Chapter 175: Pure Heart
“Is that true, Big Brother?”
“Fake, hahaha. Anything else? If not, you can go play.”
“Yes, yes, yes, Big Brother, I do. It’s just that my aunt had a baby, and she’s still very young, got startled, and cries all the time. What should I do about that?”
“Call the soul back.”
“How do I call it back, Big Brother?”
“For very young children, their minds are not yet stable. Sometimes, when something happens, or they are under a certain magnetic field, or they sense some energy, they can get easily frightened. This frightens their mind, their soul, and makes it unstable. First, go to the hospital to see if it can be cured. If not, then you must remember what I’m about to tell you.
There are many methods. The simplest is to have someone stand outside the door, hold the clothes the child usually wears, and call out, ‘Who’s back? Who’s back?’ Then have someone else answer, ‘They’re back.’ Then ask again, and have them answer again. The child must hear it. After three calls, the person holding the clothes comes in and covers the child with the clothes. Don’t cover their head, just their body. This will stabilize them. The best time is at high noon when the Yang energy is strongest. Usually, you call for three consecutive days, but sometimes it works in one go.
The second method, if it’s at night and there’s no sun, go to the stove. Draw a cross at the stove opening, then light three incense sticks, and ask the Stove Lord for help. Your heart must be sincere. Chant: ‘Stove Lord Grandpa, show your divine power. Four directions and five ghosts, do not act ferociously. My child is now under your protection. May the three souls and seven spirits return to one place. My child, so-and-so, quickly return.’ Chant this nine times. After nine times, take a little bit of the fallen incense ash and dab it on the soles of the child’s feet. After dabbing, whisper a few words: ‘They’re back, they’re back, they’re home, they’re home.’ This will stabilize them.
The prerequisite is that if the hospital can’t cure it, your heart must be sincere. A sincere heart can move ghosts and gods.
“Damn, Big Brother, this… didn’t you always tell me to believe in science? This? You know this stuff too?”
“Why ask about that? I taught you, so you can use it when you have no other options. Why do you care what I know? You study Dharma and comprehend the Dao. Why do you keep getting hung up on what I know?”
“No, Big Brother, I’m genuinely curious. I always thought you researched science and metaphysics, and wouldn’t know about these folk magic methods. You’ve truly surprised me, Big Brother, oh my goodness.”
“What’s surprising? Don’t dwell on it, and don’t be curious about me. Just use it if I give it to you.”
“Okay, okay, Big Brother. What if an adult loses their soul, or gets bewitched by something?”
“If you feel restless, recite my mantra: ‘Thoughts are not mine, my heart is Buddha. Aware and knowing, awake without attachment. Thoughts follow the heart’s movement, sword pierces all demons. The Great Dao is limitless, words can convey nothing. Reborn, spiritually escape into the void, Om Mani Padme Hum~!’
If someone around you is restless, have them recite my mantra, or read my book. I’ll make them fly with peace~! Damn~! Because I’m writing a method for self-deification, to become a Great Sovereign yourself~! Cough cough cough.”
“Hahaha, thank you, Big Brother.”
“Don’t thank me for that. Big Brother will teach you another song. How’s my big steamed bun? Without you, I’ve become very awesome~! Hehehe, wahahahaha.”
“Hahahaha, Big Brother, you’re too talented.”
“Haha, just singing for fun. Alright, I won’t talk to you anymore. Go play. I need to research the awesome art of immortal cultivation.”
“Hahaha, alright Big Brother, you be busy then, hahahaha.”
“Okay.”
Boys are always very good at adjusting their mental state. Even if they encountered something that would trouble an ordinary person just a moment ago, in the next second, they’re full of playful energy and having a blast.
This playing isn’t like how others want to do whatever they want. It’s purely simple, like a child’s, and they don’t need to do anything specific, just a leisurely and happy state.
They laugh even when they hum or sing randomly. For example, he changes the lyrics of a song by Little Brother Chun. The original is ‘I don’t have that kind of fate, she has no reason to fall in love with me,’ but in his mouth, it becomes:
“I have that kind of fate, she must fall in love with me, hahahahaha.”
If he sings like this, how can he not be happy?
Moreover, people tend to overthink when they are restless, passively thinking about one thing and then another. But boys don’t. They only actively think when it’s necessary. When it’s not necessary, they are peaceful, their minds are very still, with no thoughts, or occasionally only one or two, very few.
The stillness that cultivation often talks about refers to the mind and thoughts not running wild. That’s what’s being practiced. Sitting still doesn’t mean stillness; if the body is still but the mind is flying, then there’s no stillness at all. Samadhi practices the stillness of the mind and thoughts. Meditation means the same thing; it’s about not letting thoughts run wild.
Some people say there are thoughts during meditation, and that’s true. Having thoughts doesn’t mean thoughts are running wild. Sometimes, a thought observes the rise and fall of thoughts, and sometimes, a thought is placed in one spot for comprehension. This is what “having thoughts” means in this context, not randomly generating thoughts.
Because when people think about good things, they are happy, and when they think about bad things, they get agitated and experience other emotions. Refining the ‘Unmoving King Kong Mind’ means the same thing: the mind doesn’t run wild or move erratically. Simply put, it’s not passively overthinking.
Some people say they aren’t thinking about anything, so why do they suddenly feel sad? There are three reasons. One is that you’re used to it. You’re often sad, and after a long time, you occasionally become sad automatically.
Another is the true self, the inner self, giving you a hint that it’s time to adjust yourself.
The third is telepathy, where the mind receives certain frequencies, reminding you to pay attention to something, and also prompting you to bring your thoughts back.
The human heart has three realms: human, ghost, and god. We won’t talk about the human realm, which is when nothing special is happening, and there are no major emotional fluctuations.
The divine realm, from a mental perspective, is when you think of something beautiful, and the spirit feels happy within that event, blissful. Or, you can describe this mental state as being in heaven, without troubles, without a single negative emotion.
The ghost realm refers to the mind being in a state of hell. It’s like when this boy, for the convenience of explaining to sentient beings, recalled his past grievances and suffering, immersing his mind in it, re-experiencing that suffering, and then writing about it.
Several times, he almost couldn’t continue writing and unconsciously shed tears. But he wasn’t afraid of anything because he could enter and exit. He persisted in briefly describing that period. The purpose of doing this was solely to provide a warning and enlightenment to others.
Didn’t he cultivate an unmoving mind? Meaning his thoughts don’t run wild, so how could he be like that?
Because he actively immersed himself in it. Although he could maintain his rationality while writing, if he didn’t fully immerse himself, he couldn’t capture the feeling of that moment. If observant friends also notice, to prevent readers from feeling too much pain, he deliberately, as if joking, portrayed himself as a robot.
Why must he write that part? Because the meaning of a childlike heart lies within it. Regardless of what they have experienced, that heart remains innocent and beautiful.
Another layer of meaning, the most fundamental reason, is that a childlike heart also represents a spirit of pure goodness.
It also means that when a person can let go of all the things they cannot get over, their heart becomes pure, like letting go of a heavy burden. Those burdens are the heartaches along the way.
Possessing the determination not to be tainted by the mortal world is what a childlike heart is. A childlike heart comes naked and leaves naked, pure and unstained. It’s a metaphor for a mental state, similar to clear discrimination, where things don’t linger in the heart.
After experiencing all sorts of melodramatic events, he turns around with a smile: “Goodbye, I’m going to go play again, hehehe.”
