Humaneness, justness, propriety, wisdom, and faith are what people come replete with. Filiality is the origin of virtue. Filiality is exactly the difference between human beings and animals. But some animals also act filially toward their parents, such as lambs drinking milk. They will kneel before their mother to show their respect and gratitude. When old crows cannot fly, young crows go out looking for food and bring it back for the mother crow to eat first, then feed themselves. Although crows are dark and not at all pretty, they are very filial. Human beings, being the most intelligent among all creatures, do not understand human nature and are lacking in virtue if we are not filial to our parents. Why are we lacking?

It is because the five virtues of humaneness, justness, propriety, wisdom, and faith have been replaced by the five desires. What are the five desires? They are the desire for money, sex, fame, food, and sleep. These five desires are the five roads that lead to our fall, whereas humaneness, justness, propriety, wisdom and faith are the five paths upward. People who are filial to their parents are going up the social strata while those who are not filial to their parents and those who pursue money, sex, fame, food, and sleep are headed down. Climbing up the social strata means that they will become reborn in the heavens, become rich or high class in a future life. Headed downward may mean falling into the hells or being a disabled, poor, or sick person in a future life. Why do they face such retributions? It is because they had been mixed up.

People should be replete with humaneness, justness, propriety, wisdom, and faith, but they forget. They should consider money, sex, fame, food and sleep insignificant, instead of pursuing money, lust, fame, good food, and enough sleep. They feel they have been disadvantaged if they sleep a little less. They feel that they did not get their worth if they eat one bite less of the fine food. If they do not wear some phony label to cheat people and gain reputation that is false, they will feel that they are not impressive enough. If they are not affected by beauty, they will feel stupid. When they see money, they are willing to risk their lives and use any means such as robbery, killing, arson, etc. Because of money, all kinds of problems and numerous hassles emerge.

This is why we must understand "money, sex, fame, food, and sleep" are the five paths that make us lose our human nature, the five paths that reduce our wisdom. On the other hand, "humaneness, justness, propriety, wisdom, and faith" increase our wisdom as human beings, increase our innate resource. Most people are so confused by money, sex, fame, food and sleep that they do not realize their defects. We were originally complete with humaneness, justness, propriety, wisdom, and trustworthiness, but we do not use our inherent wisdom anymore, this is called going against enlightenment and merging with dust. I wonder when we'll turn our backs to defilement and merge with enlightenment. On the path to being humans, we must have real wisdom in selecting a bright path.

What are unfilial people like? They are like owls that eat their mother as soon as they are born. These are unfilial birds. Who are these unfilial birds? They were not filial to their parents when they were humans, so they became reborn as owls. They are still so tyrannical though that they do not respect their parents. Hence we should know that there are also unfilial animals. If people were not filial to their parents, they will likely have the chance of becoming owls. If people were to say, "I do not believe in future lives." Then let's just wait until you do, you'll know then. Since as of now, you do not know about your future lives. If we start talk about your future lives, there may be all kinds of strange things.

Why are these virtues of five constancies? The Five Constancies are those anyone should be replete with, especially in being filial to parents. This is the real duty and role of being human. Most of us have ignored our duty and role. We give up on the root and chase after the branch tips. We are busy all day long and who knows for what. We rush about, leaving no time to rest. If everyone understands this idea so that everyone will do their best to be filial, then the world will be at peace even though you do not ask it to be. Why is not it at peace? It is because people do not know to be filial and cherish and guard this body that our parents gave us.

Protecting the body does not mean we feed it with something good, live in a nice house, or buy a most expensive car. These are not considered protection for the body. To really protect the body, we must keep to our role and follow the rules. Do no evil and do every good. Always. By "not doing a good deed because it is small and not doing an evil deed because it is small", the world would be quarrel-free, the world will be truly at peace.

What questions do you have? You may ask them. Anyone who disagrees with my ideas may go ahead and object. In general, I do not disagree with you.

Audience: One of the Ten Commandments in the Bible is also about being good to your parents, but westerners have dismissed this commandment. At the same time, how could Buddhism talk about "filiality being the root of virtue" since the Buddha left his parents and did not fulfill his father the king's hopes and expectations of him? He also left his wife and son. How could Buddhism still maintain that filiality is the root of virtue?

Venerable Master: Which one of you can use a simple example to answer this question?
DM: In the Pali Theravadan texts, if someone takes care of his parents for 50 years, he could still not repay his parents' kindness. The Mahayana sutra recorded in Sanskrit has a sutra called the Buddha Speaks of the Difficulty to Repay Our Parents' Kindness Sutra. There is also the Earth Store Sutra that records the Buddha and Bodhisattvas' past vows, of which it mentions that the Buddha went to the place where his mother was reborn to teach her and make her become enlightened in order to repay her kindness. This is an important and traditional convention in Buddhism.

Audience: You mean the Buddha left his parents so that he may teach them in the future?
DM: Yes. He left his family in order to become enlightened himself so that he may help others become enlightened and become Buddhas, including his parents. Before he becomes enlightened, how can he make others be enlightened?

Audience: Will being filial trap someone on his path to enlightenment and not attain liberation?
Layman: Filiality is liberation. Children who are really filial will not be greedy for fame and fortune. They will make sure his elders have a stable life and teach them so that they understand morality, teach them so that they will do their best to do good deeds, teach them so that they will also encourage and help other elders to help others. Filial children will try their best and be responsible in serving their parents. They will give them advice over time so that they also let go and walk onto the path of cultivation.

Audience: I am very grateful for your reminders about taking filiality as the root of virtue in being human. Actually, this type of teaching exists too in Christianity and Catholic traditions, but many children nowadays are not filial. Do parents not have the responsibility to teach them filiality?

Layman: parents have the responsibility. What responsibility? Be good role models. Parents must be filial to their aging parents so that their children will be filial to their parents. You are not filial to your parents and yet you want your children to be filial to you - that is impossible! Pepper seeds are spicy and salt water fish eggs are salty.

Many Americans put their aging parents in old folks' homes. Old folks' homes can only provide for stable living conditions whereas they are still very hollow spiritually. If children can buy some food and bring it to them every week to take a look at their parents, then they will be comforted a great deal. In Chinese history there is an emperor whose mother fell ill. Although many people surrounded his mother, he still personally went to feed his mother medicine three times a day. An emperor still personally goes to visit his mother. Other people's service cannot substitute for his heartfelt acts.

Venerable Master: Any more questions? Confucianism says, "Treat all elders as if they were our own; treat all youngsters as if they were our own." Confucius in "the Great Commonwealth of Peace and Prosperity" said "so that the elderly have a good end, those in their prime are put to good use, youngsters are raised well, widowers, widows, orphans and childless elders, disabled and the sick are all taken care of." Earlier a professor said that Buddhism does not talk about filiality, actually Buddhism talks about filiality the most. Buddhism has refined filiality to such a height that most people see it and think it is non-filiality.

The Buddha had said, "All men are my fathers; all women are my mothers." He considers all beings his past parents, future Buddhas. He does not look down on any kind of living being, but wants to save all beings so that they become Buddhas. That is the kind of great vow they have. If they were really filial, then there is nothing beyond filiality. He treated everyone with this vast and universal form of filiality. This is why he cultivated and realized Buddhahood then saved all beings to become Buddhas. This kind of filiality is perfect. Buddhism talks about filiality in every sutra. Most people who do not understand the Buddhadharma will look at the surface of things and think that the Buddha had left the homelife to cultivate and did not care about his parents. Actually he was really being filial to his parents.