Filial Piety Sutra

If it’s May, it must be when we celebrate Mother’s Day.  Mother’s Day in Japan (haha-no-hi) is celebrated on the same second Sunday in May as the rest of the globe.  In the US, Mother’s Day officially goes back to 1914, while in Japan it dates to the Showa period (beginning in 1926) when all mothers were celebrated on the birthday of the Empress Kojun, mother of Emperor Akihito. Since World War II, it has been celebrated with flowers such as carnations as gifts, and is one of the busiest days of the year for restaurants.

Although it is not a Buddhist celebration, nor even a Confucian celebration, it was Confucius who codified filial piety as one of the highest virtues to exercise.  And there is a Buddhist sutra called The Filial Piety Sutra – about the deep kindness of parents and the difficulty of repaying that kindness.  Although this sutra is not one we focus on (we chant the three Pure Land sutras), for this month, it seemed appropriate to reproduce a part of the Filial Piety Sutra.

Ananda, the Buddha’s personal attendant, asked the Buddha, “How can one repay one’s mother’s kindness and virtues?”  The Buddha responded with a description of the relationship between the mother and embryo, and continuing through the birth of a child and continuing through its entire life.

“There are ten types of kindnesses bestowed by the mother on the child,” said the Buddha in this sutra:

The first is the kindness of providing protection and care while the child is in the womb.

The second is the kindness of bearing suffering during the birth.
The third is the kindness of forgetting all the pain once the child has been born.

The fourth is the kindness of eating the bitter herself and saving the sweet for the child.

The fifth is the kindness of moving the child to a dry place and lying in the wet herself.

The sixth is the kindness of suckling the child at her breast, nourishing and bringing up the child.

The seventh is the kindness of washing away the unclean.

The eight is the kindness of always thinking of the child when it has traveled far.

The ninth is the kindness of deep care and devotion.

The tenth is the kindness of ultimate pity and sympathy.

At that time, upon hearing the Buddha speak about the kindness and virtue of parents, everyone in the Great Assembly wept silent tears and felt searing pain in their hearts. They reflected deeply, simultaneously brought forth shame and said to the Buddha, "World Honored One, how can we repay the deep kindness of our parents?"

The Buddha replied, "Disciples of the Buddha, if you wish to repay your parents' kindness, write out this Sutra on their behalf. Recite this Sutra on their behalf. Repent of transgressions and offenses on their behalf. For the sake of your parents, make offerings to the Triple Gem. For the sake of your parents, hold the precept of pure eating. For the sake of your parents, practice giving and cultivate blessings. If you are able to do these things, you are being a filial child."

May we all remember with deep gratitude our own mothers, mothers everywhere, and our Mother Earth, not just on Mother’s Day, but every day of our lives.