LESSON LightofRestorationPeace,WorldCulture,Heavenly 28 RESPECT LESSON OBJECTIVES 1 Understand why we should respect our parents and teachers. 2 Understand how to practice respect in specific ways. TERMS TO KNOW • Respect • Filial duty • Courtesy
2) Kindness of bearing suffering during the birth.
Historianspeak.Salimbene wrote, “The babies died because they received no touch.” The absence of parents during childhood can threaten the lives of children. All people need the help of their parents until they are able to care for themselves. We learn all human-like actions such as walking, eating, speaking and thinking from our parents. Our parents gave us life by giving birth to us, and they sacrifice and dedicate their lives to raise us.
2 28. Respect Why We Need to Respect for Our Parents
In Parents’ Immense Grace, a Buddhist scripture, the 10 kindnesses of parents are described as follows:
1) Kindness of providing protection and care while the child is in the womb.
3) Kindness of forgetting all the pain once the child has been born.
6) Kindness of suckling the child at her breast and nourishing and bringing up the child.
King Frederick II of the Holy Roman Empire conducted an experiment because he wanted to see which language would be spoken first by children. So, he took several newborns from their parents and gave them to nannies to raise them. He told the nannies, “Feed and wash the babies, but do not speak to them at all.” He wanted to know if the babies would speak Hebrew (the oldest language), Greek, Arabic, or the language of their parents. However, all the babies died before they could
4) Kindness of eating the bitter herself and saving what is sweet for the child.
8) Kindness of always thinking of the child when it has travelled far.
5) Kindness of moving the child to a dry place and lying in the wetness herself.
7) Kindness of washing away the unclean.
9) Kindness of deep care and devotion.10)Kindness of ultimate pity and sympathy.Acrowreceives the care of its mother when young, but, once old enough, takes care of the mother
Fundamentally, we must always be thankful to the one who gave us life. This is the duty of all mankind and the fundamental reason why we have to carry out our filial duty. It is deeply heartbreaking that my father gave me life and my mother raised me. What great suffering they have endured to give me life and to raise me. I want to repay my debt to them, but it is as great as heaven.
There may be times when parents lack in caring for their children and expressing love. They may be busy or financial responsibility consumes them. Therefore, some children may not be fully satisfied with their parents, or they may carry scars from their parents’ wrong actions and words. However, this does not mean our responsibility of respecting our parents disappears.
28. Respect 3 by bringing back food. The story’s moral was that we needed to show the same to our parents in order to repay them for their kindness. The story of the crow and the Parents’ Immense Grace reminds us of our parents’ kindness and our duty as children, which is often forgotten.
The Mingxin Baojian, Filial Piety part Figure 28-1 newborn baby
4 28. Respect Why We Need to Respect for Our Teachers
Yan Hui was one of the disciples loved by Confucius because he enjoyed learning and his personality was kind. One day, while Yun Hui was at the market running an errand for Confucius, a fight broke out between a store owner and a customer. The customer said in a loud voice, “3 times 8 is 23, so why are you asking for 24 coins?” Yun Hui respectfully answered, “3 times 8 is 24, so why do you say it is 23? You haveThemiscalculated.”customersaidhe would give his neck, and Yan Hui his hat (*hat refers to the cap that Confucian scholars wore), as they waited for Confucius’ decision. Confucius laughed and told Yan Hui, “Give your hat as you have lost.” The customer left confidently with the hat. Yan Hui could not understand Confucius’ decision and made an excuse to visit his hometown because he thought Confucius was too old to teach him. Yan Hui went to Confucius as soon as the day became bright to ask about his reasoning. Confucius said, “Think about it. If I said the customer was wrong, he would have had to give his life. What is more important, a hat or a life?”
After hearing these words, Yan Hui finally understood and kneeled to bow to Confucius. Even if we meet a great teacher, if we do not understand his Figure 28-2 Confucius
28. Respect 5 intentions and judge from our point of view, we will not be able to receive wisdom. We truly learn when we seek the wisdom and perspective of our teachers that we have not experienced ourselves. There are hidden teachers and masters throughout our lives, so we have to try and find these true mentors as we live. But what is most important is that we consider everyone around us as someone to learn from, and to show respect and admiration to them as our elders. When we humble ourselves to seek knowledge and wisdom, we will be able to find the mentor whom we have desperately been searchingWhereverfor.three people are walking, my teacher is surely among them Confucius / Chinese Philosopher (BC 511-479) How to TimeCourtesyShowinToday’s
2) Obedience: We can show courtesy by trying to listen and understand the experiences and wisdom of our parents and elders. Another way to serve them is to fulfill their wishes by obeying their words.
Courtesy, or expressions of showing gratitude and respect towards parents and elders, has changed over time. However, the fundamental spirit remains the same. Through the following ideas, let us look for ways to show courtesy in our lives.
1) Care: We can show courtesy by taking care of the body and mind of those we respect. Care can be divided into emotional and physical care. Emotional care refers to making others happy and comfortable, and frequent communication when apart. Physical care refers to cooking or doing other housework and providing financial support, medical care, or finding various services offered by public institutions and the government.
3) Discussion: We can show courtesy by seeking advice and warning from adults. We must speak in a way that is understood by adults and we must be respectful when speaking our opinions.
6) Honorifics: Using honorifics while speaking or writing to adults is a way of showing respect by lowering ourselves.
7) Tidy Appearance: We can show courtesy by dressing neatly, brushing our hair, and showing a polite attitude and kind facial expressions when meeting elders.
By putting each courtesy into practice, we can find the method that is most comfortable to us. Just showing courtesy should not be the end but we must also think about the fundamental spirit and principle behind each action. Let us awaken our conscience, which will keep harmony and order through rules and discipline that show courtesy. The practice of good conscience-based courtesy will help create peace together with elders.
6 28. Respect
4) Service: We can show courtesy by providing food, help, convenience and service to adults first or waiting until they enter a room, restroom, car or airplane.
Just as how parents sacrificed while raising their children to give their children what was more tasty and healthy, we should wait for adults to be seated first during meals, and we should wait to eat until they take the first bite to repay them for their kindness.
5) Greeting: Greeting is a basic and important part of courtesy and it is a way of serving elders by joyfully greeting them to show their importance. When you greet someone, you must bow with good posture and speak in a clear voice to show respect.
28. Respect 7 Reviewing the Lesson 1 What are some of the kindnesses of parents that are mentioned in the Buddhist scripture “Parent’s Immense Grace”? 2 Why did Confucius take the customer’s side? 3 What are some ways to show respect? Activities 1 Discuss different acts of kindness shown by our parents while we were growing up. 2 Who is the most memorable teacher from your childhood? Discuss why you thought of him or her as a great teacher. 3 Discuss what kinds of attitudes we should show our teachers in order to learn more from them.
Lesson28. Respect 5th floor 20, Nambusunhwan-ro 347-gil, Seocho-gu, Seoul, South-Korea Tel. +82 02-514-1963 Fax. +82 Thehwpl@hwpl.krhttp://www.hwpl.kr02-514-1961firsteditionon31 July 2022 Published by Heavenly Culture, World Peace, Restoration of Light Copyright 2022 Heavenly Culture, World Peace, Restoration of Light All rights reserved. You must get consent from a copyright owner to use all or parts of the contents of this book. Image Credits Figure 28-1 https://cdn.pixabay.com/photo/2016/07/20/19/23/baby-1531059_960_720.jpg Figure 28-2 %E8%81%96%E8%B9%9F%E5%9C%96.pnghttps://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6c/%E5%AD%94%E5%AD%90
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