I came to feel that the pursuit of truth with rigor, determination, courage, commitment, discipline, joy, and kindness must be what real maturity is all about. How could it be otherwise? And I saw that the maturity of the bodhisattva isn't opposed to a practical everyday life. In fact, such maturity requires a practical everyday life — one lived with energy, kindness, and responsibility — as the training ground for developing the skillful means necessary to complete the endless task of enlightening all beings.

— Norman Fischer, Taking Our Places