Father Rejects a Virtue-less Friend

By Jing Yan

(Clearwisdom.net)

My father is a respectful, faithful, sincere, kind, and honest man. He often does carpentry work for people in neighboring villages. Because of his high morals, many people befriended him.

A man named Wang was a good friend of my father's. Once, Wang invited my father home and treated him to good wine and food. They sat on the bed, which also functioned as a sofa, and chatted in good spirits. As they were drinking, my father noticed an elderly man, who looked like a servant, bringing them tea and alcohol and cooking food for them. My father asked Wang, "Who is this elderly man?" Wang said, "He is my father." My father jumped off the bed without even putting on his shoes and said to the elderly man, "Uncle (a respectful way of calling an elderly person), please sit on the bed." He held the man and helped him sit down on the bed. Then he poured a glass of wine for him and said, "Uncle, please forgive my rudeness."

My father then turned to Wang and said, "I am no longer friends with you. You don't know to respect your elders." He picked up his tools and walked out. Wang tried to say something but my father was already gone.

Although my father only has elementary school education, he has always held deep respect for the heavens, his elders, and his teachers. He learned this in the traditional educational system, and has never changed. However, in China today, things are completely different. Traditional morals have almost completely disappeared.

Chinese version available at http://minghui.ca/mh/articles/2008/1/3/169538.html

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