The story of a grateful day

Question:

“Master, it’s getting closer to family day. I don’t know what to do for my parents so that they will be proud of me.”

Answer by V.Vachiramedhi (Monk in Buddhism)

“Being grateful to father and mother does not have to wait until the family day. Everyday that parents still be with us, it is a family day. Let me tell you one true story.”

There was a man who lived with his father. One day his father was sick at night, he knew that his father was sick, but he did not really care. But this does not mean that he did not love his father. In the morning, he woke up drowsy because he heard his father called, saying that “here son, I am very hungry. Please go and buy porridge for me.” He took money from his dad and walked to the road to buy porridge for him. 

Father was waiting for his son going to the market. He went to buy porridge, then sat back and relaxed, walked like no one was waiting for him. When he reached home, he simply put porridge in a cup without took it off from the plastic bag. Then he just laid that at the father’s bed head. He thought “why I could not hear father’s snore’s voice.” This time father did not only sleep, he slept and never awake any more because of the fever, hungriness and without energy to wake up. The son was very shocked due to his father’s death. He could not do anything except shaking his father and crying right there.

This story teaches that if we still be with our father and mother and think of doing something good. Do it right away because if we wait until the important days. Sometimes, when important days come but this does not mean that our parents still with us.

So, during this time will be a grateful day. If you want to do something good to your parents, you have to hurry to do that. Since our parents still be with us, any day we do good to them that day would be a grateful day.