Claim. Filial piety practiced under easy circumstances does not count as filial piety; the virtue exists only when the child sustains it through hardship.
Elaboration. SMM contrasts the easy and the costly: “It is not difficult to lead a life of filial piety in attendance to one’s parents when those around you are doing so. But when many people are turning away from their parents and avoid choosing this way, should you stand in a position where you try to live for your parents even if it means giving up your precious life, then you will have fulfilled your filial duty transcending your circumstances” (CSG 14.2 §1, 42-182, 1971.3.7). The poverty test is sharper: “Relatively speaking, is a truly devoted son one who fulfills his filial duty when he is well-off or one who truly fulfills his filial duty even though he is poor?… Truly devoted children do not come from wealthy families” (286-282, 1997.8.13). Filial piety is a virtue whose demonstration requires a cost; comfort cannot produce it.
See also. csg-filial-piety-emerges-from-difficulty-not-comfort