Mindfulness of Our Parents’ Kindness
I was born through much toil.
I was nurtured nine months in the womb
and was suckled three years at the breast.
My bottom was dried and my diapers were changed.
I was fed delicacies while they toiled bitterly.
Only then was I able to grow up.
They hoped only that I might glorify
and carry on the family name
and continue the ritual offering to our ancestors.
But now I have left the home,
and am gratuitously called a disciple of Shakyamuni
and have dared to assume the title of Shramana.
I neither offer delicacies to my parents
nor sweep the ancestral graves.
While they live, I cannot take care of their physical needs;
after they depart, I cannot guide their souls.
In this world, I have thereby hurt them greatly,
and as they leave this world, I am of no real help.
To cause them such a double loss is a serious offence.
How can I possibly avoid the consequences!
I contemplate in this way:
I must always cultivate the Buddhas’ Way through hundreds of kalpas and in thousands of lives and save living beings everywhere thoughout the ten directions and three periods of time. I will rescue my parents in not only this life but my parents of every life. I will take across not only one person's parents but everyone's parents.
~Venerable Master Hsuan Hua
Source: http://online.sfsu.edu
1 comment:
The woman in blue (top pic) is almost naked. Was she trying to seduce Buddha with her mere naked body? Was she a high class prostitute who forgot to give food to her mother before she offered it to Buddha?
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