“Eliminate the ‘residual thoughts’ in your heart?”
Bai Yang frowned slightly upon hearing this, as if unable to grasp the meaning of the words.
“Yes, child.” Aunt Tong nodded. “As long as you can cast aside the residual thoughts in your heart, you will surely receive the grace of the Mother Goddess.”
Bai Yang’s expression grew even more complicated, as if there were many things he couldn’t comprehend—not just him, even I was baffled by Aunt Tong’s words.
After a long silence, Bai Yang finally spoke:
“Most people would say ‘eliminate distracting thoughts.’ Why did you say ‘eliminate residual thoughts’?”
“Child, ‘distracting thoughts’ *are* ‘residual thoughts,'” Aunt Tong patiently explained.
“If ‘distracting thoughts’ and ‘residual thoughts’ are the same, why avoid a commonly used term and opt for such a rare one?”
“Child… After experiencing many religions, you’ll realize the term ‘distracting thoughts’ isn’t accurate. Its meaning isn’t as thorough as ‘residual thoughts.'”
“Then, in your view, what are ‘distracting thoughts’? And what are ‘residual thoughts’?” Bai Yang pressed.
Jiang Ruoxue and I gradually found ourselves unable to interject. The conversation between Bai Yang and Aunt Tong was veering into strange territory.
No… this didn’t even feel like a conversation anymore.
It was more like some kind of… *debate on the Dao.*
“Child, your thirst for knowledge is a precious quality,” Aunt Tong said kindly. “Literally, ‘distracting thoughts’ refer to ‘impure thoughts’ or ‘negative thoughts.’ But ‘residual thoughts’ carry no such connotation. They simply mean ‘remaining thoughts’ or ‘superfluous thoughts.'”
“I don’t understand,” Bai Yang said. “If, as you say, ‘eliminating residual thoughts’ means ‘removing all thoughts from the heart,’ how could anyone possibly succeed like that?”
“‘Desireless and detached’—isn’t that the greatest success?” Aunt Tong replied. “Everyone striving in this world ultimately seeks ‘desireless detachment.’ Do you believe that?”
“What about those who chase money?” Bai Yang countered. “Is their ultimate goal also ‘desireless detachment’?”
“Money is earned to buy what one needs. Once they’ve earned enough and acquired enough, they too will reach desireless detachment.”
“What about hedonists?”
“Hedonists seek endless pleasure. Once they’ve experienced all the world’s joys, they’ll no longer crave it and will enter a state of desireless detachment.”
“And those who simply want to live?”
“It’s the same, child,” Aunt Tong said with a smile. “True ‘desireless detachment’ means life and death are merely states of being. Those who eliminate residual thoughts feel no fear of death, nor sorrow at leaving this world.”
“Absurd,” Bai Yang retorted. “If someone discards all thoughts, they’re no different from a corpse—wanting nothing, striving for nothing. How could they still be called human?”
“Child…” Aunt Tong’s gaze now held a trace of pity. “You think this way precisely because you cannot let go of all ‘residual thoughts.’ You’ve never experienced true desireless detachment, so of course you wouldn’t understand.”
“I truly don’t,” Bai Yang admitted. “If everyone here were as desireless as you claim, they wouldn’t be enlightened—they’d just be resigned. The existence of this ‘Land of the End’ is built on lies and errors. The more we’re oppressed, the more we must resist.”
“So… that’s why you cling to your ‘residual thoughts’?” Aunt Tong asked.
“Yes,” Bai Yang nodded. “I’ve already discarded all ‘distracting thoughts,’ but I *must* keep one pure ‘residual thought’ to drive me forward.”
“Ah…” Aunt Tong shook her head with a smile, looking at him like a naive child.
“If you’re here to help me, I’ll find a way to repay you someday,” Bai Yang added. “But if you’re here to persuade me to give up, you should leave now.”
“Everyone in this world has their own path. Why would I persuade you to abandon yours?” She chuckled. “I only fear your ‘residual thought’ will harden into an *obsession,* driving you to madness in this hellish place. Even then, you won’t relent?”
“No,” Bai Yang said firmly. “Either madness or destruction—those are my only paths now.”
Aunt Tong sighed and placed her hand on his chest once more. “Child, if you can’t make the residual thought *vanish,* then at least try to *calm* it.”
“Calm…?”
“A calm yet powerful residual thought can still carry you to the end,” she said. “The Mother Goddess will protect you.”
“So what *is* this ‘Mother Goddess’?” Bai Yang asked. “Some deity you worship?”
“Some…?” Aunt Tong smiled gently. “Child, the Mother Goddess *is everything.* She is the beginning of all and the inevitable future. She exists in this land and the world beyond.”
“Sounds omnipotent. So where is she now?” Bai Yang challenged. “I’m belittling her—will she punish me?”
“How could she?” Aunt Tong replied. “We are all her children. Even if she disapproves of your words, she would never truly be angry. She loves you. I can feel her boundless compassion.”
For a moment, Bai Yang seemed intrigued—but then his gaze fell on the two necklaces around Aunt Tong’s throat, and his expression darkened.
“Does your ‘Mother Goddess’ know you’ve betrayed her?” he asked coldly.
“Betrayed…?” Aunt Tong laughed softly, touching the Buddhist beads and crucifix around her neck. “These? How is this betrayal?”
“A loyal servant does not serve two masters,” Bai Yang said. “If you preach your ‘Mother Goddess’ here, you shouldn’t follow other faiths.”
“But we are *all* her children,” Aunt Tong insisted. “I told you—she *is* everything. If she allowed these religions to exist, then she permits me to follow them. Only by embracing all great faiths can I vaguely sense her will… Child, I’m not betraying her. I’m doing everything to *draw closer* to her.”
“Fine.” Bai Yang exhaled in resignation. “Your logic holds. I’ve nothing more to say. But if your ‘Mother Goddess’ can’t help me, she’s no different from a corpse on the street to me.”
Tai Sui Yellow Amulet Paper FuLu Taoist Love Talisman Traditional Chinese Spiritual Charm Attracting Love Protecting Marriage