Buddha's teachings on filial piety in the Nikaya Canon. Buddhist disciples, whether ordained or lay, whether in the East or the West, even those who do not follow Buddhism, must all be filial to their parents and respect their ancestors. That is the sacred beauty through generations of Buddhists in particular and everyone in the world in general. Remembering to think about the merit of birth and upbringing, the Buddha taught his disciples to show filial piety in both material and spiritual terms through a number of sutras in the Nikāya canon. . Keywords: Buddha, filial piety, Nikāya scriptures. SOME TYPICAL SUTRAS IN THE NIKĀYA Canon TALK ABOUT REPENDING GRATITUDE TO PARENTS First is the Fire Sutta, the Buddha clearly pointed out seven fires including the fire of greed, the fire of anger, the fire of ignorance, the fire of wood, and the fire of worthy people. Respect, the homeowner's fire, your fire is worthy of offerings. Among them, the fire of greed, the fire of anger, and the fire of ignorance are the three fires of afflictions that burn living beings in the cycle of birth and death, so they need to be destroyed and avoided. Wood fire is a fire used in daily activities that needs to be rekindled regularly, stored in a dry place and extinguished immediately after cooking. On the contrary, the three fires that bring true happiness include the fire worthy of respect, the fire of the homeowner, and the fire worthy of offerings, which must be kept lit [1]. Among them, the fire worthy of respect includes grandparents, parents, virtuous people, etc. In particular, parents are the ones who have contributed to giving birth and raising us to become human beings, to build a career, and to start a family. family for us. That is why, Buddhist disciples in particular and everyone in society in general must be filial and take care of their parents. Do not kill your father or harm your mother, which would lead to the five transgressions, which will be punished by the law, and people will despise and distance you from you. avoid. Second is the Sutta Equal to Brahma, the Buddha teaches that if a family has children who respect and take care of their parents, "those families are accepted as equal to Brahma. Those families, Bhikkhus, in which children pay homage to their parents at home, are accepted like the Masters of ancient times. Those families, Bhikkhus, in which children pay homage to their parents in the house, are accepted as worthy of offerings. Brahma, monks, is synonymous with parents. The ancient Masters, monks, are synonymous with parents. Worthy of offerings, monks, is synonymous with parents. Why? Very helpful, monks, are parents to their children, raising them, nurturing them, introducing them to life" [2]. My parents were the first teachers who taught me before going to school, who worked hard day and night to earn every penny to take care of my education and become famous. Parents are compared to "two Buddhas in the house", people who deserve to be nurtured, respected, cared for and loved. A Buddhist devotee makes offerings to support the monks and nuns' monastic life, or organizes volunteer trips to help many unfortunate lives, poor students, ... then we also need to fulfill the filial duty of a child to our parents physically and mentally when they are alive or have passed away. The third is the Earth Sutra, where the Buddha teaches monks and lay people to repay their parents materially: "If one shoulder carries the mother, monks, if one shoulder carries the father, do so for a hundred years. , up to a hundred years old; If you massage, anoint, bathe, rub, and oil there, even if your mother and father urinate and defecate, then, Bhikkhus, you have not done enough or paid back enough gratitude to your mother and father. Furthermore, Bhikkhus, if one were to place one's parents in a kingdom with supreme power, on this great earth with these seven treasures, then, Bhikkhus, one would not have done enough or repaid enough gratitude to one's mother and father. dad. Why? Because, Bhikkhus, parents have done a lot for their children, raised them, brought them up, introduced them into this life" and repaying the spiritual gratitude is "who has no faith in their parents?" , encourage and guide them to stay in faith; For mothers and fathers who follow the evil precepts, encourage, guide, and establish them in the good precepts; For greedy parents, encourage, guide, and rely on them to give alms; towards mothers and fathers according to evil wisdom, encourage, guide, and establish them in wisdom" [3]. The son who does this fully is able to repay the kindness of his mother and father in this life. The fourth is the Sutra on Filial piety and respect for one's mother and the Sutra on Filial piety and respect for one's father. The Buddha compares people who are filial to their parents as if the soil in the tip of his fingernails is very little compared to the rest of the people on this earth: "Less than are sentient beings who have filial piety towards their mother. And more are living beings who are not filial to their mothers... Less are living beings who are filial to their fathers. And more than that, sentient beings do not respect their father" [4]. Faced with children scolding, beating, and being disrespectful to their parents; even engaging in social pleasures such as gambling, betting, racing, prostitution, drug trafficking, etc., causing parents immense pain both physically and mentally when their children do not follow their careers. good. Fifth is the story of the Buddha's Past Lives, typically in the Bird's Nest Sutra (Previous Birth Story No. 31: Kulāvaka's Past Lives), the Bodhisattva thoroughly practiced the seven vows including serving his mother and serving his father. , respect the eldest brother, speak the truth, do not speak harsh words, do not speak slander, suppress greed: One who nurtures mother and father, Respects the family leader, Speaks kindly and lovingly, Gives up words slander, Nhiep is greedy to tell the truth, Anger is controlled, The Thirty-three Devas are called true people [5]. In Buddha Shakyamuni's past lives, most of him was born in good lives and did blessed deeds such as taking care of his parents, respecting family members, speaking kind words, subduing all greed,... become a respectable person and be born in a peaceful heaven. THE HAPPINESS OF THE BUDDHA AND SOME OF THE BUDDHA'S DISCIPLES Regarding the Buddha, he said to the Bhikkhus: "Bhikkhus, in any previous life, in any existence, in any place, the previous Tathagata to be steadfast and unwavering towards good dharmas, Good actions of the body, good actions of the mouth, good actions of the mind, discerning almsgiving, keeping the precepts, observing Bodhisattva rituals, filial piety to mother, filial piety to father, offerings to monks, offerings to grandmothers brahmins, respect the elders in the family, and all other supreme beings. With the impact, accumulation, accumulation and increase of that karma, after the body breaks up after death, one is reborn in a good realm, in Heaven or in this life" [6]. After hearing the news that King Suddhodana was sick, the Buddha and the monks returned to Kapilavatthu to preach to the king about the impermanence of life, the harmful effects of clinging to self and being confused in the sea. suffering. Thanks to the loving energy of an enlightened being, the king's father calmly listened to the Buddha's teachings and practiced it himself, so he attained Arhatship. After the king passed away, it was Buddha who carried his father's coffin to the crematorium and directly performed the cremation ceremony for King Tinh Phan. The Buddha ascended to the Dao Loi heaven to preach the Ksitigarbha Sutra to the Holy Mother Ma Da (Māyā). In addition, He also allowed his mother Kieu Dam Di (ie Ma Ha Ba Xa Ba De, Mahā Pajāpati Gotami), Princess Da Du Da La (Yasodhara) and 500 women of the Thich family to become monks and nuns. practice and practice the Eightfold Dharma. Since then, the Nuns' Order was formed and together with the Sangha, it propagated the Dharma throughout India and spread it throughout the countries as it is today. For the Venerable Maudgalyayana, out of pity for his mother Thanh De who had fallen into the realm of hungry ghosts, Moggallāna offered a bowl of rice to her mother. At that time, Mrs. Thanh De said: Use your left hand to cover your right so you can eat. The original stinginess of money has not ended, Afraid that ghosts will rob her. Before the rice reaches the mouth, it turns into fire and swallows it but it doesn't work [7]. Heartbroken by that scene, the Venerable Maudgalyayana went to ask the Buddha to teach him a method to save his mother from the suffering of hungry ghosts. The Buddha taught the Venerable monks to make offerings to the monks of the ten directions on Tu Tu day (July 15), because that was the day when the Buddhas were happy and the monks and nuns were able to gain an additional year of age [8] after three years. During the summer retreat month, we practice the three teachings of anasrava. Thanks to the compassionate energy and prayer merits of the Buddha and the great Sangha, Venerable Maudgalyayana's pure intention to make offerings; With Ms. Thanh De's repentant mind and following the Dharma, she helped Ms. Thanh De escape the suffering of hungry ghosts. This is also the cause for the later Vu Lan festival of Buddhism. As for Venerable Sāriputta, before entering nirvana, Sāriputta asked the Buddha for permission to visit his homeland and save his mother Sāriputta, who was about 100 years old. After meeting his mother, the Venerable became ill, making Mrs. Xa Loi restless and worried. That night, she visited the Venerable and in turn saw gods such as the Four Heavenly Kings, De Thich and Brahma King all coming to respectfully pay their respects and visit Sariputta; made her think to herself: "If my son has such great power that even heaven and people respect him, then how great and mighty is the World-Honored One" [9]. If before, She hated the Buddha and the Sangha, then immediately developed pure faith and reverence for the Buddha. On that occasion, Venerable Sariputta "step by step explained and praised the sublime merits of the World-Honored One through the aspects of morality, concentration, wisdom, liberation and liberating knowledge. Miraculously, as soon as the dharma talk ended, Ms. Xa Loi achieved pure dharma eyes, had unshakable faith in the World-Honored One, and attained the first stage of Sotapanna" [10]. After saving his mother Sariputra to awaken and enter the Holy lineage, Venerable Sariputta fulfilled the filial duty of a monk and then entered Nirvana. Regarding Venerable Tong Dien and Nhat Dinh in Vietnam, first of all, Venerable Tong Dien (also known as Venerable Cua) was worried in his heart: "If today I recognize my mother, I will take her to the temple to take care of her." , then the mother-child relationship will cause her to be possessive, dependent and contemptuous towards the monks. Mother still has the minds of sentient beings with all the habits of greed, anger, and ignorance, so how can they avoid losing their blessings? Like that, he loves his mother but unintentionally harms her. And if you don't accept your mother, leaving her alone forever in a lonely bar, wouldn't that be ungrateful and cruel? How can both ways be perfect? ​​The monk can be close and take care of his mother, guide her to practice according to the Dharma, without losing her blessings when using the gifts of faith and giving" [11]. Thus, Venerable Tong Dien silently saved his mother to practice meditation and be reborn in a peaceful realm. Second, Venerable Nhat Dinh left Giac Hoang Quoc Tu and established An Duong hermitage to take care of his seriously ill elderly mother. King Tu Duc learned and was moved by the filial piety and strict practice of Venerable Nhat Dinh, so he built a pagoda named "Tu Hieu" after the Venerable passed away. APPLICATION IN PRACTICAL LIFE In Dhammapada No. 332, it is taught that: Joyful, respecting the mother, Joyful, respecting the father, Joyful, respecting the Samana, Joyful, respecting the Sage! [twelfth]. For filial children, whether male or female, they also need to achieve filial piety both physically and mentally. In terms of material things, children must know how to take care of their parents when they are healthy as well as when they are old and sick; preserve family style; protect inheritance; and take care of the funeral when their parents pass away [13]. Spiritually, children will guide their parents to develop unwavering faith in Buddha, Dharma, and Monks (Nuns); knowing how to give alms and offerings; receive and maintain the Holy Precepts; and practice to gain wisdom. A typical example is the female laywoman Visakha who converted her father-in-law in particular and her family in general to the Three Jewels to practice and protect the Dharma. Therefore, regardless of whether we are biological children or sons-in-law, daughters-in-law, etc., we must be respectful, obey the advice of our parents and practice according to Buddha's teachings to become a virtuous child and also a role model. role model for future generations to follow. Regarding unfilial children, the Buddha taught: Whoever has a mother or father, is old and weak, their youth is gone, Even though they are rich, they do not help, It is the door to failure [14]. Like the image of King Ajātasattu killing his father Bimbisāra and imprisoning his mother Vaidehi; or the story of Venerable Maudgalyayana's past life about obeying his wife, taking his parents to the forest and setting up a fake robbery scene to beat his parents. After that, King Ajatasatru awakened from his wrongdoing and came to repent before Buddha, from then on practice Buddhism and rule the country and people. Likewise, Maudgalyayana's predecessor regretted when he witnessed the actions of parents protecting their children rather than protecting themselves when they heard the robbers chase them away, which moved him to repent and bring his parents back home to serve them. rest early in the day. It was because of his disloyalty in his previous life that the Venerable Maudgalyayana had to pay the karma of being killed by a pagan and entering Nirvana. In short, from ancient times to the present, even in the future, the word "filial piety" will always be the sacred cultural beauty of Buddhists in particular and people in the world in general. A child's duty is not only to take care of his or her parents while they are alive and bury them when they have passed away; but also guide parents to abide in good dharma, practice Faith - Giving - Precepts - Wisdom right in this life. A respectful son or a filial disciple must always strive to perfect his own morality, build family morality, develop social morality and achieve moral liberation in the future as Mau Tu once wrote. Ton: "Stay at home and be filial to your parents, go out to help the country and benefit the people, sit alone and repair your body and mind".End=Nam Mo Shakyamuni Buddha.( 3 Times ).Golden Zen Buddhist Monastery=Vietnamese Buddhist Nun=Venerable Nun=Thich Chan Tanh.Australia,Sydney.15/3/2024.Translate by Venerable Nun Thich Chan Tanh.