I became calm, and I became lively, and wonder over wonder, I changed.
Now I know that I could not really change until I found someone who loved me
whether I would change or not.

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The devil and his friend

Some day the devil was walking with a friend. They saw that a man near to them
took something up from the floor.
"What did this man find?" asked the friend.
"A piece of truth." replied the devil.
"Does that not disturb you?" asked the friend.
"No, not at all" replied the devil, "I will allow him to make it a religious
 belief."

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The master does not know it

The seeker approached the disciple with honour and asked:
"What is the meaning of human life?"
The disciple looked at the works of his master and replied with his master's
own words: "Human life is an expression of God's abundance."
When the seeker met the master and asked him the same question, the master
replied: "I don't know it."

The seeker says: "I don't know it."
Saying this needs honesty.
The master says: "I don't know it."
This needs mystic thinking, recognizing things through not-knowing.
The disciple says: "I know it."
This means ignorance in the form of borrowed knowledge.

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The song of the bird

The disciple had many questions concerning God.
The master said: "God is the unknown and unknowable. Every statement about him
cripples the truth."
The discple was puzzled. "Why do you then talk about God at all?"
"Why does the bird sing?" said the master.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 Marc Wachowitz, mw@ki.fht-mannheim.de   /  news zombie - reply by e-mail, too
  *  wonder everyday    *    nothing in particular    *    all is special  *