How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #1
"You have broken upon the dark stone of your will that which is beyond all comprehension and mortal splendor. Why could you not have left me as I was, in the sea of being?"
"Because a world has need of your humility, your piety, your great teaching and your Machiavellian scheming." (1.128-129)
Sam's atman was floating around the planet in an electric cloud, yet even then he senses a reality he calls the sea of being. You'd think it'd be a pretty boring reality as solar flotsam, but Sam seems to really take to it.
Quote #2
"The entire universe is a revelation," said the monk. "All things change yet all things remain. Day follows night… each day is different, yet each is day. Much of the world is illusion, yet the forms of that illusion follow a pattern which is a part of divine reality." (1.313)
In Buddhism, there is a constant that surpasses all views of reality, that is: Change is constant, nothing permanent. Even the illusions of reality follow this truth.
Quote #3
"I am trying to guess your true identity, Lord Brahma. I confess that I cannot."
"That is as it should be," said Brahma, "if one is to be a god who was is and always shall be." (2.254-255)
The first step to becoming a god: You need to hide the reality that you're human because a god, by definition, is not human. The second step to becoming a god: Change your name if it's Madeline, Kevin, Bob, Sue, Matt, or just about any modern-day name. These aren't godly names.