Principles of the Jing Si Dharma Lineage & Tzu Chi School of Buddhism

Repentance is a very important practice in Buddhism. In fact, all religions prescribe repentance. For Christians, to repent is to wash away one’s sins, while in Buddhism, practitioners engage in repentance during the morning and evening recitations in order to cleanse their minds.

This sutra describes the Buddha’s instructions to his disciples before he entered Parinirvana. When the Buddha entered Parinirvana, the disciples were to regard the precepts as their teachers. Moreover, they were also to distance themselves from anger, arrogance, and so on. He encouraged everyone to have self-discipline and to remain diligent in their spiritual cultivation.

The main theme of the Sutra of Profound Gratitude to Parents is the practice of filial piety. Master Cheng Yen feels very strongly about filial piety and emphasizes that “doing good deeds and being filial cannot wait.” This teaching integrates the Buddhist concepts of loving-kindness, compassion, joy, and equanimity with traditional Chinese ethics and morals. Her hope is that this teaching will not only serve as a standard for Tzu Chi volunteers, but that it will also become a principle which people around the world will hold in high esteem. Master Cheng Yen teaches that doing good deeds must begin with filial piety, for this is our duty as human beings. Thus, filial piety is also considered foremost among all good deeds and the key to planting pure causes.