“The master enjoined not austerity, but moderation.”

— Anthony de Mello

Source: One Minute Nonsense (1992), p. 111
Context: The master enjoined not austerity, but moderation. If we truly enjoyed things, he claimed, we would be spontaneously moderate. Asked why he was so opposed to ascetical practices, he replied, "Because they produce pleasure-haters who always become people-haters — rigid and cruel."

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Anthony de Mello 135

Indian writer 1931–1987

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Disputed

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Variant translations:
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From such crooked wood as that which man is made of, nothing straight can be fashioned.
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