His Heart Was Pained When His Mother Bit Her Finger: Zeng Shen
This is the story of Zeng Shen, whose father passed away while he was still young. He was an extremely filial son to his widowed mother. Every day the young man would go into the mountains to cut firewood while his mother stayed at home and wove cloth to sell. Both of them worked hard to earn a living.
Once when Zeng Shen was at the mountain, a visitor came to his home. As Zeng Shen was not around, his mother did not know what to do, and so she bit her finger. She bit so hard that it bled. Up in the mountain, Zeng Shen, suddenly felt a pain in his heart, and knew there must be something had happened to his mother. He quickly gathered the firewood and went home.
On arrival at his home he called out to his mother and asked her what was the matter. His mother told him, "We have a guest and I was so upset that I bit my finger. You must be a truly respectful child that you can know your mother's thoughts from a distance!"
Once when Zeng Shen was at the mountain, a visitor came to his home. As Zeng Shen was not around, his mother did not know what to do, and so she bit her finger. She bit so hard that it bled. Up in the mountain, Zeng Shen, suddenly felt a pain in his heart, and knew there must be something had happened to his mother. He quickly gathered the firewood and went home.
On arrival at his home he called out to his mother and asked her what was the matter. His mother told him, "We have a guest and I was so upset that I bit my finger. You must be a truly respectful child that you can know your mother's thoughts from a distance!"
COMMENT
Personally I think that this is more a case of telepathy than filial piety.
No comments:
Post a Comment