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Additional Formulations AFRICAN "One going to take a pointed stick to pinch a baby bird should first try it on himself to feel how it hurts." Yoruba Proverb African Traditional (Nigeria) BAHAI'I "Blessed is he who preferreth his brother before himself." Bahá'u'lláh, Tablets of Bahá'u'lláh "Hurt not others in ways that you yourself would find hurtful." Udana-Varga, 5:18 "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." "And if thine eyes be turned towards justice, choose thou for thy neighbour that which thou choosest for thyself." "Wish not for others what ye wish not for yourselves" "Lay not upon any soul a load that you would not wish to be laid upon you, and desire not for anyone the things you would not desire for yourself." "He should not wish for others what he does not wish for himself." "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." "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." "In five ways should a clansman minister to his friends and familiars, by treating them as he treats himself." "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." "Hurt not others in ways that you would find hurtful." "...a state that is not pleasing or delightful to me, how could I inflict that upon another?" Samyutta NIkaya v. 353 "Hurt not others in ways that you yourself would find hurtful." CHRISTIANITY "Therefore, whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets." "You shall love your neighbor as yourself." "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." "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: do this, and thou shalt live." "Whatever you wish that men would do to you, do so to them." "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." "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" "For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself." "So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets." "Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them." "...and don't do what you hate...", CONFUCIANISM "Do not do to others what you would not like yourself. Then there will be no resentment against you, either in the family or in the state." "Do not unto others what you would not have them do unto you." "One word which sums up the basis for all good conduct…loving kindness. Do not do unto others what you would not want done to yourself." "One should not behave towards others in a way which is disagreeable to oneself." Mencius Vii.A.4 "Do not impose on others what you yourself do not desire." Or "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.'" "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." "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 him, let him not therewith precede those who are behind him; what he hates in those who are behind him, 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." "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." ANCIENT GREEK "We should behave to friends as we would wish friends to behave to us." "Do not do to others what would anger you if done to you by others." or "Do not do to others that which would anger you if others did it to you." "What you would avoid suffering yourself, seek not to impose upon others." HINDUISM "Wound not others, do no one injury by thought or deed, utter no word to pain thy fellow creatures." "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." "Do naught to others which, if done to thee, would cause thee pain: this is the sum of duty. " "This is the sum of duty: Do naught unto others which would cause you pain if done to you." "This is the sum of the Dharma [duty]: do naught unto others which would cause you pain if done to you." HUMANISM Humanists acknowledge human interdependence, the need for mutual respect and the kinship of all humanity." Humanists affirm that individual and social problems can only be resolved by means of human reason, intelligent effort, critical thinking joined with compassion and a spirit of empathy for all living beings. " ISLAM "Not one of you truly believes until you wish for others that which you wish for yourself." "No one of you is a believer until he desires for his brother that which he desires for himself." "Not one of you is a believer until he desires for his brother that which he desires for himself." "Al-Nawawi's Forty Hadiths." or "None of you [truly] believes until he wishes for his brother what he wishes for himself." SUFISM "The basis of Sufism is consideration of the hearts and feelings of others. If you haven't the will to gladden someone's heart, then at least beware lest you hurt someone's heart, for on our path, no sin exists but this." JAINISM "In happiness and suffering, in joy and grief, we should regard all creatures as we regard our own self." "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." "One should treat all beings as he himself would be treated." "A man should wander about treating all creatures as he himself would be treated." Agamas Sutrakritanga 1.11.33 "In happiness and suffering, in joy and grief, we should regard all creatures as we regard our own self" JUDAISM "You shall not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the children of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the LORD." "You shall love your neighbor as yourself." "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." "Whatsoever thou wouldest that men should not do unto thee, do not do that to them." Babylonian Talmud, Shabbat 31a or "What is hateful to you, do not to your fellow man. That is the entire law: all the rest is commentary." "What is hateful to you do not do to your neighbour. This is the whole torah [Law]; all the rest is commentary." "...thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.", Leviticus 19:18 or "Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against one of your people, but love your neighbour as yourself." LATTER-DAY SAINTS "And let every man esteem his brother as himself, and practice virtue and holiness before me." -Doctrine and Covenants 38:24 NATIVE AMERICAN "Respect for all life is the foundation." "All things are our relatives; what we do to everything, we do to ourselves. All is really One." "We are as much alive as we keep the earth alive." "The Spider Grandmother gave two rules: Don't go around hurting people, and Try to understand things." "Do not wrong or hate your neighbor. For it is not he who you wrong, but yourself." Pima proverb PERSIAN "Do as you would be done by." ROMAN ANTIQUITY "Treat your inferiors as you would be treated by your superiors." "The law imprinted on the hearts of all men is to love the members of society as themselves." SHINTOISM Be charitable to all beings, love is the representative of God." "The heart of the person before you is a mirror. See there your own form" SIKHISM "No one is my enemy, none a stranger and everyone is my friend." "Do not create enmity with anyone as God is within everyone." "We obtain salvation by loving our fellow man and God." "Compassion-mercy and religion are the support of the entire world". "Don't create enmity with anyone as God is within everyone." TAOISM "Regard your neighbor's gain as your gain, and your neighbor's loss as your own loss." Tai Shang Kan Yin P'ien "Recompense injury with kindness." "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." "The sage has no interest of his own, but takes the interests of the people as his own. He is kind to the kind; he is also kind to the unkind: for Virtue is kind. He is faithful to the faithful; he is also faithful to the unfaithful: for Virtue is faithful." "Regard your neighbor's gain as your own gain, and your neighbor's loss as your own loss." UNITARIANISM "We affirm and promote respect for the interdependent of all existence of which we are a part." UTILITARIANISM "To do as one would be done by, and to love one's neighbor as one's self, constitute the ideal perfection of utilitarian morality." WICCA "An' it harm no one, do what thou wilt" (i.e. do what ever you want to, as long as it harms nobody, including yourself). ZOROASTRIANISM "That nature alone is good which refrains from doing to another whatsoever is not good for itself." "Whatever thou dost not approve for thyself, do not approve for anyone else. When thou hast acted in this manner, thou art righteous." "That nature only is good when it shall not do unto another whatever is not good for its own self." "When a good man is beaten through malice, the effort of every one should continue just as though it happened to himself." "Whatever is disagreeable to yourself do not do unto others." "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." "Do not that to a neighbor which you shall take ill from him." One should seek for others the happiness one desires for one's self. Let none of you treat his brother in a way he himself would not like to be treated. The true rule of life is to guard and do by the things of others as they do by their own. Hindu The law imprinted on the hearts of all men is to love the members of society Roman Antiquity "Neighbors' willingness to act, when needed, for one another's benefit, and particularly for the benefit of one another's children." THE WORK "I am Thou Thou are I He is ours We both are His So may all be for our neighbor. Only he can be just who is able to put himself in the position of others. Only he who can take care of what belongs to others may have his own. Treat Another's as your own and be ye so related. "The highest aim and sense of human life is the striving to attain the welfare of one's neighbor," and that this is possible exclusively only by the conscious renunciation of one's own." OTHER "It is a very high goal: free and responsible development of the individual, so that he may place his powers freely and gladly in the service of mankind. " "The Golden Rule would reconcile capital and labor, all political contention and uproar, all selfishness and greed." |