-- The Fourteenth Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso, in "On the Path to
Enlightenment: Heart Advice from the Great Tibetan Masters",
Shambhala Publications
+~
+Examining the understanding of heat in Vajrayana gives insight into tantra’s
+somewhat different embrace of classical Buddhist imagery. From this
+perspective, the experience of mental burning is indeed the central suffering
+of our lives. It is the experiential dimension of the intensity of our
+obscurations, whether emotional, conceptual, or habitual. But rather than
+attempting to put out the flames with meditation methods, it is important to
+allow the burning to occur during practice. Certainly in the foundational
+stages of the path we must learn not to become engulfed in the flames, to tame
+the wild mind and emotions, and to train ourselves to open further to
+experience. Finally, however, through Vajrayana practice under the guidance
+of a guru, the burning we experience becomes a great teacher and a great
+blessing.
+ -- Judith Simmer-Brown, "Dakini’s Warm Breath: The Feminine Principle in
+ Tibetan Buddhism", Shambhala Publications