弟子规

弟子规，圣人训
首孝悌，次谨信
泛爱众，而亲仁
有余力，则学文

The "Standards for Being a Good Student and Child" was taught by Chinese saints and sages of the ancient past.

First, it teaches you how to be dutiful to your parents, and how to be respectful and loving to your siblings.

Then, it teaches you how to be cautious with all people, matters, and things in your daily life, and how to be a trustworthy person.

Furthermore, it teaches you to love all equally, and to be close to and learn from people of virtue and compassion.

When you have accomplished all the above duties, you can further study and learn literature and art to improve the quality of your cultural and spiritual life.

The above is the outline of 弟子规.

I really find the teaching very useful and will use it as a guiding principle for teaching Jiaheng and Yixuan. The recommended standards for students may seem stringent by today's standards. However, it is apparent that the people of that time felt it was important that the child should be well disciplined and taught moral principles and virtues when still young. They felt that without strict discipline and moral standards, a child would amount to nothing.

It is worrying for me when I see many parents nowadays listening to their child instead of the other way round. Parents do not act like parents. Children do not act like children.

We definitely do not wish that to happen to our children. One main motivation for my wife to stay home is to give our children more attention while they are still young and in the molding age.

I won't say for sure that they will be excellent people when they grow up but we must do whatever we can to provide the path for our children.

Don't you think so?