“… it is as if most people have only a very small proportion of their energies available to them, while the rest lie dormant.  Part of the reason they lie dormant is that there is no cause to interest them.  It is as if we live on the surface of life whilst in caves deep underground the kings and queens of our energies, the magicians, the dancers, the heroes and sages, remain quietly aloof, unable to raise any interest in our desire to become a junior manager, to live happily ever after with a librarian from Surbiton, or to captain the pub’s darts team.  Even our goals of becoming more relaxed or finding a bit of peace of mind do not excite them.  But if we aspire to reach the heights, then all of a sudden, in those caverns far below, ageless heroes will start up once more at the sound of distant trumpets, and reach for their unfailing weapons, and goddesses will weave afresh the old spells which protect the daring.”

Vessantara

(from ‘The Bodhisattva Ideal’ in the booklet ‘Puja and the transformation of the heart; An Introduction to Bodhisattvas and Devotional Practice’, Windhorse Publications, 1987.)