A disciple goes to his teacher and says, "It's unbearably hot. How can I escape this hell?" The teacher smiles and says, "Go to the bottom of it." The disciple cries, dismayed, "If I go down to the bottom of this furnace I'll suffer horribly, I'll be burned to a crisp!" The teacher's smile widens, "No, my friend. At the bottom of the furnace, no further pains will harass you."
There is no escape from the fire of suffering, but by embracing its necessity completely, we can become one with it. Then we will discover that the fire of suffering is also the fire of love, and, one with love, we will radiate its deathless passion and power.
— Andrew Harvey, The Return of the Mother