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「孝事父母，當願眾生，善事於佛，護養一切。」《大方廣佛華
嚴經淨行品》
中國有一部孝經，經上說：「夫孝，天之經也，地之義也，民之行也。」孝道是中國傳統的美德，是個人立身處世的根本，也是執政者治理天下的準則。古代聖明的帝王是怎樣教化人民，使天下人順從的呢？不是用嚴刑峻法，也不是用堅兵厚利，而是以德行和道理，使人民自然相親相愛，尊卑長幼都沒有怨恨。所以孔子說孝道，是所有德行的根本，也是一切教化產生的根源。
孝經和論語是儒家流傳最廣的典籍。在古代五刑（墨、劓、剕、宮、大辟）所屬的犯罪條例，有三千條之多，其中沒有比不孝的罪行更大的。在宋仁宗時代，孝經更列入科舉考試項目中，宋朝忠臣因此特別多。北史儒林傳何妥中記載：「納言蘇威嘗言於上曰：『臣先人每誡臣云：唯讀孝經一卷，足可立身經國，何用多為。』」在漢明帝、唐玄宗時代，皇帝甚至批注孝經，詔令天下誦習，可以瞭解中國人對孝道重視的程度。
那麼孝順父母，要怎麼做呢？孝經十一章說拿事奉父親的心去事奉母親，其愛心是相同的；拿事奉父親的心去事奉君王，其尊敬的心是相同的。事奉母親，是取其愛心；事奉君王，是取其敬心；而愛心敬心二者兼有的，則是事奉父親的道理。對父母的孝順，要怎樣才算盡孝呢？《詩經》小雅小宛篇上說：「夙興夜寐，無忝爾所生。」是不是這樣就夠了呢？在《孝經》紀孝行章提到侍奉父母還應注意：居上位的，不要驕傲自大；居下的，不要為非作亂；在同事之間，應和順不可爭奪……驕、亂、爭三惡若不能除去，讓父母時時擔憂，即使每天用牛羊豬三牲去奉養父母，仍算是不孝順啊！也就是說改掉自己的惡習氣，就是孝順。
孝事父母時，要想到善事於佛，因為父母賜給我們身體生命，佛卻救度我們的慧命。將事奉父母的愛心和敬心來事奉於佛，夙興夜寐，早起晚睡，勤謹工作；無忝爾所生，不要侮辱了生育你慧命的父母。那麼，孝順佛這樣就夠了嗎？如果你驕慢、爭鬥、貪吝種種的習氣毛病，老也不改，還是讓佛替你擔憂，仍算是不孝順啊！
孝順是一切佛經道理的本源，地藏王菩薩往昔就是一個孝順的婆羅門女；目連尊者為救生母離餓鬼道，請佛救度，而有盂蘭盆法會；在佛教中，殺父殺母，和出佛身血一樣，是屬於五逆重罪，要墮無間地獄。
一個不孝事父母的人，想要祈福，是無有是處的。
佛陀時代，在羅閱祇園有一個人，為人兇惡愚昧，不孝父母，欺壓善良，不敬尊長，家道衰落，多不如意事，因此，便去事奉「火神」，希望求得火神的福祐。
事奉「火神」的方法，就是當太陽剛剛要落山時，點燃一堆大火，向火光跪拜，直到深更半夜火熄為止。他這樣拜火拜了三年，生活還是沒有什麼改善，又改變信仰去事奉「日月」之神。
事奉「日月」之神方法是：白天太陽出來向太陽膜拜，夜裡月亮升空向月亮膜拜；直到太陽落山，月亮西沉為止。他這樣也拜了三年，仍然得不到福祐，就又再改事天神。每天燒香對著天空跪拜，同時擺上香花美酒、臘肉、豬羊牛隻；想要獲福。這樣經年累月，終於耗盡家財，弄得貧窮不堪，當然也沒得到什麼好處。他為了拜天，弄得辛苦憔悴，病得不能出門。他聽說舍衛國有一位佛陀，是所有天神所崇敬的，想想應該去事奉他，這樣一定會獲得福祐。
他便來到舍衛國，見到了佛陀，他便訴說自己九年來的經過，如今皈依佛，希望佛陀賜福給他。
佛陀告訴他說：「祭神求福報，日後觀收穫，四分不得一，不如敬賢善。能為善謙誠，常敬長和上，四福自增多，健康長壽安。」《法句譬喻經述千品十七》
一個不孝父母、不敬長老的人，是不可能獲得福祐的。佛教把一切眾生看作是過去世的父母。「是男子皆是我父，是女子皆是我母。」將孝道擴大了，這是一種平等的孝順，不只孝順自己的父母，更大到三世一切父母，以一種平等心，這可以說是孝道最極致的境界了。
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When I serve my parents in filiality,
I vow that living beings
Will serve the Buddhas skillfully
And protect and nourish everything.
~Pure Conduct Chapter,
Flower Adornment Sutra
In China there is a Classic of Filial Piety, which says, "As for filial piety, it is the heavenly mandate, the earthly morality, and the practice of the people." Filial piety is an excellent virtue that has traditionally been honored in China. It is the basis for our life and our relationship with the world, as well as a guideline and standard for governing the nation and world.
How did the sage emperors of old influence the people and win their loyalty? It wasn't through the use of harsh punishments or laws, nor through the use of a skilled army or generous rewards; rather, it was by means of virtue and reason that they caused the people naturally to be kind and affectionate, so that there was no resentment between the nobles and the commoners, or between the older and younger generations. Hence Confucius said, "Filial piety is the basis of all virtuous deeds; it is also the source from which all teachings emerge."
The Classic of Filial Piety and the
Confucian Analects are the most well-known texts of Confucian philosophy. In ancient times, of the more than three thousand offenses meriting the five severe punishments (tattooing, cutting off the nose, cutting off the feet, castration, and capital punishment), none was considered worse than being unfilial. During the reign of Emperor Ren of the Song Dynasty, the
Classic of Filial Piety became one of the texts covered in the imperial examination. As a result, the Song Dynasty had a particularly large number of loyal ministers. In the He Tuo Chapter of the
Northern History's Annals of Scholars, it is recorded, "Su Wei once said to the Emperor: 'My late father often admonished me, saying: 'The study of the
Classic of Filial Piety alone provides a sufficient basis for one's life and for the managing of the nation's affairs; what need is there to study additional texts?'" During the reigns of Emperor Ming of the Han Dynasty and Emperor Xuan of the Tang Dynasty, those emperors even wrote commentaries on the
Classic of Filial Piety and instructed all the people to recite and practice it. From this we can see what importance the Chinese place upon filial piety.
How can one be filial to one's parents? Section Eleven of the
Classic of Filial Piety says, "Serve your mother with the same spirit that you serve your father, using the same kind of affection. Serve your king with the same spirit that you serve your father, using the same kind of reverence. In serving your mother, use such affection. In serving the king, use such reverence. When both affection and reverence are present, that is the spirit in which you should serve your father."
What do you have to do to be considered filial to your parents? The Xiaoya Xiaowan Chapter in the
Book of Odes says, "From the time you rise in the morning till you retire at night, do nothing that would bring disgrace to those who gave birth to you." Is that enough? The section of the
Classic of Filial Piety that talks about filial conduct says, "In serving your parents, you should also pay attention to the following: If in a high position, do not be arrogant and conceited; if in a subordinate position, do not commit offenses and incite rebellion; get along with your colleagues and avoid contention... If you cannot avoid the three evils of arrogance, rebellion, and contention, causing your parents to worry constantly about you, then even if you served beef, mutton, and pork to your parents every day, you would not be considered filial!" In other words, filial piety consists of changing your own bad habits.
When serving your parents in filiality, you should think of skillfully serving the Buddhas, for while our parents have given us our bodies and lives, the Buddhas rescue our wisdom life. We ought to use the same affection and reverence with which we serve our parents to serve the Buddhas, rising early and retiring late, working diligently, and not doing anything that would bring disgrace to the parents of our wisdom-life, that is, the Buddha. Is that all we have to do to be filial to the Buddhas? If you still don't change your old habits of arrogance, contention, greed, and other faults, you will cause the Buddhas to worry about you, and how can that be considered filial piety?
Filial piety is the source of all the Buddha's Sutras. In a former life, Earth Store Bodhisattva was a filial Brahman woman. Venerable Maudgalyayana, wishing to free his mother from the path of hungry ghosts, went to ask the Buddha to rescue her, and thus the Ullambana Ceremony came about. In Buddhism, killing one's father and killing one's mother, along with shedding the Buddha's blood, are classified among the Five Rebellious Offenses that merit falling into the unintermittent hells.
If a person who is not filial to his parents prays for blessings, there is no way he or she will obtain them.
In the Buddha's time, there was an evil and foolish person in Rajagriha who was unfilial to his parents, cheated good people, did not respect his elders, caused his family to fall into ruin, and had all kinds of bad luck. He decided to go worship the fire spirit in order to seek its protection.
The method of worship involved making prostrations to the sun at sunrise, and making prostrations to the moon when it ascends into the sky at night, bowing continuously until the sun sets behind the mountains, and the moon sets in the west. He bowed like this for three years, but still didn't receive any blessings or protection, so he changed to worshipping the heaven spirit. Every day he lit incense and made prostrations to the heavens, making offerings of fresh flowers, fine wine, and dried pork, mutton, and beef, hoping to obtain blessings. In bowing to the heavens, he wore himself out until he was too sick to leave his house. Then he heard that there was someone known as the Buddha in Shravasti, whom all the heaven spirits worshipped. He thought he ought to go worship Him as well, for it would certainly bring him blessings.
He went to Shravasti and met the Buddha, and told the Buddha what he had been doing for the past nine years, saying that now that he had met the Buddha, he hoped the Buddha could bestow blessings upon him.
The Buddha told him, "If you worship spirits hoping for blessings, you will find that you will not gain even a quarter of what you put in. It would be better to venerate good and worthy people. If you can be virtuous, humble, and sincere, always respecting your elders and seniors, the four blessings will naturally increase and you will enjoy health, longevity, and peace." (Chapter 17 of the
Dharmapada Sutra)
A person who is unfilial to his parents and disrespectful to his elders cannot possibly attain blessings and protection. In Buddhism, we consider all living beings to be our parents from past lives. "All men have been my fathers. All women have been my mothers." The scope of filial piety is expanded and becomes an impartial filial piety directed not only towards our own parents in this life, but towards all our parents in the past, present, and future. This kind of impartial spirit could be said to be the utmost state of filial piety.
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