The infinitely poignant beauty of creation is inseparable from its diabolical destructiveness. How to live in such a turbulent world with wisdom, tolerance, empathy, care and non-violence is what saints and philosophers have struggled over the centuries to articulate. What is striking about the Buddhist approach is that rather than positing an immortal or transcendent self that is immune to the vicissitudes of the world, Buddha insisted that salvation lies in discarding such consoling fantasies and embracing instead the very stuff of life that will destroy you.
— Stephen Batchelor, Living With the Devil