--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There is no forgiveness in ancestor…" description: "\"“There is no forgiveness in ancestor worship, only retribution and eternal debt.”\" — Monique Truong" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ce3/monique-truong-15906_ancestor-worship_there-is-no-forgiveness-in-ancestor-wors_732611.png" --- # There is no forgiveness in ancestor worship, only… ![“There is no forgiveness in ancestor worship, only retribution and eternal debt.” quote by Monique Truong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ce3/monique-truong-15906_ancestor-worship_there-is-no-forgiveness-in-ancestor-wors_732611.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ce3/monique-truong-15906_ancestor-worship_there-is-no-forgiveness-in-ancestor-wors_732611.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ce3/monique-truong-15906_ancestor-worship_there-is-no-forgiveness-in-ancestor-wors_732611.png) > ““There is no forgiveness in ancestor worship, only retribution and eternal debt.”” [Monique Truong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/monique-truong/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Ancestor worship demands strict reciprocity; forgiveness is absent, leaving a perpetual sense of debt and retribution. **In simple terms:** No forgiveness, only debt and revenge. Key Takeaway Recognize the cost of unforgiving traditions. Themes tradition morality spirituality Mood somber reflective Type cultural philosophical When to use this quote - family gatherings - cultural ceremonies - personal reflection Key Concepts reciprocity eternal debt ritual Questions to Reflect On - Can traditions evolve to include forgiveness? - How does this view affect personal relationships? A Different Perspective May overlook the possibility of healing through forgiveness. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Ancestor worship](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ancestor-worship/) [Forgiveness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/forgiveness/) ## Related quotes > [“Others may be able to help you pay the mite that you owe to creditors, but they cannot help you pay the penalty you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-cahill/others-may-be-able-to-help-you-pay-the-mite-that-you-owe-to-creditors/) [Mark Cahill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-cahill/) > [Charity is an eternal debt and without limit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pasquier-quesnel/charity-is-an-eternal-debt-and-without-limit/) [Pasquier Quesnel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pasquier-quesnel/) > [“In many parts of the world, ghosts are not considered to be a creation of local folklore, but a fact of life. In China…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-roland/in-many-parts-of-the-world-ghosts-are-not-considered-to-be-a-creation/) [Paul Roland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-roland/) > [“I saw exactly one picture of Marx and one of Lenin in my whole stay, but it's been a long time since ideology had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/i-saw-exactly-one-picture-of-marx-and-one-of-lenin-in-my-whole-stay/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [Ancestor worship, or filial piety so characteristic of Asian cultures, for example, does not really resonate with Americans who favor children, not grandparents.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-dundes/ancestor-worship-or-filial-piety-so-characteristic-of-asian-cultures/) [Alan Dundes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-dundes/) > [Building the future holds more attraction than ancestor worship, whichever ancestor we're talking about.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-alexander/building-the-future-holds-more-attraction-than-ancestor-worship/) [Douglas Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-alexander/) > [“Papa always said that in the beginning men and women roamed the world together, equal in strength - like lions and tigers -" "And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agatha-christie/papa-always-said-that-in-the-beginning-men-and-women-roamed-the-world/) [Agatha Christie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agatha-christie/) > [“Orthodox devotions that do not let in the light of modern knowledge are no more than a form of ancestor worship.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-l-doctorow-2/orthodox-devotions-that-do-not-let-in-the-light-of-modern-knowledge/) [E.L. Doctorow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-l-doctorow-2/) > [We rarely quote nowadays to appeal to authority... though we quote sometimes to display our sapience and erudition. Some authors we quote against. Some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ihab-hassan/we-rarely-quote-nowadays-to-appeal-to-authority-though-we-quote/) [Ihab Hassan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ihab-hassan/) > [We were not the victims of ancestor worship. We had the benefits of a fresh start.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/we-were-not-the-victims-of-ancestor-worship-we-had-the-benefits-of-a/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Behind everything in London is something else, and, behind that, is something else still; and so on through the centuries, so that London as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/behind-everything-in-london-is-something-else-and-behind-that-is/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“… about sixty thousand Indians and half-breeds… absolute savages… our inspectors occasionally visit… otherwise, no communication whatever with the civilized world… still preserve their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldous-huxley/about-sixty-thousand-indians-and-half-breeds-absolute-savages-our/) [Aldous Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldous-huxley/) > [People who can comfort the dead can also chase after them to hurt them further-a reverse ancestor worship.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maxine-hong-kingston/people-who-can-comfort-the-dead-can-also-chase-after-them-to-hurt/) [Maxine Hong Kingston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maxine-hong-kingston/) > [Chinese culture in general is not very religious. Confucianism is more a code of ethics than a religion, and ancestor worship is a way…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-henry-hwang/chinese-culture-in-general-is-not-very-religious-confucianism-is-more/) [David Henry Hwang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-henry-hwang/) > [I envy those Hindus and Buddhists who have in their religion philosophy and ancestor worship which build in the believer a continuity with the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-sionil-jos/i-envy-those-hindus-and-buddhists-who-have-in-their-religion/) [F. Sionil Jose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-sionil-jos/) ## More by Monique Truong > [“Anh Minh believed that if he could save three minutes here, five minutes there, then one day he could tally them all up and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/monique-truong/anh-minh-believed-that-if-he-could-save-three-minutes-here-five/) [Monique Truong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/monique-truong/) > [“But that, I am afraid, was my mistake from the very beginning, the fatal flaw in my design. I thought that I could suffocate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/monique-truong/but-that-i-am-afraid-was-my-mistake-from-the-very-beginning-the-fatal/) [Monique Truong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/monique-truong/) > [“When they are like this, I remember what the man on the bridge had told me: "The French are all right in France." What…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/monique-truong/when-they-are-like-this-i-remember-what-the-man-on-the-bridge-had/) [Monique Truong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/monique-truong/) > [“I know you are in your best áo dài. You bought it when you were just eighteen. 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Sometimes they only have distant cousins, and sometimes they pretend that they are not even related.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/monique-truong/words-do-not-have-twins-in-every-language-sometimes-they-only-have/) [Monique Truong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/monique-truong/) > [Although we strap time to our wrists, stuff it into our pockets, hang it on our walls, a perpetually moving picture for every room…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/monique-truong/although-we-strap-time-to-our-wrists-stuff-it-into-our-pockets-hang/) [Monique Truong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/monique-truong/) > [“WE all need a story of where we came from and how we got here.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/monique-truong/we-all-need-a-story-of-where-we-came-from-and-how-we-got-here/) [Monique Truong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/monique-truong/) [Explore all 41 Monique Truong quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/monique-truong/) ## More Ancestor worship quotes > [“In many parts of the world, ghosts are not considered to be a creation of local folklore, but a fact of life. 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Confucianism is more a code of ethics than a religion, and ancestor worship is a way…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-henry-hwang/chinese-culture-in-general-is-not-very-religious-confucianism-is-more/) [David Henry Hwang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-henry-hwang/) > [People who can comfort the dead can also chase after them to hurt them further-a reverse ancestor worship.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maxine-hong-kingston/people-who-can-comfort-the-dead-can-also-chase-after-them-to-hurt/) [Maxine Hong Kingston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maxine-hong-kingston/) > [“… about sixty thousand Indians and half-breeds… absolute savages… our inspectors occasionally visit… otherwise, no communication whatever with the civilized world… still preserve their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldous-huxley/about-sixty-thousand-indians-and-half-breeds-absolute-savages-our/) [Aldous Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldous-huxley/) > [Behind everything in London is something else, and, behind that, is something else still; and so on through the centuries, so that London as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/behind-everything-in-london-is-something-else-and-behind-that-is/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [We were not the victims of ancestor worship. We had the benefits of a fresh start.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/we-were-not-the-victims-of-ancestor-worship-we-had-the-benefits-of-a/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [We rarely quote nowadays to appeal to authority... though we quote sometimes to display our sapience and erudition. Some authors we quote against. Some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ihab-hassan/we-rarely-quote-nowadays-to-appeal-to-authority-though-we-quote/) [Ihab Hassan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ihab-hassan/) > [“Orthodox devotions that do not let in the light of modern knowledge are no more than a form of ancestor worship.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-l-doctorow-2/orthodox-devotions-that-do-not-let-in-the-light-of-modern-knowledge/) [E.L. Doctorow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-l-doctorow-2/) > [“Papa always said that in the beginning men and women roamed the world together, equal in strength - like lions and tigers -" "And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agatha-christie/papa-always-said-that-in-the-beginning-men-and-women-roamed-the-world/) [Agatha Christie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agatha-christie/) > [Building the future holds more attraction than ancestor worship, whichever ancestor we're talking about.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-alexander/building-the-future-holds-more-attraction-than-ancestor-worship/) [Douglas Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-alexander/) > [Ancestor worship, or filial piety so characteristic of Asian cultures, for example, does not really resonate with Americans who favor children, not grandparents.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-dundes/ancestor-worship-or-filial-piety-so-characteristic-of-asian-cultures/) [Alan Dundes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-dundes/) > [“I saw exactly one picture of Marx and one of Lenin in my whole stay, but it's been a long time since ideology had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/i-saw-exactly-one-picture-of-marx-and-one-of-lenin-in-my-whole-stay/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [I envy those Hindus and Buddhists who have in their religion philosophy and ancestor worship which build in the believer a continuity with the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-sionil-jos/i-envy-those-hindus-and-buddhists-who-have-in-their-religion/) [F. Sionil Jose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-sionil-jos/) > [The ancestor of every action is a thought. —Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-allen/the-ancestor-of-every-action-is-a-thought-ralph-waldo-emerson/) [David Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-allen/) [Browse all 15 Ancestor worship quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ancestor-worship/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“There is no forgiveness in ancestor worship, only retribution and eternal debt.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Monique Truong" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/monique-truong/there-is-no-forgiveness-in-ancestor-worship-only-retribution-and/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Ancestor worship" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/monique-truong/there-is-no-forgiveness-in-ancestor-worship-only-retribution-and/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ce3/monique-truong-15906_ancestor-worship_there-is-no-forgiveness-in-ancestor-wors_732611.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ce3/monique-truong-15906_ancestor-worship_there-is-no-forgiveness-in-ancestor-wors_732611.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ce3/monique-truong-15906_ancestor-worship_there-is-no-forgiveness-in-ancestor-wors_732611.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“There is no forgiveness in ancestor worship, only retribution and eternal debt.” — Monique Truong", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Monique Truong", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/monique-truong/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“There is no forgiveness in ancestor...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/monique-truong/there-is-no-forgiveness-in-ancestor-worship-only-retribution-and/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/monique-truong/there-is-no-forgiveness-in-ancestor-worship-only-retribution-and/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```