問:身為家長,我應如何教導小孩,瞭解受持五戒的價值?
答:最好的方法是你自己先持戒。小孩都是有樣學樣。他們看到父母歡喜持戒,自然不會懷疑持戒的價值。另一好辦法,可讀誦高僧大德的傳記給他們聽。古來大德,持戒修善,得大福報,此等故事,一歷小孩耳根,必深印識田,可為日後長成道德生活之楷模,信受奉行。
問:小孩不孝順,父母應如何勸導?
答:父母應反求諸己,自己應先孝順父母。言教不如身教。小孩見自己父母孝順,自然拿父母做榜樣,孝順父母。如果你把父母趕出家外,或對待父母,粗言惡語,貢高我慢,子女自然效法,以為典範。如此身教,子女歷歷在目,無論父母怎樣言說,因言行不一,子女認為父母不孝的印像,終究無法改變。
問:禪坐的主要目地是什麼?
答:禪坐的利益是多方面的。不論你是在讀書工作或整理家務,每日的禪坐能增加你的集中力及減少生活壓力和增進身體健康。如果你想啟發真正的智慧和解脫,就更應該養成習慣,持之以恆,才能真正達到所謂了生脫死。
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Q: How can I teach my child the value of keeping the Five Precepts?
A: The best way to teach your child is to hold the precepts yourself. Children learn by imitation. When they see their parents are happy and content living within the guidelines of the precepts, they won't question the value of holding them, they will see it. Another good method is to read the biographies of monks, nuns, and virtuous lay-persons aloud to the children. Hearing from Mother and Father how wise and good people gained great blessings and benefits from their cultivation of the precepts plants an impression of the necessity for a moral life-style deep in young peoples' consciousness. As they grow up they will turn to the models of righteous behavior as they need guidelines for choices in their adult lives.
Q: If a child is not filial, what can a parent do to bring out his/her respectful nature?
A: First try being a filial child to your own parents. "A picture is worth a thousand words." When your child sees you respect your parents and serve them with patience, and with kind concern, your son or daughter will absorb the lesson and will imitate it in his treatment of you. If, instead, you habitually treat your parents with harsh words, or impatience, or if you have send your elders out of the household to institutional care, then the child will learn that behavior as his standard, and no words you say to the contrary will change his first impression of the model of filial disrespect that you demonstrate.
Q: What is the main purpose of meditation?
A: Meditation benefits all aspects of life. If you study, run a business, or try to keep a home in order, then daily meditation will increase your concentration, will reduce stress, and will improve your health. If you want real wisdom, and ultimate liberation, you need to meditate on a regular basis for a long time. This is also the way to end the question of birth and death.
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