5 things Buddha taught about the duties of children towards their parents
(Baonghean.vn) - In the Buddhist scriptures it is taught: “A good mother is also called wealth, a good mother's death is called poverty. A good mother is like the sun rising at noon, a good mother's death is like the sun setting in the evening. A good mother is like a bright moonlit night, a good mother's death is like a dark moonless night.”
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1- Parenting
In addition to the responsibilities of taking care of family and relatives and contributing to society, a child must have the duty to take care of his parents' material and spiritual needs. If a monk does not have siblings to take care of his parents, he is still allowed by the Buddha to support his parents to the best of his ability.
We can give our parents what they want, why? Parents have sacrificed their whole lives for their children, and no one asks their children to give them anything beyond their ability. Therefore, as children, we must always obey our parents, depending on the family's economic situation, provide them with what they want, without waiting for them to ask.
2- Replace parents to shoulder heavy work
Children are an important continuation, to maintain the career and work of parents. If there is no successor in the family, it is considered a great misfortune. To survive in this life, we need to have a career to live, regardless of high or low, rich or poor.
As we know, everyone must eat and drink to preserve life, so a child must have true understanding and be able to do the jobs that his parents did and taught him. Replacing his parents to develop and expand his career to become stronger is the noble duty of a child.
In our duty as children, in addition to the purpose of making a living to ensure a sufficient material life for ourselves, we also have to shoulder and help our parents with work.
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The Buddha bathing ceremony is a full-fledged ceremony during Buddha's birthday, with the idea of washing away the dust and worries of life, making the body and mind cool and happy (Illustration photo). |
3- Preserving family traditions
Family tradition is the family's moral tradition, of the clan, preserved and passed down through many successive generations. This tradition can include both positive and negative elements. However, family tradition here means that we must clearly understand and imbue good moral values.
Good and pure morality is a living substance, necessary in social relationships, in the way people treat each other and their partners. That good substance is distilled and accumulated through many previous generations, and finally becomes the family tradition of each family, relatives and friends.
Maintaining good family traditions is also understood as each of us must perfect our personal moral character. As children, maintaining family traditions by transforming our own bad habits, living correctly and well according to Buddha's teachings is also one of the ways to maintain family traditions, to be sustainable and long-lasting.
4- Protecting assets inherited from parents
The assets that parents leave behind include all material and spiritual values. Maintaining family traditions means that we know how to live well, not to hurt others, and to help and share when there is a chance. In addition, managing, preserving and developing the material assets that parents have left behind is also an important task for children.
With sweat and tears, with heart and mind and diligent hands, our parents left us a legacy to inherit. Managing and preserving the family property to be sustainable and long-lasting is an important and necessary duty of children.
5- Encourage parents to be good and know how to turn to the Triple Gem
Children can repay their parents' great kindness in both material and spiritual ways. According to Buddhism, the spiritual aspect, that is, our soul, is very important and necessary, because the mind thinks before speaking and acting.
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Every night I light a sky lantern/ Praying for my parents to live forever with me. |
In addition to teaching monks to attain enlightenment and complete liberation, the Buddha also taught how to behave in order to perfect human morality in the family and society. A person who lives with moral character, regardless of the circumstances, can maintain good relationships with humanity in life.
In addition to having to shoulder all the heavy work, replacing parents, so that parents can be happy and cheerful in their old age. A filial child always remembers the gratitude for giving birth and raising them, and tries to repay them while their parents are still alive. When parents are sick, they must wholeheartedly care for them, wait by their bedside, not minding the hardship, and provide medicine to help them recover quickly without fear of wasting money.
Thanh Thuy
(Synthetic)
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