The Golden Rule

If it feels right, I suggest a time of mindfulness before we continue.

The following is from World Scripture: A Comparative Anthology of Sacred Texts. It can be found in Chapter 2: Divine Law, Truth, and Cosmic Principle; The Golden Rule, page 114:

The Golden Rule or the ethic of reciprocity is found in the scriptures of nearly every religion. It is often regarded as the most concise and general principle of ethics. It is a condensation in one principle of all longer lists of ordinances such as the Decalogue.

You shall love your neighbor as yourself.

Judaism and Christianity - Leviticus 19.18

Whatever you would wish that men would do to you, do so to them. 

Christianity - Matthew 7.12

Not one of you is a believer until he loves for his brother what he loves for himself.

Islam - Forty Hadith of an-Nawawi 13

A man should wander about treating all creatures as he himself would be treated.

Jainism - Sutrakritanga 1.11.33

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.

Confucianism - Mencius VII.A.4

One should not behave toward others in a way that is disagreeable to oneself. This is the essence of morality. All other activities are due to selfish desire.

Hinduism - Mahabharata,Anusasana Parva 113.8

Tsekung asked, “Is there one word that can serve as a principle for the conduct of life?” Confucius replied, “it is the word of shu--reciprocity: Do not do to others what you do not want them to do to you.”

Confucianism - Analects 15.23

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.

Buddhism - Sutta Nipata 705

One going to take a pointed stick to pinch a baby bird should first try it on himself to feel how it hurts.

African Traditional Religions - Yoruba Proverb (Nigeria)

One who you think should be hit is none else than 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.

Jainism - Acarangasutra 5.101-2

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, I 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 and 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.

Buddhism - Samyutta Nikaya v.353

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.

Judaism - Talmud, Shabbat 31a

“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 prophets.

Christianity - Matthew 22.36-40

I don’t know about you, but I get the impression this might be important. It might actually work, who knows? As a rule, I think the majority of humans don’t think it will because they don’t believe that they are individualized expressions of God and believe that God is “out there” somewhere. Still, it’s worth thinking about.

Truth

You inspire me! Your joy, your open-minded inquisitiveness, your love of Life! Wanting that to continue for the rest of your Life is what nearly compels me to share with you what little I know about how that might actually be possible. We have reached the point at which we really can’t proceed without trying to understand as best we can the concept of Truth. I don’t have a complete understanding of Truth, any more than I have a complete understanding of God, but the two are somehow related by our quest for the latter.

“So you are a king!” said Pilate. “You’re the one who says I’m a king” responded Jesus. “This is what I was born for, and this is why I came into this world: to bear witness to the truth. Everyone who belongs to the truth can hear my voice. “What is the truth?” says Pilate. (John 18:37-38; TSV)

Again, I asked Google “Does Truth Matter?”  Again, about 622,000,000 results came back in 0.43 seconds. This is a huge, perhaps incomprehensible, diversity of opinion that exists freely, independently, and equally for every Human on Earth, the Sacred home of all Life in the infinite Cosmos! And that means you! If you choose to think about your answer to the question, that is your first step of mindful contemplation. If the question doesn’t spark any personal interest, move on! There are so many questions that you will want answers for, mindfulness (which I accept as another word for prayer) is the very first step of a process which eventually may lead to the discovery of your “connection” with God.

There are some, likely many, who will tell you that I am not telling you the truth about any of this. In my mind, I am. Thank God the choice is yours! I will close with the words of Euripides, “Question everything. Learn something…”