What clicked for me about Confucianism

 Confucianism places great emphasis on "filial piety"—that is, the virtue of honoring and caring for one's parents.


I had never quite grasped why filial piety was considered so important until I read the works of Nakae Tōju, a Confucian scholar from the Edo period in Japan.


We are, after all, our parents' children—an obvious fact, perhaps, but a profound one. Since we owe our very existence to them, it is only natural to devote ourselves to them in return; otherwise, we would be guilty of ingratitude. That certainly makes sense.


And if you trace that lineage of parenthood back far enough, you eventually arrive at the progenitor of the universe itself—God, in other words. Confucianism, however, doesn't seem to use the word "God," referring to it instead as *Taikyo* (the Great Void).


In any case, since we all originated from that source, we are truly all siblings—children of that ultimate parent, whether you call it God, *Taikyo*, or Buddha. Consequently, we ought to show filial piety toward that ultimate parent in return.


But—and this is just my own interpretation—how could someone possibly show filial piety to that ultimate parent (be it God, *Taikyo*, or Buddha) if they fail to show it to the parents who gave them direct life in this world?


Ah, so that is why Confucianism insists so strongly on "filial piety"—on honoring one's parents first.


For that act is directly connected to the ultimate parent: God or Buddha.


Guided by love and mercy


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