The other day, I heard a North Korean mother say on TV, "I don't have to eat. I want to feed my children well." Today, in Japan, the announcer in some government advertising TV program asks: "Do you know where your children are at 11 at night?" We might state that "From the poor home comes a great man", as the proverb says, franc contacts between parents and children in a poor environment produces good-natured children. The parents feel sorry for their children, and the children feel sorry for their parents. The parents and the children want to help each other. Dutiful children who think much of their parents might be raised in such a situation. There are fewer parents who can discipline their children at home, thinking that affection is to let children do as they like, in this time of material abundance. Today, in Japan, there are fewer and fewer people who teach filial piety. Can those who will not help their parents, help others later in life? Nowadays, children have forgotten the desire to help others, thinking it is right to claim their rights. If they live with selfishness and willfulness insisting on their rights, they can neither cultivate self-discipline toward themselves nor endurance. In their professional lives, they can not endure the severity of the working situation and have to change their job frequently. Where can children learn self-discipline, nowadays? Children who were raised in an indulgent environment cannot endure hardship. The most important thing in children's education should be to set up an environment which is moderately severe and challenges them to overcome the severity. In this way, all family members might lead the same regular life, leading to self-discipline.

There may be various ways to acquire endurance to severity, such as leading a regular life, setting goals in life, the creation of a severe environment, etc. The best way might be, however, to learn to become a person who is ready to sacrifice oneself to help others.