ENG
On his red skin, talent may shine,
Eyes glaring bright, a mischievous sign.
Samadhi Fire forged, yet heart unrefined,
The gate to Mount Lingshan lies within the mind.
For many years, Red Boy had been having the same nightmare. In his childhood, he shared this nightmare with his mother.
"Mother, there were so many people, they were all coming to kill me!"
"My dear, once you fall asleep again, you'll forget all about it by tomorrow."
Yet the boy was excited: "But I am very powerful. I defeated monks as tall as mountains, strange birds, and fire-breathing statues... I am not afraid of them at all."
"Oh, how brave you are, my dear!"
He continued: "I dreamt that I grew up into an adult, with long horns on my head and long spikes on my hands. I could kill a bunch of bad people at once. But there were too many of them, I couldn't kill them all. Later, some strange people I had never seen before came. They hung quietly in the sky, not coming down, just silently watching me from above."
His mother pulled him into her arms: "If that day ever comes, your father and I will go to the sky with you and kill them all."
"Will we die?"
"..."
"I dreamt that they killed me, and I turned into a red lotus flower. And mother, you picked this lotus flower, and I became your child again."
"..."
He continued to chatter: "Mother, if I die, would you be willing to give birth to me again?"
"Don't you ever say this again!"
This passage introduces Red Boy as a striking, powerful child: red skin, bright, mischievous eyes, and clear talent. The lines call him “Samadhi Fire forged,” indicating he has a fiery, born power, but they also say his heart is unrefined. The phrase “the gate to Mount Lingshan lies within the mind” points to an inner challenge—something he must face or unlock mentally, not just with physical strength.
As a child he kept having the same recurring nightmare, and he talked about it openly with his mother. She comforts him, telling him that if he falls asleep again he will forget it by morning. Despite the fear in the dream, the boy reacts with excitement and pride about his strength and the things he can do in the dream.
In the nightmare he fights and defeats many powerful, strange foes: monks “as tall as mountains,” odd birds, and statues that breathe fire. He brags that he is not afraid of these enemies. This shows both his confidence and his tendency to focus on battling outward threats rather than inner growth.
The dream shifts: he imagines himself grown into an adult with long horns and spiked hands, able to kill many bad people at once—but there are too many, and he cannot kill them all. Then unfamiliar people appear, hanging silently in the sky and watching without coming down. The child worries they will kill him; he even dreams of being killed and turning into a red lotus flower. In that vision his mother plucks the lotus and he is born again as her child.
The mother’s responses are protective and final: she promises that if that day comes she and his father will go to the sky with him and kill those watchers, and when he asks whether they would die doing it she goes silent and then sternly tells him not to speak of dying. The scene shows Red Boy’s mixture of raw power and childish dependence, his fear of death, and a theme of rebirth. Combined with the earlier line about an inner gate, the passage sets up that his true struggle will involve his unrefined heart and something he must resolve inside himself, not just enemies outside.