Interfaith
Religion
and
Beliefs
for an
Internet
Generation
http://members.aol.com/porchfour/religion/golden.htm - The Golden Rule
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Interfaith Religion and Beliefs for an Internet Generation |
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Dr. Andrew Wilson, Editor
International Religious Foundation, 1991
Archived by 
| African Traditional | |
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One going to take a pointed stick to pinch a baby bird
should first try it on himself to feel how it hurts. |
| Baha'i | |
| Arabic Hidden Words 29 |
Oh Son of Being! Ascribe not to any soul that which thou
wouldst not have ascribed to thee, and say not that which thou doest not. This is My command unto thee, do thou observe it. |
| Epistle to Son of Wolf, 30 |
And if thine eyes be turned towards justice, choose thou for thy
neighbor that which thou choosest for thyself. |
| Kitab-I-Aqdas 148 | .....wish not for others what ye wish not for yourselves;.... |
| Tablets of the Baha'u'llah, 71 | Blessed is he who preferreth his brother before himself. |
| Buddhism | |
| Majjhima Nikaya 1.415 |
Is there a deed, Rahula, thou dost wish to do? Then bethink
thee thus: Is this deed conducive to my own harm, or to others harm, or to that of both? Then is this a bad deed entailing suffering. Such a deed must thou surely not do. |
| Samyutta Nikaya v.353 |
The Ariyan disciple thus reflects, Here am I, fond of my life, not
wanting to die, fond of pleasure and averse from pain. Suppose someone should rob me of my life... it would not be a thing pleasing and delightful to me. If I, in my turn, should rob of his life one fond of his life, not wanting to die, one fond of pleasure and averse to pain, it would not be a thing pleasing or delightful to him. For a state that is not pleasant or delightful to me must also be to him also; and a state that is not pleasing or delightful to me, how could I inflict that upon another? As a result of such reflection he himself abstains from taking the life of creatures and he encourages others so to abstain, and speaks in praise of so abstaining. |
| Sigalovada Sutta 31 |
In five ways should a clansman minister to his friends and
familiars, .... by treating them as he treats himself. |
| Sutta Nipata 705 |
Comparing oneself to others in such terms as "Just as I am so
are they, just as they are so am I," he should neither kill nor cause others to kill. |
| Tripitaka Udana-varga 5:18 | Hurt not others in ways that you would find hurtful. |
| Confucianism | |
| Analects 15.23 |
Tse-kung asked, "Is there one word that can serve as a
principle of conduct for life?" Confucius replied, "It is the word 'shu' -- reciprocity. Do not impose on others what you yourself do not desire." |
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Doctrine of the Mean 13.3 (Li Ki 28.1.32, SBE 38.305) |
When one cultivates to the utmost the principles of his nature,
and exercises them on the principle of reciprocity, he is not far from the path. What you do not like when done to yourself, do not do to others. |
| The Great Learning 10.2 |
What a man dislikes in his superiors, let him not display in the
treatment of his inferiors; what he dislikes in inferiors, let him not display in the service of his superiors; what he hates in those who are before hi, let him not therewith precede those who are behind him; what he hates in those who are behind hi, let him not therewith follow those who are before him; what he hates to receive on the right, let him not bestow on the left; what he hates to receive on the left, let him not bestow on the right : - this is what is called "The principle with which, as with a measuring-square, to regulate one's conduct." |
| Mencius VII.A.4 |
Try your best to treat others as you would wish to be treated
yourself, and you will find that this is the shortest way to benevolence. |
| Hinduism | |
| The Ordinances of Manu |
Wound not others, do no one injury by thought or deed, utter
no word to pain thy fellow creatures. |
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Mahabharata,
Anusasana Parva 113.8 |
One should not behave towards others in a way which is
disagreeable to oneself. This is the essence of morality. All other activities are due to selfish desire. |
| Mahabharata, 5.1517 |
Do naught to others which, if done to thee, would cause thee
pain: this is the sum of duty. |
| Islam | |
| 40 Hadith of an-Nawawi 13 |
Not one of you is a believer until he desires for his brother what
he desires for himself. |
| Jainism | |
| Acarangasutra 5.101-2 |
One who you think should be hit is none else but you. One who
you think should be governed is none else but you. One who you think should be tortured is none else but you. One who you think should be enslaved is none else but you. One who you think should be killed is none else but you. A sage is ingenuous and leads his life after comprehending the parity of the killed and the killer. Therefore, neither does he cause violence to others nor does he make others do so. |
| Agamas Sutrakritanga 1.10.13 | One should treat all beings as he himself would be treated. |
| Agamas Sutrakritanga 1.11.33 |
A man should wander about treating all creatures as he himself
would be treated. |
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Lord Mahavira, 24th Tirthankara |
In happinessand suffering, in joy and grief, we should regard all
creatures as we regard our own self. |
| Judaism and Christianity | |
| Leviticus 19.18 | You shall love your neighbor as yourself. |
| Gospel of Thomas 6 | .....and don't do what you hate..... |
| Tobit 4.14-15 |
Take heed to thyself, my child, in all thy works; and be discreet
in all thy behavior. And what thou thyself hatest, do to no man. |
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Babylonian Talmud,
Shabbat 31a |
Whatsoever thou wouldest that men should not do unto thee, do
not do that to them. |
| Talmud, Shabbat 31a |
A certain heathen came to Shammai and said to him, "Make me
a proselyte, on condition that you teach me the whole Torah while I stand on one foot." Thereupon he repulsed him with the rod which was in his hand. When he went to Hillel, he said to him, "What is hateful to you, do not do to your neighbor: that is the whole Torah; all the rest of it is commentary; go and learn." |
| Luke 6.30-31 |
Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what
belongs to you, do not demand it back. Do to others as you would have them do to you. |
| Luke 10:25-28 |
And, behold, a certain lawyer stood up, and tempted him,
saying, Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life? He said unto him, What is written in the law? how readest thou? And he answering said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbor as thyself. And he said unto him, Thou hast answered right: this do, and thou shalt live. |
| Matthew 7.12 | Whatever you wish that men would do to you, do so to them. |
| Matthew 22.36-40 |
"Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?" Jesus
said to him, You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it, You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the law and the prophets. |
| Romans 13:8-10 |
Owe no man anything, but to love one another: for he that loveth
another hath fulfilled the law. For this, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Thou shalt not covet; and if there be any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this saying, namely, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. Love worketh no ill to his neighbor: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law. |
| Galatians 5:14 |
For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt
love thy neighbor as thyself. |
| Bible version unknown |
So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to
you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets. |
| Native American | |
| The Great Law of Peace | Respect for all life is the foundation. |
| Pima Proverb |
Do not wrong or hate your neighbor. For it is not he who you
wrong, but yourself. |
| Shintoism: ca. 500 CE | |
| Ko-ji-ki Hachiman Kasuga | Be charitable to all beings, love is the representative of God. |
| Sikhism: ca. 1500 CE | |
| Granth Japji 21 | We obtain salvation by loving our fellow man and God. |
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Guru Arjan Devji 259,
Guru Granth Sahib |
Don't create enmity with anyone as God is within everyone.
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| Taoism | |
| T'ai-shang Kang-ying P'ien |
Regard your neighbor's gain as your gain and your neighbor's
loss as your loss. |
| SBE 39.106 | Recompense injury with kindness. |
| SBE 39.91 |
To those who are good to me, I am good; to those who are not
good to me, I am also good. Thus all get to be good. To those who are sincere with me, I am sincere; to those who are not sincere with me, I am also sincere. Thus all get to be sincere. |
| Wicca | |
| Wiccan Rede | An' it harm none, do what thou wilt. |
| Zoroastrianism | |
| SBE 24.330 |
Whatever thou dost not approve for thyself, do not approve for
anyone else. When thou hast acted in this manner, thou art righteous. |
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SBE 18.271 Avesta: Dadistan-i-dink 94:5 |
That nature only is good when it shall not do unto another
whatever is not good for its own self. |
| SBE 37.51 |
When a good man is beaten through malice, the effort of every
one ..... should continue ust as though it happened to himself. |
| Shayast-na-Shayast 13:29 | Whatever is disagreeable to yourself do not do unto others. |
| Greek Antiquity, ca. 470-399 BCE | |
| Socrates |
Do not do to others that which would anger you if others did it
to you. |
| Roman Antiquity - ca 65 CE | |
| Seneca: Epistle 47:11 | Treat your inferiors as you would be treated by your superiors. |
| Unattributed Material | |
| Persian | Do as you would be done by. |
| Grecian | Do not that to a neighbor which you shall take ill from him. |
| Buddhist |
One should seek for others the happiness one desires for one's
self. |
| Islam |
Let none of you treat his brother in a way he himself would not
like to be treated. |
| Hindu |
The true rule of life is to guard and do by the things of others as
they do by their own. |
| Roman |
The law imprinted on the hearts of all men is to love the
members of society as themselves. |
| Further Research: |
SBE = Sourcebook for Earth's Community of Religions
Analects of Confucius. 6:28.2, p.975 Brihadaranyaka Upanishad. 5:2.2, p.972 Sun Myung Moon. 9-30-79, p.150 Dhammapada. 129-130, p.478 Guide to a Bodhisattva's way of life. 8:112-116, p.181 |