尊敬的上淨下空老教授，尊敬的各位宗教領袖，大使閣下，各位嘉賓，女士們，先生們，大家好。今天，非常榮幸能夠在這裏與大家分享《群書治要》這部書的核心價值——孝親尊師，這也是中華文化的大根大本。
人們冀望世界和平，倡導仁慈博愛。然而，社會現狀卻是衝突不斷，紛爭不絕，博愛缺失。根本原因是什麼？尊敬的上淨下空老教授說：世界衝突的根源在家庭。人如果在家裡與父母兄弟衝突，步入社會之後，會不可避免地與他人發生衝突。將孝順父母，友愛兄弟的仁愛之心擴展，可以為社區帶來和諧，進而為國家、天下帶來和諧。所以，要實現世界和平，化解衝突，必須從培養人的孝悌之心做起。正如《論語》所說：「君子務本，本立而道生，孝弟也者，其為仁之本與？」
孝是中華傳統文化的根。中國自漢代起的兩千多年，都是以孝作為治理國家的基礎。我們來看「孝」這個字。「孝」的上面是「老」字的上半部，下面是一個「子」字。將這兩部分合在一起，意味著上一代和下一代是一體的。然而過去無始，上一代還有上一代，未來無終，下一代還有下一代。「孝」這個字告訴我們，上一代和下一代自始至終都是一體的。
這也是為什麼中國人強調祭祀祖先。有人不明其中的道理，說：你們甚至不認識幾百年前的祖先，為甚麼還要去祭祀？《論語》解釋說，「慎終追遠，民德歸厚」。如果我們謹慎地辦理親人的喪事，緬懷追奠先人，民風就自然歸於淳厚了。為什麼呢？試想人連祖宗都能夠念念不忘，定時祭祀，怎麼會不照顧眼前的父母呢？人不可能一面祭祀祖先，一面不孝父母。所以，祭祀祖先培養了人們飲水思源、知恩報恩的意識。
對於長輩，儒家講孝，對於同輩，講悌。將友悌之心推而廣之便是「四海之內，皆兄弟也」。《孟子》也說，「老吾老以及人之老，幼吾幼以及人之幼。」所以，如果把孝悌教育做好了，所有的人倫關係就和諧了。
孝教給我們什麼呢？孝教給我們的是「一體」的觀念。也就是莊子所說的「天地與我並生，萬物與我為一」。我們只有完全相信一體，才能夠真正做到平等對待、和睦相處。將對父母兄弟的愛推而廣之，就是佛教所講的「竪窮三際，橫遍十方」。
我們來看看「竪窮三際，橫遍十方」的是什麼？實際上，是人的「自性」，或者說是「真我」。很多人都認為這個身是我，其實這個身並不是我，而是我所有的，就像身上的衣服。這個身體只是我的身體，並不是真正的我。笛卡兒認為可以思想的是我，提出了「我思故我在」。但在中國哲人看來，這個能夠思考的仍然不是真正的我。這在佛教被稱為「緣慮心」，不是真我。那麼真我是什麼？真我就是那個「竪窮三際，橫遍十方」的東西，是整個宇宙萬物的本體。真我如同大海，而假我如同大海的水泡。每一個水泡都執著這個水泡是我，還和別的水泡產生了對立。而真正回歸自性的人發現，原來整個大海才是真正的自己。所以當人瞭解這個真相，怎麼還會和別人對立呢？
有這種認知的人就能達到「仁者無敵」的境界。所謂仁者無敵，並不是說沒有人敢反對他們，而是說真正有仁德的人明瞭宇宙人生的真相，也就是「天地與我並生，萬物與我為一」，他們從內心不和任何人起對立，自然就沒有敵人。既然所有眾生是一體，怎麼還會憎恨別人與人對立呢？就像我們的牙齒不小心咬到了舌頭，舌頭會報復牙齒嗎？
我們來看看舜帝的故事。舜的後母和弟弟三番五次要置他於死地，但是舜並沒有懷恨在心。相反，他總是反省自己，如何能讓父母和弟弟高興滿意。最終，他感化了他的後母和弟弟，同時也感化了天下的百姓。他被推薦給堯帝，並最終被堯帝選為帝位繼承人。像舜這樣的人被稱為聖人。
中國人認為，真正認識了一體，認識了宇宙人生真相的人就是聖人，即回歸自性、明明德的人。堯帝和舜帝都是聖王。
《孟子》說：「堯舜之道，孝悌而已矣。」如果將我們對父母兄弟的愛升華到愛所有人，天下自然就太平了。
中國有句古話，叫「化敵為友」。怎樣才能化敵為友？靠的是真誠心的感化。《中庸》云：「唯天下至誠為能化。」至誠之心可以化育萬物，感通天地，當然更能夠感通人心。但是我們如果沒有按照聖賢教誨為人處事，而是用競爭、對立的方式處理問題，會出現什麼狀況呢？那就是一報還一報，冤冤相報，沒完沒了的循環。其結果是衝突必可避免地升級，雙方都受到傷害，問題還沒有解決。
中華傳統文化的神奇作用就是能夠達到人與人之間的和諧。就像尊敬的上淨下空老教授曾經說過，「在這個世界上，沒有我恨的人，沒有我不能原諒的人，沒有我不愛的人。」古代中國能夠協和萬邦，使萬國來朝，依靠的是什麼？不是依靠強大的武力逼迫別的國家臣服，而是首先把自己的國家治理得井井有條，人與人之間和睦相處、謙恭禮讓。外國人來中國參觀，對看到的一切非常佩服，願意效仿中國古人。所以，中國歷史上的強盛時期，不僅僅是經濟的強大，而且是文化的興盛。古代中國是依靠文化治國安邦的。歷史上的中國被稱為「禮儀之邦」，中國的皇帝被尊為「天可汗」，就是天下公認的領導者，自己做好榜樣，讓大家來學習效仿。
人們互愛互助之心提升到極致就是和諧世界。和諧世界具有怎樣的特點呢？在《禮記·禮運》中有這樣的描述：「天下為公」，天下是天下人的天下；「選賢與能」，賢德、有能力的人被選拔出來擔任領導人；「講信修睦」，人與人之間講求信用，睦鄰友好；「故人不獨親其親，不獨子其子」，人們不僅僅恭敬贍養自己的父母，不僅僅養育關愛自己的孩子。「使老有所終，壯有所用，幼有所長，鰥寡孤獨廢疾者皆有所養。」結果是使老年人都能被養老送終，壯年人能為社會所用，幼年人都能受到良好的教育、茁壯地成長，鰥寡孤獨等都能夠得到良好的照顧和贍養。這樣的世界不正是我們今天所追求的「中國夢」嗎？
正是因為中國人有著和諧世界的思想，才使中國要努力實現中華民族的偉大復興，建設「一帶一路」。中國不僅希望發展自己的經濟，更希望通過「一帶一路」幫助沿線國家共同發展經濟。而且不僅要發展經濟，更重要的是通過「一帶一路」把中國愛好和平的優秀傳統文化帶給世界，為當今世界面臨的諸多難題提供啓示。這也是為什麼在2014年，紀念孔子誕辰2565週年國際學術研討會上，中國國家主席習主席提出：「世界上一些有識之士認為，包括儒家思想在內的中國優秀傳統文化中蘊藏著解決當代人類面臨的難題的重要啓示。」習主席的話不是沒有歷史依據的。
古聖先賢的道德教育是普遍適用的。聖賢教育猶如漫漫黑夜中指引我們的明燈；仁慈博愛的航船載著我們度過人生的苦海。聖賢的教化甚至會影響動物，使它們生起感恩之心。
《搜神後記》裡記載了一個歷史事實。在晉朝，廣陵的一位楊先生養了一條狗，他對這條狗非常憐愛，無論走到哪裏都帶著。有一次他喝得酩酊大醉，在穿越一片草澤的時候醉倒睡著了。時值寒冬，風勢很猛，有人放火燒荒。他的狗在他周圍奔跑號叫，想叫醒他。但是楊先生因喝得太醉而毫無知覺。恰好附近有一個水塘。這條狗便跑到水塘中，用身體沾滿水，再跑回來，將水抖落在主人周圍的草地上。就這樣多次往返，終於將主人身邊的草全都潤濕了。火因濕潤的草而沒有燒到楊先生。狗就是這樣救了主人的命。而主人直到醒來才明白了一切。這個故事告訴我們，狗也可以生起感恩之心。
所有這些成果的取得，都依賴有好老師的教導。所以，敬師是中華文化的本。如果將傳統文化比喻成一棵樹，孝道是樹根，尊敬師長就是樹幹。尊敬師長是踐行中華文化的關鍵，也是開啟個人自性的關鍵。
有一個關於佛教淨土宗蓮池大師的故事。當蓮池大師還是一位年輕的出家人的時候，非常敬仰禪宗的遍融禪師。他就三步一叩頭，走了很遠的路去拜訪遍融禪師。到了之後，向遍融禪師恭敬頂禮，並請教怎樣學佛才能契入。結果遍融禪師只說了一句：「年輕人，千萬不要被名聞利養所迷惑，一定要放下名聞利養。」其他的拜訪者在目睹了這次會面之後都笑了，因為這句話聽起來就是老生常談。然而，蓮池大師卻至誠恭敬，「不要被名聞利養所迷惑」這句話猶如當頭棒喝，令他終身受益。蓮池大師以後的成就也得益於時刻牢記遍融禪師的這句話，並終身受持，不使自己迷失在名聞利養之中。
不同的學生在聽同一位老師的教誨的時候，接受程度不同，理解程度不同，進步的速度也各異。這是什麼原因造成的？是學生對老師的恭敬心有區別。印光大師說：一分誠敬得一分利益，十分誠敬得十分利益。同理，如果沒有恭敬心，則不得利益。
當我們接受學習聖賢教誨的時候，必須具備至誠恭敬之心。因為傳統文化是心法，沒有誠敬則無法契入。沒有恭敬心，甚至連傳統文化的皮毛都學不到。
總之，孝是中華文化的根。孝心可以開啟人的仁愛之心，證悟一體的真相，恢復自性，開啟明德。至誠感通自然能夠化敵為友，達至仁者無敵，協和萬邦的境界。而這些成就的取得，都需要聖賢之師的教導。因此，敬是中華文化的本。以孝為本、開啟明德的教育需要聖賢之師為人演說。學生唯有具備恭敬之心才能全然領納老師的教導，並傳承古聖先賢的智慧，使之流傳後世。
Venerable Master, respected faith leaders, Your Excellencies, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen, greetings to everyone. It is a real honour to be here to share with you the core values of the Governing Principle of Ancient China, which is also the foundation of Chinese culture: honouring parents and respecting teachers.
We all hope for world peace. We all hope to promote kindness and love for all, but the world today remains rife with conflict and people have little love for each other. What is the fundamental cause of this? As the respected Professor Ching Kung teaches, ‘All conflicts stem from the family.’ A person who has conflicts with their parents or siblings will inevitably have conflicts with others. By respecting and loving our parents and siblings, extending this to respecting elders, such love and respect can bring harmony to our community, can extend to harmony in our country and ultimately the world. Therefore, achieving world peace and resolving conflict starts from fostering respect and love for our parents and siblings. As the Analects of Confucius stated, ‘Loving and respecting our parents and siblings, are they not fundamental to the actualisation of human goodness?’
The foundation of traditional Chinese culture is filial piety. For almost two thousand years of Chinese history since the Han dynasty, the concept of filial piety was the basis of Chinese government. Let us take a look at the Chinese character for filial piety（孝）. On the top of it, there is an abbreviated form of the character for old（老）. At the bottom, there is a character for child（子）. When combined, it means that the older generation and the younger generation are one entity. However, there are infinite generations in the past and infinite generations to come. This character indicates that the different generations are one entity.
That is why the Chinese emphasise the tradition of remembering their ancestors. Some people cannot see the point of doing so. They say, ‘You do not even know your ancestors from several hundred years ago. Why do you still hold remembrance ceremonies for them?’ The Analects of Confucius explains, ‘Let there be careful attention to performing the funeral rites to parents, and let them be commemorated with ancestral remembrance ceremonies. Through this, the people will recover their innate virtue.’ If we can organise our parents’ funerals carefully and remember our ancestors, social customs will naturally become honest. Why is this? If a person always keeps their ancestors in mind and can commemorate them regularly, how can they possibly not look after their parents? It is unlikely that they would remember their ancestors and disrespect their parents at the same time. Therefore, commemorating ancestors fosters a person’s awareness of kindness of others and develops one’s sense of gratitude.
In reference to our elders, Confucianism talks of filial piety. In reference to our peers, the notion is extended to love amongst siblings. At its utmost, ‘all people in the world are our siblings’. Mencius also stated, ‘My love for elders at home should be extended to other elders; my love for the young at home should be applied to the young of others.’ Therefore, once we have the education of filial piety and love between siblings in place, all other inter-personal relations will be in harmony. So, what does filial piety teach us? It teaches us the idea of one entity. This is also in line with what Zhuang zi taught us – ‘Heaven and earth coexist with me; all beings are one with me.’ Only after we fully believe in the notion of one entity, can we truly practise equity and live in harmony with others. When we extend love for parents and siblings, we reach what is said in Buddhism as love that extends across all time and space.
Let’s take a look into this. What extends across time and space? It is in fact our self-nature or the true self. Many people think, ‘This physical body is me.’ But in fact, my body is not the true me, it is only something that I possess, just like the clothes I am wearing. Our body is only a body, it is not our true self. Descartes held that the person who can think is me and stated, ‘I think, therefore I am’. However, the Chinese philosophers asserted that the person who can think is not the true self. In Buddhism, it is called ‘the rational cogitating mind’, but it is not the true self. So, what is the true self? It is the thing that extends across all time and space, and it is the basis of all beings in the universe. The true self is like the sea and the false self is like the bubbles in the water. Every bubble stubbornly thinks that this bubble is me and is even in conflict with other bubbles. But those who have returned to their self-nature discover that the whole ocean is their true self. Hence, when we understand this truth, how would we ever be in conflict with others?
Those who have gained such an understanding are able to reach the state of ‘the benevolent having no enemies’. It does not mean that no one dares to oppose them. It means that a truly benevolent person has experienced the truth of life and the universe, namely, ‘Heaven and earth coexist with me; all beings are one with me’. In their mind they have no conflict with anyone. So naturally, they have no enemy. Since all beings are one whole, how can they resent others or be in conflict with others? It is the same as when we accidentally bite our own tongue, would our tongue seek revenge against our teeth?
Let us have a look at Emperor Shun. Emperor Shun’s stepmother and stepbrother attempted to murder him many times, but he never held any grudges against them. Instead, he constantly reflected on himself and how he could do better in making his parents and stepbrother happy. Eventually, he touched his stepmother and stepbrother as well as the community. He was later recommended to the emperor and ultimately Emperor Yao chose Shun as his successor. People like Emperor Shun are called sages.
In Chinese, a person who has truly recognised the oneness, the truth of life and the universe is called a ‘sage’. They have returned to their self-nature and have recovered their innate virtue. The Emperors Yao and Shun are sage Kings.
It is said in the teachings of Mencius that ‘The Way of the great Emperors Yao and Shun was simply the practice of filial piety and love among siblings.’ Our love and respect for our parents and siblings is elevated to love for all, then the world will naturally be at peace.
There is an old Chinese saying, ‘Turn enemies into friends’. But how do we achieve this? By moving others with our sincerity. The Doctrine of the Mean says, ‘Only utmost sincerity can reform others.’ Utmost sincerity can nurture and touch all beings. It can touch heaven and earth and of course human beings. What happens when we do not follow the teachings of the sages, and instead resort to competition or conflict to deal with problems? Well, we find ourselves in the situation of ‘an eye for an eye’, an endless cycle of retaliation. As a result, the conflict inevitably escalates, both parties are hurt and the problems remain unresolved.
The magical effect of traditional Chinese culture is to bring about harmony among human beings. As the Venerable Master Chin Kung once said, ‘there is no one in the world that I hate, there is no one in the world that I cannot forgive, there is no one in the world that I do not love’. In ancient times, the Chinese had harmonious relationships with other countries and also inspired people from far and wide to learn from her. What was the approach of the ancient Chinese? They did not use powerful military force to compel other countries to respect them. Instead, they first ensured that their own country was in order, that the people were in harmony and that everyone observed propriety. When other people visited China, they admired what they saw and wanted to learn from the ancient Chinese. Therefore, all the golden ages in Chinese history were not only economically prosperous, but also culturally prosperous. It was traditional Chinese culture that enabled good governance of China in history. This is why China has been known as ‘the land of propriety’ in the past and the Chinese emperors were respectfully called ‘Khan of Heaven’, which means ‘a universally recognised leader’ as they can set a good role model for others.
Love for one another, to the greatest extent, is global harmony. So, what does a harmonious world look like? It is said in the Book of Rites, ‘The world belongs to its people. In a harmonious world, the virtuous and the capable are chosen to be leaders; trust and good neighbourliness is promoted. All people love and respect their parents and children as well as the parents and children of others. As a result, the elderly are cared for, adults realise their full potential, and the children are raised with care. Widows, widowers, orphans and the childless, people with disabilities, and those with illness, are all well taken care of.’ Is such a world not ‘the Chinese dream’ that people in China today are pursuing?
It is with this harmonious world in mind, that the Chinese hope to revive the nation and also build ‘the Belt and Road’. China not only wishes to develop its own economy, but also help countries along the ‘the Belt and Road’ to develop their economies. China not only hopes to develop economies, but more importantly bring the peace-loving traditional Chinese culture to the world through the Belt and Road Initiative, and offer inspiration for resolving the myriad problems that confronts world today. This is why at the International Conference in Commemoration of the 2565th Anniversary of Confucius’s birthday held in 2014, President Xi of China said, ‘There are people with vision in the world who think that the rich traditional Chinese culture, including the notions of Confucianism, can inspire us to resolve the serious problems that humankind today is facing.’ President Xi’s words are not without basis.
The moral teachings of the ancient sages are universally applicable, just like bright lights that guide us in the long dark night or boats of unconditional love and compassion that carry us across the sea of suffering in life. Such teachings can even have an impact on animals, even animals have a sense of gratitude.
Sou Shen Hou Ji records a historical account. During the Jin dynasty, Mr Yang in Guangling had a dog, which he loved dearly. He took his dog wherever he went. One day, he was walking passing a field but was very drunk and fell asleep in the field. It was a severe and windy winter and someone set the field on fire. His dog barked and barked, running around him in the hope of waking him up, but he was too drunk to hear. There happened to be a small pond nearby. So the dog went into the pond, wet himself in the water, ran back to his master and shook the water off of its body onto the patch of grass around its master’s body. The dog repeated this many times and eventually managed to wet all the grass around his master such that the flames could not reach him. The dog saved Mr Yang’s life and he only realised this when he woke up. This story shows us that even dogs have a sense of gratitude.
These achievements are attained through good teachers. The essence of traditional Chinese culture is respecting teachers. If traditional Chinese culture was like a tree, filial piety would be its roots, and respecting for teachers would be the trunk. Respecting teachers is the key to practising traditional Chinese culture and it is the key to recovering one’s true nature.
There is a story about Great Master Lian Chi of Pure Land Buddhism. As a young novice monk, he revered the famous Zen Master Bian Rong and travelled a long distance to learn from him. The journey was a pilgrimage as he prostrated every three steps along the way. When he finally reached Master Bian Rong, he prostrated respectfully and asked how he could emulate the Buddha and discover his self-nature? Master Bian Rong replied: “Young novice, do not be tempted by fame and offerings. You must let go of them.” Other visitors who witnessed this meeting laughed at this seemingly cliché advice. However, to Great Master Lian Chi who was sincere and respectful, “do not be tempted by fame and offerings” was like hitting the nail on the head. He was able to benefit from these words throughout his life. His subsequent great accomplishments stemmed from his following the Zen Master’s advice. He always remembered Master Bian Rong’s words and he was never led astray.
Although many students receive the same instruction from the same teacher, the degree of their understanding and the speed of their progress will vary according to the extent to which the individual student accepts the instruction. What causes this difference? The difference lies in the extent of respectfulness within the student. Great Master Yin Guang of Pure Land Buddhism, advised us that with one per cent of sincerity and respectfulness, we gain one per cent of benefit; with one hundred per cent of sincerity and respectfulness, we gain one hundred per cent of benefit. Without such respectfulness, we gain no benefit from studying.
When we accept and study the teachings of the sages, we need an attitude of utmost sincerity and respectfulness. Traditional culture edifies the mind. Without sincerity, one cannot learn the truth. Without respectfulness, we cannot even begin to understand traditional Chinese culture.
In summary, filial piety is the fundamental basis of traditional Chinese culture, because it can inspire one’s boundless love, the love for all, help one understand the truth of one entity, recover one’s true nature and restore one’s innate virtue. Through utmost sincerity, it can naturally turn enemies into friends, achieve the state of ‘the benevolent having no enemies’ and attain harmony throughout the world. The fulfilment of all these requires learning the wisdom of the sages. Thus respectfulness is the essence of traditional Chinese culture. The education of filial piety and attaining enlightenment requires the guidance of wise teachers. Only when learners have sincere respect can they fully accept and practice their teachers’ guidance, and thus impart the teachings and wisdom of the ancient sages for generations to come.