Anthony De Mello's teaching was often expressed in simple definitions.

Anthony De Mello's teaching was often expressed in simple definitions.Theology: "The art of telling stories about the Divine."Mysticism: "The art of tasting and feeling in your heart the inner meaning of such stories to the point that they transform you." But someone who preferred to memorise such definitions was like a ravenous person in a restaurant who devoured the menu instead of the meal. Christian doctrines were simply a finger pointing to the moon; they were misunderstood if they became the final object of our attention. The gospel, for de Mello, pointed us to the Truth that lies behind words, concepts, and images -- to what the mystics liked to call "the God beyond god."

Enlightenment could not be received second hand. The most eloquent report of the taste of a peach was no substitute for one's own experience of tasting the fruit. "In the land of the spirit, you cannot walk by the light of someone else's lamp," he said. "You want to borrow mine. I'd rather teach you how to make your own." True knowledge, saving knowledge, was in any case "to be transformed by what one knows."

DISCIPLE: "What's the difference between knowledge and enlightenment?
MASTER: "When you have knowledge you use a torch to show the way. When you are enlightened, you become a torch."