Confucius Analects – Filial Piety – 孔子论语 – 论孝

Filial piety is one of the core virtues Confucianism advocates.  It calls for kindness and respect towards our parents.  Not only should one be filial towards one’s parents, one should be filial to all ancestors of the family and the race at large. Why?  Vertically, we inherit the collective of what our ancestors have become;  and horizontally, we are supported by the collective efforts of mankind  and the world.   If horizontally we should expand our kindness and respect to people around, as all major religions advocate, then vertically we should also expand our kindness and respect to our parents and ancestors.  Filial piety is, therefore, a proper way of saying thank you to our predecessors for what they have brought to us.

Why did Confucius question about the acts of Filial Piety and said attitude is the most difficult part?  Because many are merely doing the deeds superficially without sincerity and heart.  When we do something repeatedly, like meditation, on the first time we would put great deal of effort and sincerely, and as time goes by the intensity reduce and our mind slips to something else while on the surface we act like meditating.  Therefore, to be filial in the true sense, we should stay sincere while carrying out the external acts.  Sincerity, therefore, is another important quality to cultivate enroute to Dao.

2.3 Filial piety

子夏問孝、子曰、色難、有事、弟子服其勞、有酒食、先生饌、 曾是以為孝乎?

Zixia asked what filial piety was. The Master said, ‘The attitude is the most crucial and difficult part. If, when their elders have any troublesome affairs, the young take the toil of them, and if, when the young have wine and food, they set them before their elders, is THIS to be considered filial piety?’

2.3 子夏問孝

子夏問孝、子曰、色難、有事、弟子服其勞、有酒食、先生饌、 曾是以為孝乎?

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孝道是儒家核心教导之一。它要求我们尊敬和孝顺父母。不仅要孝顺自己的父母，还要孝顺家族的祖先和民族的祖宗。为什么呢？在垂直的关系上，我们承继了我们祖先的一切，在横向的关系中，我们每时每刻都接受着人类和世间万物的支持。如果在横向的关系中，我们要按所有主流宗教的主张去扩大我们的善和尊重至周边的人，那么我们也应该在垂直的关系中扩大我们对我们父母和祖先的善和尊重。因此，孝是我们对前辈们说感谢的一种合适的方式。

为什么孔子说孝最困难的部分是态度呢？因为，很多人都只是表面在做，并不是真诚的去做，当我们做重复性的事情时，但思想已滑到了别的地方，或在睡觉。因此，真正要孝顺，我们应保持最初真诚的心去进行外部的行为。所以，真诚，是修道旅途中另一个需要培养的重要素质。