A student asked: why is it that many people who say they want to reach Nibbana — which is understood to mean giving up everything to head straight toward the path to Nibbana — find it hard even just to give away wealth as an act of generosity? It seems contradictory: wanting to reach Nibbana while still attached to the world, still worried about this and that.

The teacher answered that people probably also want to follow along with what others are doing, and that's still fine — it still counts as staying anchored to a good current. If something can't be done, that's alright; do whatever you can manage for now, no problem. Impurity exists, so it's naturally like this. But it still counts as good that one remains within the current of those heading toward Nibbana — better than being caught in worldly currents, like traveling abroad, watching concerts, or getting absorbed in TV series, which head in an entirely different direction.

The teacher offered encouragement: for anyone who wants to reach Nibbana, take heart — it's fine, do whatever you can manage for now and build up gradually. The heart is already aimed that way — the heart has already gone there. Simply thinking this much means the heart is already anchored. As one revered elder teacher (a public figure the teacher refers to) once taught: keep the heart anchored, holding onto Nibbana. Staying close to Nibbana, whatever the circumstances, means it will look after and help us. But if we don't anchor ourselves there and instead anchor onto something else, that other thing will imprison us, keeping Nibbana from being able to reach in and help. Because once it manages to imprison us, it will come down on us all the harder.