The mandalas were meant to be objects of contemplation, aids to meditation, their proportions magically balanced to purify and calm the mind. To stare at a mandala was to experience, if only briefly, the nothingness that is at the heart of enlightenment.
Douglas PrestonA human being creates complexity by writing a novel on the surface of paper; a weather system creates complexity by writing waves on the surface of an ocean. What is the difference between the information carried in the words of a novel and the information carried on the waves of the sea? Listen, and the waves will speak, and someday, I tell you, you will write your thoughts on the surface of the sea.
Douglas PrestonMy first job was washing dishes in the basement of a nursing home for $2.10 an hour, and I learned as much about the value of hard work there as I ever did later.
Douglas PrestonWhere are you from, Mr. Pendergast? Can't quite place the accent.โ โNew Orleans.โ โWhat a coincidence! I went there for Mardi Gras once." โHow nice for you. I myself have never attended.โ Ludwig paused, the smile frozen on his face, wondering how to steer the conversation onto a more pertinent topic.
Douglas PrestonYou think of yourself as an "individual person", with a unique and separate mind. You think you are born and you think you die. All your life you feel separate and alone. Sometimes desperately so. You fear death because you fear the loss of individuality. All this is an illusion. You, he, she, those things around you living or not, the stars and galaxies, the empty space in between- these are not distinct, separate objects. All is fundamentally entangled.
Douglas Preston