In my book Correcting Falsehood, I explain that when a monastic’s parents bow to him/her, it doesn’t mean that they’re worshiping their son or daughter but simply they’re returning the bow from their son or daughter, since it’s inappropriate for secular to receive a monastic’s salute without returning the gesture.
A monk then came to question me: “According to The Lotus Sutra, when Mahabhijna-jnanabhibhu attained Buddhahood, his father did prostration to him. Clearly such act conforms to the Buddha’s teachings, as it’s recorded in the Sutra.”
I put my palms together and asked him, “Please inform me what Buddha name I should address you?” He humbly replied, “You flatter me too much.”
I asked again, “If you’re not a Buddha yet, are you at least about to become enlightened very soon?” He uneasily replied, “I certainly dare not say so.”
So I said to him, “Since you are still far from Buddhahood, you’d better wait until you’re enlightened, and even then, still carry on practicing for ten more kalpas or so, until you finally attain the level of Buddhahood as Mahabhijna-jnanabhibhu Tathagata did, before you begin to accept the prostration from your parents. You are a monk, not a Buddha yet. The Buddha has no rules for the Buddhas, but for monastics He indeed has set up certain rules. Worldly people tend to mistake the Buddha’s teachings as belittling parenthood and kingship, that’s why I write Correcting Falsehood to clear up misunderstandings. Being a monastic and yet making false speech about the Buddha’s teaching – aren’t you worried about becoming a parasite living off the Lion’s flesh?” How sad!
by Grand Master Lian Chi (蓮池大師), the Eighth Patriarch of Pure Land Buddhism
出家父母反拜 – 錄自明末蓮池大師《竹窗隨筆》(初筆)
予作正訛集，為反者還也，在家父母不受出家子拜，而還其禮，非反拜其子也。一僧忿然曰:「法華經言，大通智勝如來既成佛已，其父輪王向之頂禮，是反拜其子，佛有明訓，因刻之經末。」予合掌云:「汝號什么如來?」僧謝不敢。又問:「汝既未是如來，垂成正覺否?」僧又謝不敢。予謂曰:「既不敢，且待汝垂成正覺，更端坐十劫，實受大通如來位，納父母拜未晚。汝今是僧，未是佛也。佛為僧立法，不為佛立法也。且世人誹謗佛無父無君，吾為此懼，正其訛謬，息世譏嫌，冀正法久住，汝何為不畏口業，甘心乎師子蟲也?」悲乎!
Buddha Mind 