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Stories of Filial Piety
A Talk given by Bhikshuni Jin Shao, August 17, 2024
Compassionate Venerable Master, Dharma Masters, and all Good and Wise Friends! Amitabha!
It is Jin Shao here to tie Dharma affinity with you. I’d like to share a few stories with you tonight.
During the Buddha ’s lifetime, there was a year when a famine struck, causing many people to die of hunger and bones of the dead scattering everywhere. The monks had a hard time begging for food. One day, the Buddha waited until all the monks had gone and then entered the city alone to beg for alms. From morning until noon, he went from house to house, but he was unable to obtain any food. Thus, he returned with an empty bowl. The next day, it was the same; he did not get any food. On the third day, it was still the same, and he did not get any food. That day, as the Buddha was on his way back to the monastery, he encountered a monk. Seeing the Buddha's unusual appearance, the monk asked, “World-Honored One, have you eaten today?”
The Buddha replied, “I have not received any food for three days. I am now very hungry and have no strength even to talk to you.”
Hearing this, the monk was very saddened, and tears welled up in his eyes. He thought, “The Buddha is the supreme field of blessings, protecting all beings. I will sell my three robes to obtain a bowl of rice to offer to the Buddha.” He hurriedly sold his three robes, bought a bowl of rice, and brought it to the Buddha.
Though the Buddha already knew, he asked, “It’s now a time of famine, and many people are starving. Where did you get such good rice?”
The monk explained how he had sold his three robes to get the rice. The Buddha said, “The three robes are the emblem of the Buddhas of the three times. The significance of the three robes is of utmost respect and gratitude. Though I appreciate your good intention, I am unable to consume this rice.”
The monk replied, “World-Honored One, you are the field of blessings for the three realms and the highest among sages. If you cannot consume it, who else can?”
The Buddha asked, “Are your parents still alive?”
The monk replied, “Yes, they are.”
The Buddha said, “You should offer this rice to your parents.”
The monk said, “Since the Buddha said you could not consume it, how can my parents?”
The Buddha replied, “They can consume it. Why? Because they gave birth to you and have great debt of gratitude towards you, so they are able to receive it.” The Buddha continued, “Do your parents have faith in the Dharma?”
The monk replied, “No, they do not believe in the Dharma.”
The Buddha said, “Today they will come to believe it. Because they will be very happy to receive this rice from you, they will immediately generate faith. You should first teach them the Three Refuges, and then they will be able to enjoy the rice.”
The monk followed the Buddha ’s advice, offered the rice to his parents, and also transformed them to believe in the Dharma.
The Buddha is the supreme field of blessings, the most revered and honored one in the world and beyond the world. However, the Buddha has taught us through this touching story that for us, our parents are an even greater field of blessings.
People might think that once we become monastics and leave our parents, we could no longer fulfill the duty of filial piety. On the surface, this seems quite reasonable, but the Venerable Master taught us that being a monastic and truly and diligently cultivating is, in fact, an ultimate way of fulfilling filial piety. Throughout history, many great masters have left us many great stories about how they repaid the kindness of their parents.Chan Master Zongze (宗賾) of the Song Dynasty was from Xiangyang in Henan province. His father passed away when he was very young, and his mother raised him. Master Zongze grew up and was highly learned. He left home to become a monk at the age of twenty-nine. Later, he became the abbot of Changlu Monastery.
As his mother grew older and lived alone at home, Master Zongze brought her to live in the monastery and encouraged her to recite the Buddha's name and seek rebirth in the Pure Land. Initially, his mother struggled to focus on reciting the Buddha's name and often longed to return to her home, missing her relatives and friends. When meeting her son, she would also talk about worldly matters. To help her concentrate, Master Zongze deliberately avoided seeing her for a period of time, in order for her to focus on reciting the Buddha's name by herself. After Master Zongze patiently encouraged his mother for three years, she finally began to sincerely recite the Buddha's name. After reciting the Buddha's name for seven years in the monastery, she was able to pass away peacefully while reciting the Buddha's name. Master Zongze felt that he had fulfilled his filial duty in repaying his mother's kindness.
Later, he founded the "Lotus Assembly" and encouraged both monastics and laypeople to recite the Buddha's name and to vow to be reborn in the Pure Land.
Chan Master Daoming (道明) of the Tang Dynasty was from Muzhou in Zhejiang province. As a child, he would visit temples to pay respect to the Buddha, and he felt as though he was meeting old friends whenever he saw the monastics. So he asked his parents for permission to become a monk. After leaving home, he strictly adhered to the precepts and became well-versed in the Tripitaka. Later, he was awakened under Master Huangbo and gained a great reputation.When Master Daoming's father passed away, his mother was left without support. He returned to his hometown of Muzhou and lived at Kaiyuan Temple. At night, he would weave straw sandals, and the next morning, he would sell them in the city to earn money to buy rice, which he used to support his mother. At that time, people began to call him "Straw Sandals Chen.” Later, when enemy troops threatened to invade the city, Master Daoming hung one of his large straw sandals at the city gate. Despite their efforts, the invaders could not remove the sandal. The leader of the troops remarked, "There must be a great sage in Muzhou!” They were afraid and decided to leave the city. Thanks to the power of Master Daoming's filial piety, the entire city was spared from the disaster of war.
Master Daopi (道丕) of the Later Zhou Dynasty was from Chang'an in Shaanxi province. He became a monk at the age of seven. At nineteen, when war broke out in Chang'an, he took his mother to Hua Shan to avoid the war, living in a cave. Due to the war, there was widespread famine, and rice became very costly. Master Daopi beg for food in the villages. Sometimes, he brought back a small amount of food for his mother. Even though she urged him to eat and he was hungry, he always said, “I have already eaten outside.”
When Master Daopi turned twenty, his mother said to him, “Your father unfortunately died in the battle of Huoshan. I believe his bones are still exposed in the wilderness. My son, could you find and retrieve your father’s remains?”
Hearing this, Master Daopi bade farewell to his mother and went to Huoshan. Once there, he set up a hut and gathered all the scattered bones into a heap. He then recited scriptures day and night in front of the bones, sincerely wishing that if there were any bones among them that moved, they would be his father’s. After several days of earnest recitation, a skeleton did indeed emerge from the pile and moved toward Master Daopi, shaking before him. Master Daopi recognized this as surely being his father’s remains and took them back to his mother. That very night, Master Daopi’s mother dreamed that her husband had returned home, and the next day, for sure Master Daopi returned with his father’s bones. This was the response of Master Daopi’s sincerity and filiality.
Master Huangbo (黃檗) was a prominent Chan Master of the Tang Dynasty. After leaving home, he believed that “true repayment of kindness is achieved by relinquishing attachment and reaching the state of non-doing,” so he lived as a monk for thirty years without ever returning to visit his family. However, he still couldn’t help but think of his aging mother. So at the age of fifty, he finally returned to his hometown to see her on his way of a pilgrimage.
Master Huangbo's mother had been really missing her son, who had been absent for so long, and as a result, she had become blind from crying. Wishing to see her son, she set up a tea stall by the roadside to serve passing monks, personally washing their feet. In her heart, she hoped this might be the chance to reunite with her son. She knew her son had a distinctive large mole on his left foot, and despite her blindness, she hoped to recognize him through the opportunity of washing his feet. On this day, Master Huangbo accepted his mother’s hospitality. While she washed his feet, he told her the story of the Buddha’s going forth, hoping it would bring her faith and peace. Master Huangbo only extended his right foot for her to wash and did not allow her to wash his left foot, so she did not recognize him.
Although Master Huangbo was reluctant to leave his elderly mother, he continued his pilgrimage. Neighbors recognized Master Huangbo and hurriedly informed his mother that the monk telling the story of the Buddha’s renunciation was indeed her longed-for son. When she heard this, she nearly went mad with joy and she rushed out, chasing him to the riverbank. By the time she arrived, Master Huangbo had already boarded a boat that had set sail. In her desperation, she jumped into the river and unfortunately drowned. Master Huangbo, seeing from the other shore that his mother had fallen into the water and drowned, was overwhelmed with grief. He cried out, “One son leaves home, and the entire family ascends to heaven; if not, the Buddhas speak falsely.”
Master Huangbo immediately took a boat back, cremated his mother, and composed a verse: “For many years, my mother had been confused about her own nature; but now, her flower has bloomed in the Bodhi grove. If in the future we meet again in the Three Assemblies, we will pay homage to the Great Compassionate GuanShiYin.” As Master Huangbo recited this verse, the villagers all saw his mother ascending into the sky from the flames.
The Venerable Master said: Although cultivators appear not to be filial toward their parents, they can save their parents from the sea of suffering and lead them to heavens. This incredible story of Master Huangbo is a perfect demonstration.
The Buddha, the Great Masters and Patriarchs, and the Venerable Master have left us many teachings and examples of filial piety. The Venerable Master himself began to bow to his parents daily from the age of twelve and observed filial piety after his mother passed away. During his lectures and special instructions, the Venerable Master frequently emphasized the importance of honoring and respecting one’s parents and teachers. He particularly stressed that filial piety is the fundamental practice in Buddhism and the foundation of our spiritual growth.Tomorrow, the fifteenth day of the seventh lunar month, is the Ullambana Day. The Ullambana ceremony originated from Venerable Mahamaudgalyayana's request to the Buddha to save his mother from suffering. Because of that, the Buddha taught us to hold the Ullambana offering on the fifteenth day of the seventh lunar month, inviting monks from all directions to receive offerings. This practice helps to cross over our deceased parents and ancestors from this lifetime and from the past seven lives. The Venerable Master also said that the Ullambana offerings not only help our deceased parents attain happiness and relief from suffering but also increase the blessings and longevity of our living parents. So, the Ullambana Day is a very important day. As Buddhists, we should follow the example of Venerable Mahamaudgalyayana in showing filial piety towards our parents and respect towards the Three Jewels—Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha. This is something everyone should understand and practice.
Great Master Lianchi (蓮池) said: “When the parents are freed from defilements, the child’s duty is truly accomplished.” Let us, on the one hand, diligently uphold the precepts and practice, and on the other hand, rely on the power of the Buddha, Dharma, Sangha, and the Venerable Master to cross our parents and ancestors from suffering and bring them joy. Amitabha!