Claim. Filial piety expressed after a parent’s death is worth less than even small comforts spoken while they are alive; the practice has a real-time window.
Elaboration. SMM is uncompromising: “Filial sons and daughters must fulfill their filial duty while their parents are alive… It is no use at all trying to fulfill your filial duty after your parents have died” (CSG 14.2 §3, 51-223, 1971.11.28). The comparison is sharp: “Rather than making a big memorial service for your parents after they die, it is much better to say even one good thing to comfort them while they are alive. It is much more beautiful to become a partner in their sadness and try to comfort their hearts while they are alive, rather than setting up a service with thousands of kinds of food for them after they die.” Posthumous piety is suspected of being “deceitful”. The teaching trims away religious display in favor of present-tense attendance.