..續本文上一頁heir faults, we should be persistent. However, if our parents become upset, we should immediately stop and wait for a day when our parents are in a better mood to continue. Our persistence should be like the stickiness of taffy. Not only is it soft and sweet, but it is extremely sticky; we must not give up until our parents change for the better. If the need arises, we may even break down in tears, until our parents cannot bear to be willful anymore. What if, instead of listening to us, our parents scold us and say we are wrong, or even hit us
The ancient sages of China gave a good piece of advice： "If they beat us with a small stick, we should endure it. If they come with a big stick, we should run away."
以孝順聞名的曾子，有一回挖土，不小心刨了瓜的根；他父親十分生氣，順手抓過一根棍子，打得曾子跛了好幾天。而曾子體會親心入微，怕父親看到難過，還每天高高興興地，不敢讓父親看出他受了重傷。孔子知道後，不但沒誇他孝順，還責備他笨和不孝。爲什麼呢？因爲他“陷父母于不義”了！假如曾子因此殘廢或者死亡，他的父親豈不是要入獄受刑，並一輩子生活在他人的唾棄，與自已的悔恨之中？所以真懂得孝道真谛的，是不會做個傻孝子的。
Zeng Zi (Confucius” disciple) was renowned for his filial piety. Once when he was digging the earth, he accidentally hacked through the root of a melon plant. His father was so furious that he grabbed a club and gave his son a fierce beating. Zeng Zi was lame for several days. But knowing that his father would feel bad if he knew, Zeng Zi acted happy and didn”t dare let his father find out that he had been seriously hurt. When Confucius heard about this, he not only didn”t praise Zeng Zi for being filial, but rather scolded him for being foolish and not filial. Why
Because he had allowed his parents to incur a reputation of unkindness. If Zeng Zi had ended up permanently crippled or dead, his father would undoubtedly have been imprisoned and punished, and would have had to suffer disgrace and regret for the rest of his life. One who truly understands the meaning of filial piety would not act so foolishly.
父母若是罵，或打我們幾下子，就承受下來，痛一下也就過去了，犯不著小題大作，以爲就是虐待。其實，父母都是“打在兒身，痛在娘心”的。但是父母若失去理智，沒命地毒打時，就一定要躲要逃了！
If our parents scold or hit us a few times, we might as well bear it, for the pain will go away soon. There”s no need to make a big deal and think they are abusing us. Actually, when parents hit their children, they feel the pain in their own hearts. However, if our parents lose their minds and beat us viciously, then it”s time to run and hide!
現代的人很注重虐待兒童的問題，但是卻有點反應過度，甚而濫用。不少偶爾受罰的孩子，被當作虐待兒童處理，而與父母隔離，造成雙方心理上的不平衡；更有孩子利用這個來要脅父母，弄得父母不敢嚴厲管教孩子，造成一堆問題青少年。今日社會問題之所以層出不窮，難道不是濫用保護政策，與誤解自由平等的結果嗎？
Nowadays people pay a lot of attention to the problem of child abuse, but the measures taken to prevent it are sometimes a bit excessive. Parents who occasionally punish their children may be charged with child abuse and have their children taken away from them; this results in unnecessary psychological harm to both sides. Sometimes children take advantage of this situation and use it to threaten their parents, so that parents don”t dare to be stern with their children. The lack of discipline has resulted in large numbers of juvenile delinquents. Today”s endless social problems are perhaps a consequence of the abuse of protective policies and the misunderstood notion of freedom.
凡事總以合乎中道爲佳，真正的虐待兒童，我們絕不應漠視，但也不宜反應過度，造成父母師長管教上的困擾。
In general, it would be best to find a happy medium. Genuine cases of child abuse should definitely not be overlooked. On the other hand, measures taken to prevent child abuse should not be so over reactionary that it becomes difficult for parents and teachers to discipline children.
有一個女學生，她的母親在離婚後變得更好喝酒，醉了就亂發脾氣；那時若孩子不小心惹了她，不是挨打就是挨罵。有一天，這當時才十二歲的女孩子，見母親打小妹妹，就逃到鄰家，打電話向專管虐待兒童的部門求救。經法院判決，孩子不宜再與母親同住，于是姐妹倆就被兩個不同的家庭認養了。有時這女學生去看望生母，她母親卻看也不看她一眼；她就自己內疚著，以爲母親一定恨透了她，而在她那位專靠收養這類孩子爲生的養母那兒，又未得到真正的愛和照顧。爲應付大人的挑剔，她學會了討好巴結，把一腔不平衡的情緒都發泄到外面，對同年齡的孩子有著暴力的傾向。
There was a young girl whose mother got a porce. After the porce, the mother often drank…
《弟子規淺釋 Standards for Students 第二章：孝 Chapter Two： FILIAL PIETY - 8》全文未完，請進入下頁繼續閱讀…