Filial piety can enlighten one's character and attain the state of omniscience.

The Book of Filial Piety, Volume IX of the Qunshu Zhizhi, is a classic that records Confucius's teaching of his disciple Zengzi Filial Piety. The "Filial Piety Sutra" is a collection of the "Six Classics", summarizing morality and benevolence and filial piety, which is the door for Confucius to demonstrate future generations, the foundation of thousands of sutras, the foundation of sanctification, and the starting point of cultivation.

The origin of the title of the book "Filial Piety" is based on the record in the "Book of Han and Yiwen Zhi": "Husband filial piety, the scripture of heaven, the righteousness of the earth, and the deeds of the people." The words of the great ones are called the "Filial Piety Classic". This means that the Book of Filial Piety is a kind of abbreviation of the Scripture of Heaven, the Righteousness of the Earth, and the Deeds of the People.

Huang Kan said in the "Filial Piety and Righteousness": "The sutra, Changye, Faye. He also said: "This sutra is a teaching, the task is heavy and the road is long, although the time has changed from generation to generation, the golden stone can be eliminated, and it is always for filial piety to be done, and it is immortal for the world." For the scale of a hundred generations, the capital of life, is its law also. Filial piety is to teach, so that it can be often and dealt with. This means that the "Book of Filial Piety" as an education has a heavy task and a long way to go, although there are changes in the times, even the golden stone can disappear and perish, but filial piety as a constant act can last forever in the world and not be extinguished, and can be a model of rules for hundreds of generations, and the food of life. Filial piety, as an education, can be constantly imitated, and it is itself a virtue of nature, a kind of virtue inherent in a person's own nature.

Studying the Book of Filial Piety can help us return to our original nature, to the benevolence of oneness, and it can resolve conflicts and achieve peace in the world. The first chapter, "The Opening Chapter of Righteousness", is the program of the "Filial Piety Sutra", which opens up the purpose of filial piety, clarifies the righteousness of filial piety, and discusses that filial piety begins with serving one's parents, expands to be loyal to the country, and finally achieves the goal of establishing oneself and making a name for future generations.

[Zhongniju, Zengzi Waiter.] Zi Yue: "Zi Yue, the first king has the most important way of virtue, to follow the world, to make peace with the people, and to have no complaints from top to bottom." What do you know? Zeng Zi avoided the table and said, "If you are not sensitive, how can you know it?" ”】

From the Ninth Book of Filial Piety in the Qunshu Zhijiao.

"Zhongniju, Zengzi Shi", this passage discusses Confucius's belief that Zengzi could master filial piety, so he taught him his studies and wrote the "Filial Piety Classic" for him, and later Zengzi died in the state of Lu. "Waiter", according to Zheng Kangcheng's commentary, "the lowly serve on the side of His Holiness, known as the waiter". "Waiter", there are sitting and standing, and here should be the waiter sitting on the side. Confucius sat idly at home, and his disciple sat on the side. Zengzi was known for filial piety among Confucius's disciples, so Confucius passed on filial piety to Zengzi.

Regarding the filial piety of Zengzi, a story of "heartache" is recorded in the "Twenty-Four Filial Pieties". Once, when Zengzi went out to cut firewood, only his mother was at home. At this time, a friend came to the family, Zengzi's mother was very kind, she did not want her friend to run in vain, in a hurry, she thought of a way to bite her finger. Zeng Zi is a filial piety, the heart is always thinking about the mother, the mother bit the finger, Zeng Zi felt a tingle in the heart, knowing that the mother had something at home, so he immediately rushed back, back to know that the mother was safe, it was the mother who wanted to let herself know that there were guests at home.

This incident shows that mother and son are connected to each other, and it is precisely because Zengzi is always worried about his mother in his heart, and his mother's fingers are broken, and he can feel it. There is a poem praising: "The mother finger is only gnawing, and the child's heartache cannot help but be painful; the negative salary is not too late, and the flesh and bones are deeply affectionate." ”

Modern people reading such stories will find it difficult to understand, incredible, because modern people do not always worry about their parents in their hearts, parents have something to do, even if they bite off their fingers, they are still indifferent, which is called insensitivity and no feelings. Modern people do not have such an experience, and if they read the stories of the ancients, they will feel very difficult to understand. Because we often think of selfishness, fame and fortune, lust and dust, thinking about eating, drinking and having fun, how to make more money, get a higher official position, our hearts are not pure enough, and naturally we cannot feel the needs of our parents.

"The son knows that the first king has the most virtuous way, so that he can follow the world, and the people will be harmonious, and there will be no complaints from top to bottom." What do you know? "The supreme virtue is the beauty of the perfect exhaustive virtue, which can reach the realm of reaching the pinnacle of perfection and invincibility." The essential path is to exhaust the supreme truth, and to cite one goodness can cover all the good, and to understand one reason can reach all the truths, just as an auditorium has several doors, and to enter from one door is equivalent to coming in from other doors, because he has reached it, and no matter which door he enters from, he will see the same realm.

According to the interpretation of the Shunzhi Emperor, "the people's hearts of the people who follow the world are inherently invincible." This means that "Shun" is the heart of the people in the world. Because it is from the nature of everyone's nature, and to guide and educate according to the inherent qualities of the human heart, it is possible to achieve the desired effect without a little reluctance. The meaning of this sentence is: "Confucius said that the ancient holy kings had the ultimate virtue and the way of the covenant, so as to adjust the hearts of the people of the world, so that the people could live in harmony, and there was no resentment between the upper and lower levels." Do you know what this supreme virtue is? ”

It can be seen from this that the use of supreme virtue to educate the people, the use of a brief way to impress the people, the result is a harmonious heart. Children do not complain to their parents, students to teachers, and subordinates to leaders, so the people love each other. Since ancient times, China has ruled the world with filial piety, because through filial piety, people can cultivate the quality of harmony.

Many foreigners do not understand why Chinese have been so cooperative and obedient to government orders in the fight against COVID-19, and the same orders have encountered many obstacles in Western countries, with citizens meeting in the streets to demonstrate against the government's orders to prevent and control the NEW CROWN pneumonia epidemic. This distinction makes us rethink the "rule of China."

"The rule of China" is to regard the relationship between the leader and the led, the father and the son, the brother and the brother, the husband and the wife, the boss and the employee, as one as one, and there is a sense of one glory and one loss. The "rule of China" can reach the realm of "not being deceived," and the people cannot bear to deceive their superiors and their government. This sense of harmony and cooperation comes from the culture of filial piety and the inheritance of filial piety.

"Zeng Zi avoided the table: If you are not sensitive, how can you know it?" The ancients had great respect for the teacher, and the teacher should call himself by his own name, and the teacher could call him by his first name. Zeng Zi left the seat, stood up and respectfully replied, "Disciple Zengsan is very stupid, how can he know such a supreme virtue?" From the two words "avoiding the table", we can see that Zengzi's respect for the teacher is precisely because he has such a respectful attitude and respects the teacher and the Tao, that he can spread the Dao.

In the Analects, Confucius said "Samye Lu", indicating that Zengzi was indeed blunt in nature and not very intelligent. This can be seen in an allusion: once, Zengzi and his father were hoeing grass together, and they were supposed to hoe the grass off, but he hoeed the seedlings away. Zengzi's father was very angry when he saw it, and in anger, he took up a hoe and beat Zengzi, who did not shy away from it and was knocked unconscious by his father on the ground. When he woke up, afraid that his father would be worried, he sang with the help of the piano, which meant to tell his father that he was fine and did not have to worry.

When Confucius heard of Zengzi's behavior, Confucius became very angry and said to the other disciples, "Go and tell Zengshan, from now on, he will no longer be my student, and he will not come to see me again." Although Zeng Zi knew that the teacher was very angry with himself, and even said that he did not want him to be his student, he was still very respectful, or took the initiative to ask the teacher for advice, feeling that he had fulfilled his filial piety and asked the teacher why he was angry.

Confucius saw that he was very respectful and a teachable person, and said, "If your father loses his hand, he will beat you to death in anger." Then others will talk about him behind his back, saying that the father can beat his own son to death, which is really unkind. Your approach is not true filial piety, but the exclusion of your father from injustice. Confucius told Zengzi that if he encountered something similar in the future, he would "suffer from the small staff, and go with the big staff."

If your father takes a very heavy hoe to beat you, run away quickly and don't let him hit you; if you take something very light like a small wicker, it is acceptable. It can be seen from this that filial piety is not a place where blind obedience to parents is unjust, and if you blindly obey your parents, you will fall into the unrighteousness of your parents, which is a great filial piety.

Although Zeng Zi was blunt in nature and not intelligent enough, because he was filial, respectful, and studious, he finally succeeded in his studies and became a Confucian sect saint. This shows that filial piety can enlighten the virtues of nature and reach the realm of illumination and omniscience.