How to Practice Confucian Filial Piety
Confucius, or KongZi (Master Kong) as he is known in China, believed that filial piety was crucial to a stable society. Filial piety was summed up by the master as simply "being obedient." Practicing Confucian filial piety requires caring for and respecting living parents and remembering the deceased.
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Instructions
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Start practicing Confucian filial piety by calling your parents. Talk to them and, more importantly, listen to them. Call elderly parents regularly and be certain they know they can call you at anytime. Providing parents with a pre-paid cell phone is a great way to practice filial piety.
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Visit your parents regularly if possible. Take them special foods and items to make their lives comfortable. Aged parents deserve comfort, but many in the West won't ask their children to help. Confucian filial piety holds that taking care of your parents if not an obligation or duty, but part of the course of nature.
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Provide for an aged parent's medical needs. Taking a parent to the doctor's office is a good way to spend time together and assure your parent's health is maintained. Make sure your parents takes their medication. If they can't afford the medicine, provide it for them.
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Care for your parents near the end of their lives. Showing this compassion is critical to being a virtuous person. Confucius said children should "...show solicitude for parents at the end of their lives."
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Remain loyal to your parents. This unswerving loyalty was more important than any law, according to Confucius. Supporting your immediate family through all situations is a test of your filial piety.
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