報載香港某知名大律師的母親開記者招待會，指斥該大律師不單未有供養她，更涉嫌吞併其財產。 不供養父母，甚至吞併父母財產，當然是不孝；但即使有供養父母，也不一定是孝的。 孔子便這樣說過：「今之孝者，是謂能養。 至於犬馬，皆能有養；不敬，何以別乎？」（《論語．為政》）意思是現在的所謂孝順，衹是能夠供養父母。 即使是犬馬，都會得到飼養。若不敬重父母，那麼供養父母和飼養犬馬有何區別？」 孔子這個看法，放在現代世界，仍是很有意義的！ 孝與不孝，不在乎物質，而在乎本心。若我們真心誠意的尊敬父母、關愛父母，即使只能與父母一起過著粗茶淡飯的生活，也是孝；假若我們按時給父母錢財，請家傭照顧他們的起居，讓父母有華衣美食；卻從不關心他們，也不加以探望，又怎能稱為孝呢？ 近代社會，把年老父母寄養於老人院，在專業和細心的安排下，生活也許會被照料得很周到。但是，若缺少兒女的經常探望、噓寒問暖，老人家便會感到很孤單、寂寞。他們所失的，可能會比所得的更多。 你們同意嗎？   Caring and providing for our parents According to a newspaper article, a mother of a reputable lawyer in Hong Kong arranged a press conference and accused that her son failed to care for her and attempted to forcefully inherit his parents’ wealth. One is not filial if one does not care for his or her parents or attempted to forcefully inherit their wealth and properties. However, one may not be filial even if one does. Confucius preached that one must not only provide and care for their parents, but should also respect them. If one only provides his parents with food and not care for or respect them, how is it different from feeding and looking after animals? Filial piety cannot be measured by materialistic or external factors, but by the inner thoughts and feelings. If we could genuinely care for and respect our parents, even if we could only live a simple life with our parents, we can be regarded as filial. If we give our parents allowances or money when we receive our salaries, or hire a domestic worker to take care of them without any personal concern for them, how can we be regarded as filial children? Today, many people sent their parents to homes for the aged with the excuse that their parents would receive professional care. If the children do not visit their parents often or care for them, their elderly parents would feel very lonely and sad.  Even if our parents receive the best of care from the professionals, it will never be the same as the attention and love they longed to get from their children.