"As long as space abides and as long as the world abides,so long may I abide, destroying the sufferings of the world".
Santideva-The Bodhicaryavatara. Chapter 10.v.55
"Whatever suffering is in store for the world, may it all ripen in me".
Ib.v.56
"The Boddhistava is a being who has vowed to enter into ultimate enlightnement or Buddhahood, so as to help all other beings reach this state".
"The Boddhistava is a being who has vowed not to enter into ultimate enlightnement or Buddhahood, until all other beings have reached this state"
"...a vivid state of metal quiescsence, accompanied by energy, and a keen power of analysis, by a clear and inquisitive intellect, are indispensable requirements; like the lowest rungs of ladder, they are absolutely necessary to enable one to ascend. But in the process of meditating on this state of mental quiescence...by mental concentration, either on forms and shapes, or on shapeless and formless things, the first effort must be made in a compassionate mood, with the aim of dedicating the merit of one’s aspirations to the Universal Good. Secondly, the goal of one’s aspiration must be well defined and clear, soaring into the regions transcending thought. Finally, there is the need of mentally praying and wishing for blessings on others so earnestly that ones mind-process also transcends thought. These, I understand, to be the highest of all Paths.
Then again, as the mere name of food does not satisfy the appetite of a hungry person, but he must eat food, so, also, a [person]who would learn about the Voidness[of Thought]must meditate so as to realize it, and not merely learn its definition. Moreover, to obtain the knowledge of the state of super consciousness...one must practices and accustom oneself to the mechanical attainment of the recurrence of the above practice without intermission. In short, habituation to the contemplation of Voidness, of Equilibrium, of the Indescribable, and of the Incognizable, forms the four different stages of the Four Degrees of Initiation-graduated steps ib the ultimate goal of the mystic Vajra-Yana[or Immutable Path].

What relationships are there between Mila in his cave in 12thcentury Tibet [the draga taso cave,among others] and I in my room in London's East Finchley in September 2006?
The image of my mother and sister flagging down reluctant vehicles when their car broke down on the Lagos-Ibadan expressway on their way to their temporary accommodation? The resonances of previous domestic disharmonies, involving both the head of the nuclear family and the members of his complementary family [a more suitable term than “extended family”] which are related, indirectly to this situation as Mila’s mother and sister suffered when their father died and conflicts arose with in- laws. Mila’s eventual apprenticeship to the magical and mystical arts which eventually took him far from home as mine has also taken me far from home.