Good Confucianism book (pdf) - Department of Physics

24 Teachings I: The Foundation of a Good PersonThe grandfather said to his son, “ Your son is about to be punished for hisfaults, but what are you doing kneeling in the snow beside him? ” The boy ’ sfather replied, “ You are freezing my son, so I am freezing yours! ”Filial piety is a phrase that has probably not been used in everyday speechfor over a hundred years, so we first need a definition. Filial piety meansrespect and reverence for one ’ s parents – this is then extended to one ’ steachers and elders. The reason that there is no modern word or phrase forit in English is that it is not a concept our society much discusses or caresabout. It is, however, central to Confucius ’ thought and to those who followedhim. It is not surprising that they emphasized filial piety, given that,in their time, sons were rebelling against fathers and family relations wereoften deadly – certainly in the families of rulers. Confucius saw filial pietyas an antidote to his times.A version of the concept of filial piety existed before Confucius. 1 It wasbased on the authority of the ancestors that, among the living, rested withthe head of the family. The family was organized according to the rites ofancestral veneration. That is, the rules that decided who, in one generation,was the head of the family were the same rules that were applied to thedirect line of inheritance and rank. So, while the practice of filial piety, asrespect for ancestors, elders, and parents, existed in the past, its implicationswere not developed.When asked about filial piety, Confucius answered tersely, “ Do notdisobey. ” When asked to explain, Confucius said that filial piety has threeparts: “ Parents, when alive, should be served with ritual; when dead,parents should be buried according to ritual; they should be sacrificed toaccording to ritual. ” 2 The living and the dead deserve the same respect andsincere behavior. We find service to the living and the dead always linkedtogether in descriptions of filial behavior. The Classic of Filial Piety says,Confucius says, “ A filial son serves his parents in the following ways: he offersthem the utmost respect when at home; he serves them so as to give themthe greatest joy; if they are ill, he feels the greatest anxiety; he is completelydevastated at their funerals; when he sacrifices to them (as ancestors), he iscompletely reverent. If he can do these five things, we can say that he is ableto serve his parents. ” 3These are the required ways to show filial piety: service and respect whileparents are alive, the provision of funerals, and the veneration of the dead.Filial piety, which had originally centered around ancestral rites andtemples, became a moral concept in Confucius ’ hands. Confucius did notemphasize filial piety as having to do primarily with ancestral rites. Hechanged the focus of the concept to talk more about service to the living.