The word "filial piety" in the Pali Canon.VIETNAMESE TRANSLATE ENGLISH BY=VIETNAMESE BUDDHIST NUN=THE WOMEN OF THE SAKYA CLAN CHAN TANH. For us Vietnamese, Vu Lan has become a tradition as a season to report Hieu to children who sincerely remember their parents' merits - both living and dead - and trying to do what they can. I can do it to repay, repay, and take care of my parents. How can we forget the rustic folk songs that express the gratitude of our parents to the heavens and the sea, when the old women gently and lovingly lulled the child to sleep: "Rumor lullaby, lullaby, The father is like a mountain in the sky, Mother's meaning is like water in the East Sea. The mountains are high and the sea is vast, Nine words islet, my heart." nice: "Grateful for nine words islet How much love did you know in three years?" or: “Crayfish peeled off the tail Grind the rice until white and feed the old mother". And more recently, we remember the image of a poet who described the loss of a son's mother as if he had lost an entire sky: “I was young in the past My mother passed away I understood for the first time The identity of the orphan. Everyone around me is crying Shut up, I'm sad Let the tears flow It's less suffering. Small I don't believe Loved Ones Will Lose I was shocked that day And doubt heaven and earth. From now on I can't see On the mother's forehead kiss me When I have to spank Heartbroken mother lamented. Behold who is happy Mother and daughter pat each other I can't find my mother When sad, you know where to hide. Sunset over the grave Temple bells gently fall I see I lost my mother Losing the whole sky." And when it comes to temple bells, it means remembering the Buddha's teachings, remembering the tradition of reporting filial piety that the Buddha's teachings built. Therefore, on the occasion of Vu Lan festival, we would like to extract and translate some of the Buddha's teachings on the report of filial piety, from the Pali Canon. We purposely limit ourselves to a few truly Theravada Sutras, even leaving out the Jàtaka Pāli Sutras (Buddha's Predecession Stories) because we want to express the Buddha's truest statement about the relationship. between parents and children, not through the imaginative and emotional developments of later schools. We must also admit that we can only extract translations from the translated scriptures. This is an unavoidable defect when the Pali Canon has not been translated, and when we advocate "Precious fox, not precious fox". We know that the Buddha is a person who has attained the Dharma eye, has realized wisdom, so his vision is very different to human actions and the relationship between people. When he saw Singala (Thi-ca-la-Viet) every morning, he woke up early to pay respects to the six directions (Study Teachings of Thi-ca-la-Viet), (Truong Bo IV, 188B), in accordance with his father's instructions. left, the Buddha saw clearly the futility of the ritual and he explained it in the direction of turning into action in accordance with his duty. The East is for parents and children, the South is for juniors, the West is for husband and wife, the North is for friends, the bottom is for servants, and the Upper is for contemplatives and brahmins. -subject. And action here means the duty of a son to his parents, and a parent to a child, only for the East; the teacher's duty to his student, the student's duty to the teacher, pointing to the South, etc.. "Thus, children have five obligations towards their parents: “Nursing parents (when parents are old and weak); fulfill the child's obligations towards his parents; keep the family with tradition, protect the inheritance, and mourn the death of a parent.” And parents also have five responsibilities towards their children: “Prevent your children from doing evil; encourage your children to do good; vocational training; marry a worthy wife for your children; It is clearly a message of responsibility, a mutual responsibility that is not one-way. Children have five duties towards their parents, and parents also have five duties towards them. And when parents and children fulfill their duties, the Eastern times are peaceful and happy. To be more specific, good fortune only comes to any family, when in that family the parents are full of love for them. children, and children are devoted to their parents. “Màpitu upatthânam… Etammangalamuttamam. ” "Serving father and mother... Is the ultimate luck” Hieu is not what is said by mouth, with rituals for good luck and blessings, Hieu must be condensed by concrete actions, and here it is to serve and take care of parents. The following image suggests to us that parents' gratitude to heaven and sea is as wide as the ocean, when the Buddha declares in the Samyutta Nikāya, volume I, page 208, that mother's milk nourishes children for many lifetimes and many lifetimes. , more than the whole tank: “What do you think, monks? What is more? The mother's milk that you drank, while you were circulating in samsara for a long time, or the water in the four seas?" "World-Honored One, according to the Blessed One's teaching, we understand that this is more, that is, the milk we drank from our mothers while we were circulating in samsara for a long time, not water in the four seas!” - "Good, good, the Male-stilts; Good thing, bhikkhus, you have understood this, the dharma is taught by me." "This is more, bhikkhus, that is, the milk you drank from your mother during cyclic existence for a long time, not the water in the four seas." “For what reason? Beginningless is this samsara, monks! Beginningless is this samsara, monks! The starting point that cannot be stated, for the cyclical flow of beings, covered by ignorance, bound by craving, is just enough for you to be liberated, for all formations." In the Sangha Sutra, volume 1, page 74, parents are likened to the flames of reverence, because it is the mother and father who give life to their children, just like the fire that gives heat and vitality to the living beings. people. "What is a respectable fire?" “Here, brahmin, his mothers and fathers, brahmin, this is what is called respectable fire. For what reason?” "Therefore, brahmin, bring forth, bring forth (Ato yam àhùto sambhùto). Therefore, fire worthy of reverence, respect, and offerings must bring about righteous bliss." Mother's milk used to feed children is considered more than the sea, parents are likened to the fire that gives life to their children, the time of parents' gratitude to their children is endless, and so, The Buddha spoke of two classes of people who cannot repay, ie mother and father, as recorded in the Sangha Sutra, volume 1, page 75. “There are two classes of people, monks, I say cannot repay (suppatikāram). how is two? Mother and father. If one shoulder carries the mother, the Male-stilts, if one shoulder carries the father, do so for a hundred years to a hundred years old; If massage, anointing, washing, washing, and oiling were to be done there, they would have urinated and defecated like this, bhikkhus, they would not have done enough or repay their mother and father enough. Furthermore, monks. If one arranges parents to enter the country with supreme power, on this great gift of land with these seven treasures; Thus, the Male-stilts have not done enough or repay the mother and father enough. Why why? For, bhikkhus, parents have done much for their children, bringing them up (Ằpādaka), bringing them up, bringing them into this world." It is while taking care of and raising parents that it is the child who enjoys the good merits brought by filial piety. First of all, take care of your parents, when you are loved by them, and thus that family will be grown, not reduced, as the following passage clearly states (Tang Chi volume 2B, page 106): “In Here, Mahanàma, the good man whose wealth is acquired by diligent effort, accumulated by the strength of his arms, must be paid for with sweat, legitimately and reverently. , respect, pay homage, make offerings to parents. Parents are respected, respected by him, bowed down, made offerings in good faith, aroused affection for him: "May he live long! May your life be protected for a long time!" And, Mahanama, with a good son loved by his parents, “Venerable Gotama, I seek practical food according to the ordinary dharma. After finding practical food according to common law, I nurtured my parents. Venerable Gotama, if I do this, am I doing the right thing?". "Brahmin, a person who does this is properly responsible: Brahmin, whoever seeks food that is practical in accordance with the common law, and nurtures his mother and father, he gains much merit." . “This person follows the common law, Nurturing mother and father, Because of this merit, For mom and dad, Thus, the sage, In this life praise, After death, be born The scent of peace and happiness of the gods". When the brahmin Manatthaddba asked the Buddha who would be good to make offerings to, the Buddha advised (Sayuttara volume 1, page 221): “With mother and with father, With him older, For me it's Wednesday, Should not be arrogant, Should respect him, Should respect him, Offer them auspicious." Serving parents in accordance with the Dharma, enjoying good results as the following stanza 404 in the Suttanipàta Sutta clearly states: “Dhanmcna maitàpitaro bhareyya, Payojaye dhammikam so and nijjam Etam gihì vattayam appamatto Sayam pabhe nama upeti dive". "Worship your parents in the right way, Trade right, honestly, Homeowners are not distracted, Born Tu Quang Thien." Taking it a step further, the Buddha in the Sangha Sutra, volume 1, page 147, uses a bolder but more fluid and precise image to exalt families with filial children. Those families, considered equal to Brahma, equal to the Gurus of the past, are worthy of offerings and respect. To put it more clearly, any family whose children and grandchildren know how to take care of their parents, those families are worthy of reverence, respect, worthy of joining hands, equal to Pham Thien, The highest devas in the sensual and form realms, equal to the Gurus of old, are the most deserving of respect from time immemorial. “Those families, monks, in which children pay homage to their parents (Pùjittà) at home, are accepted as equal to Brahma. Those families, bhikkhus, in which children honor their parents in the house, such families are accepted as the masters of old. Those families, bhikkhus, in which children honor their parents and stay at home, such families are accepted as worthy of offerings (Sàhuney-yakàni)". “Pham Thien, monks, is synonymous with father and mother. The old masters, monks, were synonymous with father and mother. Worthy of offering, monks, is synonymous with mother and father. Why why? Very helpful, bhikkhus, being a parent to a child, raising them up, nurturing them, introducing them into the world." “Parents called Pham Thien, The former Master, Worthy of offerings, Because I love my children. Therefore the sage, Highness and respect. Offer food and drink, Clothing and bedding, Massage (whole body). Wash hands and feet. With such conduct, For mom and dad, In this life, the sage praises, In the next life, enjoy paradise" (Increased Chi II A, page 94) And Sakka himself, the God-lord in the Thirty-three heavens, also thanks to the merits of taking care of his parents, was later born as a God-lord (Sakka). As the following passage of Sutra describes it (Sayutta, volume 1, page 288): “Bhikkhus, in the past, when the Lord of Heaven (Sakka) was still a human being, he upheld and practiced the seven forbidden precepts. By upholding these seven precepts, Sakka attained the status of Sakka.” "Who cares for their parents, Respectfully patriarchal, Speak gentle words, Abandon double-tongued words, Conquering greed, As a real person, The photographer is outraged, With such a person, The Thirty-three Gods, Called the true man". When evaluating human values, the Buddha never forgot to mention filial piety and he valued human filial piety very highly. Meanwhile there are viewers: "Among the two-legged species, Slaughter is the ultimate victory; Among tetrapods, The bull is the winner; In the rows of concubines, Ladies are dark straight; In the rows of boys, The eldest son is the winner." The Blessed One erroneously asserts as follows: “Among the two-legged species, Right enlightenment is dark straight; Among tetrapods, Mastery is the ultimate victory; In the rows of concubines, Consent is the ultimate victory; In the rows of boys, Filial piety is the ultimate victory." (Similar Volume 1, page 8) Parents, when giving birth, naturally want their children to help them to build a common family, and so children need to understand their obligations, not to let their parents down. The following verse, in the Sangha Sutra, volume 2B, page 69, expresses that wish of parents, and the gratitude and gratitude of wise children: “By seeing five things, The wise want a son, Get help, help me back, Will work for me. Will last long, Family tradition. Will continue to keep, Inherited estate. Or for the spirit, Offering offerings. Seeing that, The wise want a son. The sage and true man, Be grateful to be grateful. Remember the old work, They take care of their parents, They do all the work, As before make them. Carrying out the teachings, Helped to nurture again. With a family tradition, Long lasting Full of faith and precepts, Boys are praised." When it comes to gratitude and gratitude to parents, we will see how the Buddha emphasized and promoted the virtue of gratitude and gratitude in a very special way. Chi volume 2B, page 210). The Licchavis told the Buddha that there are five treasures that are hard to find in the world, which are treasured elephants, precious horses, precious jewels, precious women and precious lay people. are treasures that can bring deliverance from suffering to sentient beings: "The presence of the Tathagata, the Arahant, the Rightly Enlightened One is hard to find in the world. And people who can preach the Dharma and the Law declared by the Tathagata are hard to find in the world. And one who understands the teachings of the Dharma and the Law as declared by the Tathagata, is difficult to find in the world. And one who practices the Dharma and depends on the Dharma to be effective, derives from the teaching of the Dharma and the Law proclaimed by the Tathagata, hard to find in life. And grateful and grateful people are hard to find in life." When it comes to being grateful and grateful, it means people who are grateful and grateful to their parents. But even though the Buddha advised children to take care of their parents, he also highly warned children who wanted to serve their parents and did evil deeds in terms of body, speech, and thought. The problem here is posed very differently by Buddhism. Serving and making offerings to parents is a good thing to do, but because parents do evil, because they want their parents to be happy and do unkind things, Buddhism cannot accept it. In the Dhānanjāni Sutta, the Central Sutras, volume II, page 188a; Venerable Sariputta cleverly asked Dhananjani: "Dhananjani, what do you think? A person who does illegal things for his parents and does unrighteous things, or someone who does what is right for his parents and does righteous things for his parents, who is better?" "Venerable Sariputta, a person who does illegal things because of his parents and does unrighteous deeds is not good. And, venerable Sariputta, a person who does what is right for his parents for his parents' sake, does what is right, that person is better"... And he concluded: "Dhananjani, there are other actions, personal, In accordance with the dharma, with these actions one can take care of parents, not do evil deeds, do good deeds.Those who have done evil to raise parents, cannot avoid the retribution of evil deeds. one's own good deeds; and as such, it is not possible to use the excuse of nurturing one's parents to save oneself and make excuses for one's unrighteous actions". As the next passage will make clear: “Dànanjani, what do you think? Here, there are people who do illegal things for their parents and do illegal things. Due to the predestined cause of doing unrighteous deeds, the hell army drags him to hell. What can it do when it says, "I did illegal things for my parents' sake, I did illegal things, don't let the hell troops drag me into hell. Or what can parents do when they say, "Our son has done illegal things for his parents, has done unrighteous things. Don't let the hell army drag him into hell." - "No, Sun. fake Sariputta. The armies of hell still cast him to hell, even though he mourns." Not only did the Buddha advise children not to do evil things for their parents, because doing so would only bring harm to themselves, but also bring harm to their parents. The Buddha also advised the children how to make their parents give up the unwholesome path and embark on the good path. In the Anguttara Nikāya, volume 1, page 75, when referring to the true people who are grateful and grateful to their parents, the Buddha taught that: "Those who repay the favor by nurturing and offering their parents with wealth , material things, money is never enough to repay parents. But the Male-stilts, who do not trust their parents, encourage, guide, stay in the good world, for their parents are away from greed, encourage and guide to stay in alms; For parents who follow evil wisdom, encourage guidance to stay in wisdom. Until then, monks, To be more specific, paying filial piety by offering material possessions to parents is not enough to repay the favor, because material possessions, even if they are abundant, must be impermanent... In other words, in the responsibility of a cardinal, the Buddha never forgot the purpose of liberating all human suffering; and so in order for parents to be truly liberated, children need to build trust in their parents, instruct them to give up evil deeds and do good deeds; give up lust, practice giving; and especially give up ignorance, gain wisdom. Only then can we actually repay them. Analyzing the above teachings of the Buddha, we see that the starting point is to build trust in parents if parents do not have faith. Faith here is faith in Fa-rectification, and Fa-rectification does not mean the Buddha's teachings, but the Fa also means truth, which determines kindness. Dharma is what is true, there is no illusion, there is no falsehood; Dharma is what is good and good, not evil. And building trust for parents is building honesty, kindness in parents. The second piece of advice is a message of giving up evil and doing good. If your parents follow the evil precepts, that is, live an unhealthy lifestyle with many unwholesome actions, then advise them to do good deeds in terms of body, speech, and thoughts, and live a pure and good life. The third piece of advice is a humanitarian advice, beneficial to others, advising parents, thinking about the suffering of others and giving alms, alleviating the suffering around, thinking about human love. The fourth piece of advice is not to follow evil wisdom, is a righteous advice, to give up bad views, to develop true views, to build a healthy outlook and to have a good direction for life. And we are not surprised, when the crime of killing a father and mother is listed by the Buddha as the five crimes of the five transgressions, a crime in which the offender never escapes hell, as quoted in the Anguttara Nikāya, volume 2b, page 185: “There are these five sins (Parikuppa), which, bhikkhus, lead to the lower realms, lead to hell, and cannot be cured. What is the year? Taking the life of a mother, taking a father's life, taking the life of an Arahant, with malicious intent to make the Tathagata bleed and destroy the harmony of the Sangha." "Monks, these five opposites lead to the lower realms, to hell, and cannot be cured." And so when King Ajàtasattu came to see the Buddha and hear the Dharma, as is recorded in the Sutta of the Ascetic Fruit, the School of Sutras. The king confessed to killing his father and repented: - "World-Honored One, I have committed a grave sin because of ignorance, ignorance, and unwholesomeness; I killed my father, a true king, to take the throne. May the Blessed One accept that this sin is a sin so that I can prevent it in the future." And the Buddha accepted that sin for the king: “O king, what a grave sin. Because of ignorance, ignorance, and unrighteousness, the great king killed his father, a true king, in order to gain the kingship. Since the great king saw it as a sin and confessed it in accordance with the Dharma, I confess it to the king. That is an advancement. King, in the law of the sages: Those who see sin as sin, confess in accordance with the Dharma, and prevent it in the future. "And when King Ajatasattu left and left, the Buddha made the following comment: "Monks, the mind of that king is very contrite. Monks, the mind of that king is very remorseful. If the king is very righteous, then right in this seat, he has attained the Dharma eye, is not naked, is not unclean." In the above sutras, we have seen clearly through the Buddha's teachings, how the parents' gratitude to the heavens and the sea, the children's duty to repay and repay the favor, and so on. Buddha never forgot to teach his disciples to be grateful and repay their parents. However, he understood the dispositions of sentient beings deeply and authentically, and therefore, he must also be sad when he made the remark that: There are more sentient beings who are not filial to their parents than sentient beings. being filial to one's parents, as stated in the Samyutta Nikaya, volume 5B, page 255 Ronéo. "Then the Blessed One took some soil from the tip of his fingernail and said to the bhikkhus: "What do you think, bhikkhus? Which is more, a little bit of earth I took on the tip of a fingernail, or this great earth?" - "This is more, World Honored One, is this great earth; less than a little earth, where does the Blessed One get a fingernail. We cannot estimate it, we can compare it to be one. a small portion, if compared with the large earth, with a little of the earth the Blessed One took on the tip of his fingernail." "In the same way, bhikkhus, there are fewer living beings who are filial to their mothers. And more are sentient beings who do not respect their mother... Likewise, less are sentient beings who are filial to their father. And more than that, sentient beings don't honor their father..." And with the above comment, when the Buddha saw an old father being kicked out of the house by his children, unable to take care of him because he was old and useless, the Buddha immediately intervened and taught the father to memorize and read. recite the following stanza (The Samyutta Nikāya, volume 1, page 218), when the people were gathered in the auditorium and among the children sitting in a meeting: “When sentient beings, I am happy, I want them to be born, Conspiracy with their wives, Fight me and chase me, Just like a dog, Drive away the pigs. Cruel and rude, They call us: "Dear Father" They are demon yaksha, Disguised as my child And they kicked me out, When I reach old age, Like a weak old horse. Kicked out of the barn. Now the old father of the children, Must beg for food from people. Give me the stick, Than unfilial children, With a bull-stopper, Stop the ferocious dogs. A safe dark spot, Deep place, find a foothold, With the strength of the stick, If you fall, you can get up." The father followed the Buddha's instructions and the children, when they heard the father recite this verse, immediately repented and brought the father home. The image of an old father being rejected by his unfilial sons because he is old and useless is a serious warning that the Buddha cleverly warned us, and especially this Vu Lan season, we should also reflect on ourselves. get married, and consider how we have been and are treating our parents? We have heard some teachings of the Buddha about the word filial piety, about the merits of parents from heaven and the sea, and about the responsibility of children to repay their parents. We have been understood that it is not the ritual that is the main thing, but the specific actions, nurturing parents that are important. We are also understood that the best and most complete way to repay the favor is to guide parents to step on the righteous path, to abandon the evil precepts, to abandon the evil of greed, to follow a virtuous life, to practice almsgiving, and to abandon the path. dark ignorance towards the light of luminous wisdom. And here, we see more clearly the role of the law in guiding the word Hieu to achieve great and excellent results. But then the Buddha also warned us that, with his remark, people who are not filial to their parents are more filial to their parents than those who are filial to their parents. And the image of an old father abandoned by his descendants because of his old age and helplessness, interceded by the Buddha, is also a heartbreaking warning for us to think about, and re-evaluate our filial piety to our parents. , and see if there is anything missing to make it more thoughtful. Especially in the Vu Lan seasons, let's sincerely pay attention to the merits of our parents and immediately do what we can, so that our parents can be happy and peaceful. And going further, the best happiness for parents as taught by the Buddha is to guide parents on the path of doing good, abandoning evil and doing good, building trust, following the Dharma, and attaining liberation from birth. suffering death. On the occasion of this year's Vu Lan festival, we would like to wish all of you a full season of Hieu, full of noble and noble meanings, just as the Buddha taught. I wish you and your parents, both living and deceased, to enjoy many good conditions, many blessings, and good victories during this Vu Lan season.END=NAM MO SHAKYAMUNI BUDDHA.( 3 TIMES ).WORLD VIETNAMESE BUDDHIST ORDER=BUDDHIST DHARMA WHEEL GOLDEN MONASTERY=VIETNAMESE BUDDHIST NUN=THE WOMEN OF THE SAKYA CLAN CHAN TANH.AUSTRALIA,SYDNEY.15/12/2021.