"You must discipline yourself," replied the elderly master with a serious expression. "You must disentangle yourself from your wayward habits and earthly desires. You must be able to disclaim all of your worldly possessions without becoming disconsolate. A discontented disciple cannot free his mind. Disclose any bad thoughts that you have during your confessions. We will not hold you in disfavor for being honest. Meditate for at least eight hours each day, regardless of the discomfort. Do not let anyone or anything discourage you from continuing your studies here. Ignore outsiders who disdain our way of life or try to discredit our special teachings. You must not allow our difficult way of life to discomfit you. Remember a discordant mind will have great difficulty merging with nature. Lastly, you should learn to be discreet in everything you do. In this way, you will earn the respect of your teachers and your fellow disciples."

"But professor, I can't seem to concentrate," said the student. "In my discourse with the deity, my speech tends to be discursive. I have had five discrete episodes of meditation failure. What shall we do?"

"This is not uncommon," replied the master with a wide smile. "You need to consult a meditation book. I have written a good one. For a limited time, you can buy a copy of it in our bookstore for a 10% discount."