..續本文上一頁 and was very temperamental when she was drunk. If she got upset at her daughter, she would scold or beat her. One day the girl, who was twelve years old at the time, saw her mother beating her little sister, so she ran over to a neighbor”s house and called the Child Abuse Hotline for help. The court ruled that the mother was not fit to live with her children. The two sisters were separated and were sent to different foster homes. When the girl went to visit her mother, her mother ignored her. She felt sure that her mother hated her. Yet she found no genuine love or caring in her new foster home either. In reaction to criticism from the adults around her, she learned how to please and flatter them. Sometimes she let out her pent-up emotions and behaved violently toward other children.
上高中後，她比較懂事了，試圖去了解她的生母，才發覺她的生母其實是活在悔恨裏，再加上因思念孩子和孤獨無助，變得更加自暴自棄，振作不起來。這女學生也很希望一家團圓，但是法律上已不許可了！
When she grew more mature in high school, she made an effort to understand her biological mother. It was only then that she realized how lonely and without support her mother had been, how much she had yearned for her children and been filled with regret. Her mother was even more helpless than before, unable to set her life straight. The daughter hoped to patch up her broken family now, but the law wouldn”t allow it!
話說回來，孩子在成長過程中，或多或少，或久或暫地，都有一段偶像塑造與崇拜的模仿期；誰是他們最早的模仿對象呢？當然是父母、年長的家庭成員了，其次才是師長，接著便是一些社會名人和曆史英雄。既然父母是最早的偶像人選，在童稚的心中，自有其顛撲不破的地位，那麼孩子又能有多少智慧，去判斷父母是否犯下過錯？萬一他們發現了父母也有過錯，他們又會怎樣震驚和失望？孩子們的是非標准和概念，本來就有待大人的教導，而今不但要承擔這種打擊，還要負起規勸的責任，那又是多麼不容易啊！
When children are growing up, there is a time when they are looking for models to follow and idols to worship. This time varies in length and intensity from person to person. Of course parents and elder family members are their earliest models, followed by teachers, famous people in society, and heroes in history. Since parents are the earliest models, they hold an indestructible place in a child”s heart. How much wisdom does a child have to judge whether or not his parents are at fault
When children discover that their parents can also make mistakes, imagine their shock and disappointment. Since children rely on adults to give them a standard for right and wrong, how difficult it must be when they not only have to overcome the shock of seeing their parents” errors, but they have to take on the responsibility of exhorting their parents to change.
但是，我們也不要低估了孩子的良知和良能。假使古代的中國孩子能勉力這樣去做，那麼現代的中國孩子也能；中國孩子能，那麼各國的孩子也能。只不過現代的大人替小孩設想太多，保護太過，令孩子喪失了天賦的適應力，而變得自私自利或神經質罷了！所以從各方面來看，我們還是以實踐這個古老的原則，按照這些方法去做，比較能理事圓融無礙。
Nevertheless, we should not underestimate children”s intelligence and capabilities. If the children of ancient China were able to do it, so can the Chinese children of today. If Chinese children can do it, so can those of other nationalities. It”s just that today”s adults are overly protective of children, causing children to lose their natural adaptive abilities and become selfish and neurotic in- stead. Therefore, from all perspectives, it seems that we should go back to the ancient principles; that seems to be the most perfect solution.
《弟子規淺釋 Standards for Students 第二章：孝 Chapter Two： FILIAL PIETY - 8》全文閱讀結束。