Xue and Dede: One in the Sky, One in Your Hands
You need to figure out what you want to achieve in five years, in three years, and in one year.
Notice my wording—I use the word "achieve," not "learn."
Because the latter is too vague and unreliable.
Patriarch Bodhi: Shall I teach you the arts of divination and fortune-telling, so you can seek good omens and avoid misfortune?
Wukong: Master, will that lead to immortality?
Patriarch Bodhi: No, no.
Wukong: Better to rely on myself than to pray and consult fortune-tellers. I won't learn it.
Patriarch Bodhi: Then shall I teach you Buddhist chanting and sutra recitation, to honor saints and invoke blessings?
Wukong: Will that bring immortality?
Patriarch Bodhi: It's like trying to scoop up the moon from the water.
Wukong: Master, you're not being straightforward. I'm an honest man—I don't understand riddles. What do you mean by "scooping up the moon from the water?"
Patriarch Bodhi: The moon shines in the sky, and its reflection appears in the water. You can see it, but you can never grasp it. In the end, it comes to nothing.
Wukong: Then chanting and reciting sutras is useless compared to having real ability. I won't learn it—no, no, no.