A Reply to My Mother’s Prayer: Conscience Awakening When the “Bell” Rings

Soyo’s Existence Ethics (Existence itself is ethics)

The Toll of the Bell and the Awakening of Conscience

The story that links a mother’s dawn prayer to the symbolic “bell” of an institution recalls the inner clock of conscience resounding within the human being. The ringing of the bell is not merely a signal of time. It is an invitation from ethics that says, “Be awake now,” a resonance of the soul that awakens existence.

Just as the church bell at dawn once woke a young child, so too must the bell of an institution awaken human conscience before it awakens the pursuit of profit. It is not an awakening to possess more, but to stand more rightly. That is the translation of a mother’s prayer into a voice that reaches society.

Prayer Does Not Demand Results

Prayer is ethics before language, a confession offered through breath. It is an unseen discipline that shapes the inner life of children and extends into society, manifesting as scholarships and educational systems. The words of prayer may fade, but their spirit endures across generations.

A mother’s prayer is not proven by outcomes. Prayer is a decision of love that does not coerce results. That decision links the conscience of one generation to the next and silently teaches us to choose dignity over poverty, responsibility over success, and depth over speed.

My Mother’s Dawn and the Time of Scripture

At three in the morning, my mother unfailingly lit a candle. Even with dim eyesight that made it hard to read, she spent over two hours with the Bible, waiting for the dawn prayer time. That image engraved in me the truth that life itself is prayer.

Even after my mother passed away, I continue to read the Bible morning and evening. It is not a mere habit, but a practice of living out the ethics of conscience as existence. Prayer is not words; it is proven by a repeated posture of life.

The Ethics of Sacrifice and the Place of the Mother

A mother’s existence is more than the physical passage that gives life to a child; it is the eternal teacher that testifies to the ethics of conscience. Even amid hardship, she sought to feed her children more, urging, “Learn more and understand deeper.” Her words were not mere exhortation but love’s blood poured out through existence itself.

This sacrifice is not only a sentimental memory but also a universal truth that continues to instruct humanity. A mother’s sacrifice is bound to the divine act of God creating human existence and completing salvation through His own shedding of blood.

Soyo Proposition - The Unity of Maternal Sacrifice and Divine Love

“Our existence must live out ethics as humanity’s mother does. A mother’s sacrifice erases the category of ‘woman’ within her, leaving only a sacrifice wholly given for life. This is a noble and beautiful sacrifice for the being born of her body, a culmination of love itself, and a truth. A mother’s sacrifice aligns with God’s act of birthing human existence and pouring out blood for salvation. The blood a mother sheds for her child and the blood of God share the same breath.”

This proposition refuses to confine maternal sacrifice to mere human affection but elevates it to the level of divine redemption. The declaration that a mother’s blood and God’s blood share the same breath shows the meeting place for human conscience and divine love.

The Difference Between Religion and Prayer

Religion foregrounds doctrines, institutions, logic, and names. Prayer transcends them, testifying through life. When religion builds logic, prayer builds with tears. When religion disputes right and wrong, prayer embraces the one who weeps. This difference determines the direction of civilization and existence.

The Question for Us Today

The tolling of the bell leaves us with these questions:

Whose conscience are we awakening today?

Whose tears are our institutions wiping first?

Whose tomorrow is our decision-making safer?

Prayer is not a result but a decision. That decision is the free will of love, an eternal resonance that transcends generations.

The Ethics of Love Through the Ringing Bell

Even today, the bell is not a signal to the world first, but a sound that awakens us to ourselves. It says:

“Prove it through life. Live it through conscience, not slogans.”

A mother’s prayer and sacrifice are the deepest testimony of Existence Ethics. Her sacrificial blood breathes with God’s blood, bearing witness to the dignity and eternity of human existence.

“Prayer is not a result, but a decision.”

Soyo (逍遙) – Founder of Soyo's Existence Ethics, author of The Silence of Existence, The Flame of Truth

2025 Soyo Philosophy. All rights reserved.

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