Today, when the senior brother in the group was discussing the question of immortality, one of the senior brothers' answers answered my long-standing tangle.
I struggled: Because I want to live forever, that's why I practice. And if I have this desire to pursue immortality, I will not be able to cultivate to the end and achieve positive results. But if I don't want to live forever, then I don't have the motivation to practice.
In fact, many other friends will also struggle with similar problems. For example, some people want money, some want supernatural powers, and some want power. It is precisely because we have similar desires that we act, but what we need to cultivate is to let go of desires and give them up. In the end, it is easy to get caught up in wandering.
Hopefully, the following discussion will inspire you as well.
Listen, the senior brother's explanation. I suddenly realized that the path to which my practice leads is like a big tree. And I want a young leaf from a big tree. Recently, I've been worrying about a choice, for example, I only have 10 yuan in my hand, but I want to buy 9 yuan pears and 3 yuan dates, and only 1 is not enough for me. I tossed and turned over and over there, thinking that the dates were not as big as pears, and that the pears were not as red as the dates. In fact, the problem is not pears and dates at all, but that my abilities are not worthy of my desires, and I cannot compromise and let go.
What I need to do is not to continue to wrestle with dates and pears, neither of which are actually the most suitable for me. Rather, improve my strength and make more money. In terms of cultivation, immortality or immortality is not the focus of consideration at all, but the understanding of oneself, the understanding of all beings in the world, and the understanding of the Tao is insufficient.
When you understand enough, knowing to the extreme is doing, and when you are full to the extreme, you are nothing.