MeditationMeditation for PeaceRaising Children to Be Smart and Virtuous#1Parents must invest time to teach children to be smart and virtuous.Our world seems to become smaller in terms of its interconnectedness. Changes occurring around the world have immediate effects on us socially and economically. The strength of the family, society and the nation depends upon how much knowledge, ability, and virtues parents have in raising smart and virtuous children.Learning ways to raise smart and virtuous children is an important task that all parents must not neglect. A child who is smart but not wholesome will not survive, and a child who is wholesome but not smart will not endure either. A child must be both in order to be successful and make it in this world.In some families, we see virtuous parents have intelligent children, but the parents do not know how to raise them. As a result, the children turn out to be troublesome and the parents are puzzled over how they went wrong in the upbringing.Four Kinds of FamiliesTo raise children to be smart and virtuous, parents must continuously adhere to these two guidelines.1. Parents must have the knowledge necessary to raise children to be smart and virtuous.2. Parents must invest time to teach children to be smart and virtuous.Since different families interpret and implement these two guidelines to various extents, four types of families exist today.Type I: A family that has time but no knowledge.Type II: A family that has knowledge but no time.Type III: A family that has no knowledge or time.Type IV: A family that has both knowledge and time.In the first three types of families, children receive very little moral training. Some children come from wealthy families, have everything they want, but receive little parental supervision. These children have the highest chance of becoming unwholesome.Children of Type IV families receive continuous knowledge and moral training from their parents. The parents never leave their children to the mercy of nature. Even though they may not be wealthy, their children have the ability to develop a solid future.Parents must have the knowledge necessary to raise children to be smart and virtuous.Knowledge in Raising ChildrenThere exists a set of basic Buddhist principles on how to raise children to be smart and well behaved. These principles can be found in a book entitled, “How to Raise the Children to Be Good People for the Nation,” written by The Moral Development through Education Foundation. We asked for their permission to share their teachings in this book. The reader may refer to that book if further details are reader may refer to that book if further details are required.Parents can consider having a baby if they can clearly address these 4 points:1. What qualities must good children have?2. How do children form good or bad habits?3. How can parents successfully cultivate good habits in their children?4. How does wholesomeness promote intelligence in children?Parents must be aware of and capable of answering these four questions before having a baby. The answers come from the Lord Buddha’s teachings:What Qualities do Good Children Have?Good children must have three characteristics, which are taken from the three supreme characteristics of the Lord Buddha:1. Wholesome or not being troublesome(The Lord Buddha’s absolute purity)2. Smart or not being ignorant(The Lord Buddha’s supreme wisdom)3. Demonstration care towards others(The Lord Buddha’s ultimate compassion)Any child who possesses these three characteristics is considered a Good Child. This child is then a good vessel for receiving Knowledge from teachers and relatives. These characteristics form a platform from which more virtues can develop, similar to rich and fertile soil that allows a plant to develop well.
Raising Children to Be Smart and Virtuous#1
Our world seems to become smaller in terms of its interconnectedness. Changes occurring around the world have immediate effects on us socially and economically
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