Ziyou asks filial piety. Confucius said, "Today's filial piety means that it can be raised. As for all dogs and horses, they can be raised; Disrespect, why not? "

Ziyou (1) asked about filial piety, and Confucius said, "Those who are filial today can be raised. As for dogs and horses, you can keep (2). If you are disrespectful, why not? "

To annotate ...

(1) Ziyou: Yan, Ziyou, Wu, 45 years younger than Confucius.

(2) raise: sound yàng.

Interpretative translation

Ziyou asked what filial piety was, and Confucius said, "Today's so-called filial piety only means that it is enough to support parents. However, even dogs and horses can be kept. If you don't care about honoring your parents, what's the difference between supporting your parents and raising dogs and horses? "

This is a disciple of Confucius. Ziyou asked the master about filial piety and practices. Ziyou, Zhu Zi explained, is a disciple of Confucius, whose surname is Yan. This disciple studied literature in Confucius' Four Books and Five Classics. He, Xia Zi, Zi You and Xia Zi are all writers. Confucius' four subjects are morality, speech, politics and literature. What he is asking here is filial piety. He didn't ask literature. He asked about virtue. Filial piety is the foundation of virtue. Although he is the first in literature, he asks about virtue. From here, we can also understand that all the education and four subjects of Confucius are based on morality, and so is literature. If there is no virtue literature, how can it be called real literature! Therefore, Ziyou's questioning of filial piety here also gives us a deep enlightenment. Engaged in literature, that is, spiritual cultivation and artistic creative work, gives us great inspiration, and must be based on morality and serve the promotion of morality.

He asked the master about filial piety, and the master replied, "Today's filial piety is to be able to raise", while Zhu said, "It is to eat and sacrifice". When this was mentioned in ancient times, the ancient sound was like chanting. We use the present sound here, which is easier to understand. This support is support. Confucius said that people who are filial today are now. In today's society, they think that filial piety means being able to support. According to Xing Bing's annotation, the word "yes" means "can support", which means "yes" means "no". Therefore, today's filial piety is only because they can support and adopt their parents. Can foster parents, is this filial piety? Confucius changed his mind and said, "As for dogs and horses, you can keep them." . Raising is more than just being a son. "As for dogs and horses, dogs are dogs and horses are kept at home. These are animals and domestic animals. They all serve their owners. Dogs can watch the house, horses can be mounts, and these livestock can feed their owners with their physical strength. This is called being able to support. As for "as for", this is to link these two things, that is, when a son can adopt his parents, when a dog can raise his master. These two things are connected, so let us know what filial piety means through such a simulation.

"If disrespectful, why not?" Dogs and horses can also keep their owners, but they don't know how to respect them. They are just completely obedient, forced to obey and tamed. It will no longer take the initiative to think about what other needs the owner has, but only do what it can. If people don't know how to respect their parents, as the master said before, "People are born and should be treated with courtesy." You just give your parents some food and clothing, their basic needs can be met, and even the best material support can be given to your parents, but you can't respect your parents. What's the difference between this and dogs or horses? Dogs and horses are also adoptive parents, and so are you. Look at these two simulations. What's the difference between being a son and these animals? What is the difference? "Disrespect, why not?" If you can't respect your parents, you are no different from a dog and horse owner. In other words, it is no different from animals, and what the owner says is impolite. In other words, the most important thing to be filial to adoptive parents is to have respect. Therefore, here we use dogs, horses, and the son of man as metaphors to connect them and highlight the true meaning of filial piety and respect in one word. Respect is in the heart, disrespect is no different from animals, so the emphasis here is on respect in the heart. In front of Meng, he asked about filial piety and focused on the ceremony. If there is, there must be, and if there is a heart, there must be. So he has respect in his heart, and his body movements must conform to the ceremony. Therefore, this is related to Meng's filial piety, which is consistent with his answer. This is a statement.

In addition, there is another sentence in The Analects, which is also very good. It is not a metaphor for the son of man and dogs and horses, but a simulation of parents and dogs and horses. "Xie Ji" said that "people raise things, even dogs and horses, disrespect is no different." It's a man-made beast. Only dogs and horses are wild animals, and that is also raising. Foster parents are also adopted, so what's the difference between foster parents and raising dogs and horses? It is respect and disrespect. If you don't respect your parents, you can't treat them with courtesy, and you can't support them with sincerity and respect. It's really no different from keeping a dog and a horse. Here, dogs and horses are compared to parents, which is more profound and powerful. Zhu also quoted such a sentence. He said: "Dogs and horses will be nourished if they treat others and eat others. It is said that people, livestock, dogs and horses can be raised. If they can take good care of their relatives and respect them, they are no different from those who keep dogs and horses. Even the crime of disrespect, so it is also a profound warning. " He said that animals such as dogs and horses wait for people to feed them every day, and this person also keeps them. People who keep these dogs and horses can give them material support and food and clothing. Nowadays, people are more concerned about keeping pets. There are clothes for pets, clothes for dogs and kittens, bathing them every day, and going to those pet hospitals when you are sick. This is all a raise. What's the difference between raising their relatives? If the respect of adoptive parents is gone, it really makes no difference. This is a profound explanation for us, the crime of disrespect. If you adopt your parents with the heart of keeping dogs and horses, it is called great unfilial and disrespectful. How can you talk about filial piety? This is the master's profound warning. Don't misunderstand the meaning of filial piety and think that adoptive parents are filial piety, which is a big mistake. Of course, it is even more unfilial not to adopt parents, and parents are respectful.

There was once a Mother's Day, the second Sunday in May. Before this, Guangzhou Daily sent reporters to interview mothers, many mothers. Then interview these mothers' children, most of whom are entrepreneurs and rich mothers. These children are very rich. Ask these children first, "Mother's Day is coming, how are you going to repay your mother's kindness?" ? These children said, "I want to make a lot of money, buy a villa for my mother, and buy a rickshaw to support my mother." Then ask their mother, "What do you want your children to do for you?" ? None of these mothers said they wanted a house or a rickshaw. On the contrary, many people say similar things. What did they say? I just hope my son is not too busy and can have dinner with me at noon on Mother's Day.

You see, the mother's salary for her son is not high, and even this sentence is said, which proves that her son rarely eats with his mother, and I am afraid he can't visit his mother several times a year. A mother needs respect, respect and her own children to support her heart. For these substances, that is secondary. Suppose you feed your mother with those good materials, but you have no respect. Some people just think it's not bad that I give my mother money every month anyway. This can't be wrong, because modernity is really good. Modern people really don't even take care of their parents, and treat them worse than dogs and horses. The ancients could at least adopt their parents. So it's really good to take money to support parents now. But this is still far from Confucius' filial piety standard. Why? Filial piety focuses on respecting words and parents. This is called filial piety. Therefore, when supporting parents, we should love grace deeply, be gentle and make parents happy. This is the heart of adoptive parents. More importantly, parents' desire, parents' hope for us, most parents want their children to become adults. As the saying goes, all parents hope that their children will live up to their expectations, become moral, knowledgeable and moral people, and be respected by the public. So can we do this? This is Yang Zhi.

Zhu quoted Mr. Hu Yin as saying, "Hu Shi said", secular things are enough to support. It is no small loss to be grateful for love without knowing that it is gradually disrespectful. I may not be here when I travel to Shengmen, but saints are afraid that their love will exceed their respect, so I am deeply warned. "Mr. Hu Yin said that secular people serve their parents only to raise their mouths and have no respect for their parents. For example, being close to parents is easy to slow down, because there are no rules if you are too close. Parents also spoil their children, so they don't ask them to act according to etiquette, so this kind of love is disrespectful. This kind of love is good, but it must be polite and respectful. You can't turn it into doting, but into "kindness and love" as mentioned here. Anyway, there is no difference between parents and children. For example, parents play with their children and put their sons on their shoulders all day. This is the convection of love. However, it is not a small mistake to continue like this, which gradually makes children lose respect for their parents.

Parents have a loving side and a respectful side. He should be honorable, and children should respect their parents. So the role of parents should be to be teachers, these three roles. You are the leader, the king and the leader of your children. When subordinates see leaders, they should respect and salute. To be a parent is to love him. This is the role of parents. I really love him. Be a teacher, be his teacher and teach him. So parents teach their children how to be filial and play the role of a good teacher. Then in the eyes of children, parents should also be regarded as relatives and teachers, not only relatives, but also gentlemen and teachers. Respect the leader, that's what you mean; Caring for parents, this is pro; Learning from parents means treating parents as teachers, and this kind of filial piety can be fully established. So why is it that in today's society, when children are young, they still have a harmonious relationship with their parents and can care for each other, but when they grow up, children ignore their parents and look down on them? Because when I was young, this root was not established. What did love become? Whatever, no rules, no respect.

Ziyou is Confucius' high foot and brother, and also a very accomplished disciple. Of course, he may not understand this truth. Confucius showed him this truth, not only to tell him, but also to explain it to the whole world. Of course, it is also very likely that Ziyou is also very filial to his parents, but the respect may not be enough, which led Confucius to answer that Confucius taught students in accordance with their aptitude. The enlightenment of saints can definitely be told through the ages. Therefore, the sage is afraid that after the love between parents and children is divided, it will go beyond the rules and limits, so it will be casual, so there will be no respect. That parent can't be called kindness to their children, nor can children be called filial piety to their parents. Therefore, we must standardize with courtesy. Therefore, "life is alive, and things are polite; It is very important to be buried with ceremony and sacrificed with ceremony. Taking ceremony as a festival is a profound warning to the world.

Master Hu Yi said in his notes, "Keep dogs and horses, but keep your mouth shut. Those who can cultivate their ambitions are respected. " This is to connect dogs and horses with their parents. This is the second way of saying it. The difference between adoptive parents and dogs and horses is respect. Keeping a dog and a horse means keeping its mouth, its food and its body. Therefore, in raising parents, we cannot just stay at this stage. There are three levels of filial piety, the so-called "foster parents' body, foster parents' heart and foster parents' ambition". Keeping his mouth shut is just a matter of keeping fit, and it can't be called filial piety. We must cultivate his heart and his ambition. This is called filial piety. Because of the cultivation of mind and nature, there is ambition in it. Master Hu Yi said that true respect is called true respect, if you can cultivate your ambition. We really realized our parents' hopes for us. It's called respecting parents. If his parents hope that he can't do it, even if he loves his body and respects him, he is still unfilial. Therefore, filial piety focuses on cultivating ambition.

Master Hu Yi became a monk, engaged in the Buddhist cause, and helped all living beings to break evil and cultivate good, break the mystery and turn mortals into saints. I really became a saint and a sage, and I successfully realized my parents' hopes and ambitions. This is filial piety and filial piety. So is our teacher. Although he doesn't spend much time with his parents in this life, it is certainly difficult to support him. But he really went deep into sage education, gave lectures all his life, and realized many people in the past 50 years. This is also filial piety, which is the family business of the sages. We see the friendship between sages and teachers, and we are also very yearning for it and are willing to follow suit. My parents are alive, and I am an only child. I was lucky, my studies went well, and I got my doctorate at the age of 26. This is what my parents expect of me, and I can achieve it.

My mother wants me to be a professor because her father (that is, my grandfather) is a professor. She hopes that we can follow the wishes of our ancestors, tell their stories, repeat such undertakings and engage in educational work. We are professors in American universities and professors in Australian universities to realize our parents' wishes. Later, we found that the work that can best help the society, save the world's hearts and promote a harmonious society is to engage in the education of China's ethics and traditional culture. I used to teach finance in a university, so I quit my job as a tenured professor and concentrated on studying traditional culture with my teachers. Here are some good things.

Professor Toynbee, a great historical philosopher in modern times and a British professor, once said: "The only way to solve the social problems in the 2 1 century is to rely on China's Confucius and Mencius and Mahayana Buddhism." You see, all British people know that he is a man of insight. Then, as China people, we are fortunate to be able to directly inherit the teachings of our ancestors, and there is no language barrier. It would be a pity if we didn't get such a good treasure. Therefore, I made a heart and set a goal, imitating the ancients, in order to carry forward the past and forge ahead into the future, in order to create peace for generations to come. We learn from the Analects of Confucius that a gentleman doesn't want to have enough to eat and peace of mind. There is naturally no income after leaving the job, but as long as you do the most meaningful work for human beings and society, you will have no regrets! It is rare for my parents to support me. He has the same ambition as me. I have devoted my whole life to learning from sages. I study deeply, give lectures in the studio every day, share my learning experience online, be selfish and altruistic, and be an adoptive parent. My mother told me: "Being filial to parents is filial piety; Being able to honor parents all over the world and serve the people is great filial piety; Being able to be filial to parents of all generations is the ultimate filial piety. " Therefore, she encouraged me, "from filial piety to filial piety, to filial piety. "

Comment and analysis

This article is still about filial piety. There have always been several different explanations for the sentence "As for dogs and horses, both can be kept". First, it is said that dogs can watch the door, and horses and chariots can also serve people; Second, dogs and horses can also be raised by people. This paper adopts the latter statement, which is more appropriate.