I found this list of quotes online, compiled by a self-help author* who was making the point that "The Golden Rule" is really common sense, and its basic concept stretches across religious and cultural boundaries because of that: Buddhism: 560 BC, From the Udanavarga 5:18- "Hurt not others with that which pains yourself.
" Judaism: 1300 BC, from the Hebrew Scriptures, Leviticus 19:18- "You must love your neighbor as yourself.
" Hinduism: 3200 BC, From the Hitopadesa- "One should always treat others as they themselves wish to be treated.
" Zoroastrianism: 600 BC, From the Shast-na-shayast 13:29- "Whatever is disagreeable to yourself, do not do unto others.
" Confucianism: 557 BC, From the Analects 15:23- "What you do not want done to yourself, do not do to others.
" Christianity: 30 AD, From the New World Translation, Matt.
7:12- "All things, therefore, that you want men to do to you, you must likewise do to them.
" Personally, I prefer the Christian and Jewish versions of the rule because they advocate a more positive, proactive application.
But the concept is the same.
The basis is that each of us knows how we would prefer to be treated: what helps us and what hurts us; what makes us happy, what makes us sad; what encourages and what discourages.
We know this, and yet, our natural tendencies often fall on the selfish, saddening, pain-inducing, discouraging side of the line when it comes to dealing with other people.
To make a practical example of the idea, consider your morning commute.
All of us absolutely hate when some jerk cuts us off on the highway or in some other way makes our commute a little more stressful by inconveniencing us or even putting our life in danger by the way they drive.
But during the very same commute, how many of us have cut someone off, tailgated, sped through a yellow light, or in some other way made someone else's commute a little more stressful? Sometimes it's intentional, in which case we justify to ourselves, "he deserved it, he was going to slow!" or something equally ridiculous.
Sometimes it's unintentional, simply because we're being careless.
But regardless of why it happens, the application of The Golden Rule will keep it from happening with such regularity.
No one's perfect, and frankly even if you and I began immediately applying this timeless principle to our personal lives, we'd still deal with billions of others who haven't gotten around to it yet.
And applying The Golden Rule once we've been wronged by someone is an even tougher process.
(We'll discuss that in a later post.
) For the moment, just imagine what it would be like if everyone applied this principle, just for one day...
or one week...
? What an incredible vacation that would be! How much would you accomplish? How much fun would you have? How many friends would you make? How quiet and peaceful would it be? Incredible.
Try it.
* ( http://www.
thegoldenrule.
net/quotes.
htm )
" Judaism: 1300 BC, from the Hebrew Scriptures, Leviticus 19:18- "You must love your neighbor as yourself.
" Hinduism: 3200 BC, From the Hitopadesa- "One should always treat others as they themselves wish to be treated.
" Zoroastrianism: 600 BC, From the Shast-na-shayast 13:29- "Whatever is disagreeable to yourself, do not do unto others.
" Confucianism: 557 BC, From the Analects 15:23- "What you do not want done to yourself, do not do to others.
" Christianity: 30 AD, From the New World Translation, Matt.
7:12- "All things, therefore, that you want men to do to you, you must likewise do to them.
" Personally, I prefer the Christian and Jewish versions of the rule because they advocate a more positive, proactive application.
But the concept is the same.
The basis is that each of us knows how we would prefer to be treated: what helps us and what hurts us; what makes us happy, what makes us sad; what encourages and what discourages.
We know this, and yet, our natural tendencies often fall on the selfish, saddening, pain-inducing, discouraging side of the line when it comes to dealing with other people.
To make a practical example of the idea, consider your morning commute.
All of us absolutely hate when some jerk cuts us off on the highway or in some other way makes our commute a little more stressful by inconveniencing us or even putting our life in danger by the way they drive.
But during the very same commute, how many of us have cut someone off, tailgated, sped through a yellow light, or in some other way made someone else's commute a little more stressful? Sometimes it's intentional, in which case we justify to ourselves, "he deserved it, he was going to slow!" or something equally ridiculous.
Sometimes it's unintentional, simply because we're being careless.
But regardless of why it happens, the application of The Golden Rule will keep it from happening with such regularity.
No one's perfect, and frankly even if you and I began immediately applying this timeless principle to our personal lives, we'd still deal with billions of others who haven't gotten around to it yet.
And applying The Golden Rule once we've been wronged by someone is an even tougher process.
(We'll discuss that in a later post.
) For the moment, just imagine what it would be like if everyone applied this principle, just for one day...
or one week...
? What an incredible vacation that would be! How much would you accomplish? How much fun would you have? How many friends would you make? How quiet and peaceful would it be? Incredible.
Try it.
* ( http://www.
thegoldenrule.
net/quotes.
htm )