The Threefold Path...

It must be clearly understood that it is only the philosophical
quest, the path of the Bodhisattva, which we advocate here, which is
threefold.

The mystical quest is not.

It is simpler.

It requires only
a single qualification--meditation practice.

But it gives only a
single fruit--inner peace--whereas the threefold quest yields a
threefold fruit:

(1) peace,

(2) the intellectual ability to instruct
others,

(3) service.

If therefore philosophy calls for a greater
effort than mysticism, it compensates by its greater result.

And
whereas the mystical result is primarily an individual benefit, the
philosophical result is both an individual and social one.


— Perspectives > Chapter 1: Overview of the Quest > # 42
Paul Brunton