Message from victoriachan

[Anonymous]

During the lecture, Professor Meeks explained that Buddhism was introduced to China by relating it to filial piety. For example, Buddhist monks were supposed to exhibit the most filial piety because they were sacrificing their lives for not only themselves but also to save their families. I did not know that filial piety extended to hair and that shaving your head was disrespectful to elders because hair is inherited and is a status symbol.

Also, I remember when I was learning this in school, I did not understand why Buddhism was so different from the Buddhism that I had known growing up. Now, I see that because there was a transition from India to China, certain aspects of it had to be downplayed in order to gain mass acceptance.

The sentiment that Chinese people felt about beggars is similar to the disdain that students express for homeless people; in my classes, many of them insult each other by calling each other bums or hobos. I wonder if by introducing them to this idea of filial piety would get the students to humanize the homeless people who live in our communities. They deserve dignity.