The Golden Rule

Thank you to Paul McKenna of www.scarboromissions.ca for the permission to post the picture above

The Golden Rule is in essence treating people how you want to be treated. What goes around comes back around again. This concept or model for living is a good way to go through life.
Imagine a world where no one was mean to each other. I’m sure that wars would end if we started living this way. I don’t want people to tread on me so I don’t tread on others.
Acting poorly always comes back to you. Acting kind always is a good thing. It may not be immediate but it happens. Think about the people you most admire for their kindness…
Don’t you think that other people also notice that kindness? Wouldn’t you like to be known for that too?
Jesus said that we all can do what he did and more. That is a big concept. The golden rule is not dealing with precious metals, it’s dealing with how you choose to treat people. Be kind and remind others to do the same. I recommend you search youtube for KRS ONE’s lectures. He spoke about Hip Hop having a platinum rule of treating people how they want to be treated. This is deep because we all don’t want the same things/ways. Don’t be mean. This means that you need to analyze your actions and make sure you are living in allignment with your ideals.
Thank you for reading this. If you found value in this article please share the love on twitter and facebook. Have a blessed one for you and yours, Jon of hologramchat.com

We are all one people, one aim , one destiny,one love. Realize and recognize the things wrong with the world so that we can fix it.

Below is a quote from wikipedia on it http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_rule

Religion and philosophy

[edit]Global ethic
Main article: Towards a Global Ethic: An Initial Declaration
The “Declaration Toward a Global Ethic”[26] from the Parliament of the World’s Religions[27][28] (1993) proclaimed the Golden Rule (“We must treat others as we wish others to treat us”) as the common principle for many religions.[29] The Initial Declaration was signed by 143 respected leaders from all of the world’s major faiths, including Baha’i Faith, Brahmanism, Brahma Kumaris, Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Indigenous, Interfaith, Islam, Jainism, Judaism, Native American, Neo-Pagan, Sikhism, Taoism, Theosophist, Unitarian Universalist and Zoroastrian.[29][30] In the folklore of several cultures{31} the Golden Rule is depicted by the allegory of the long spoons.
[edit]Judaism
See also: Judaism
One concept of the Golden Rule originates in a well-known Torah verse (Hebrew: “ואהבת לרעך כמוך”):
You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against your kinsfolk. Love your neighbor as yourself: I am the LORD.
—Leviticus 19:18[1], the “Great Commandment”
This Torah verse represents one of several versions of the Golden Rule, which itself appears in various forms, positive and negative. It is one of the earliest written versions of that concept in a positive form.[31] All versions and forms of the proverbial Golden Rule have one aspect in common, they all call for others the equal manner and respect we want for ourselves.
At the turn of the eras, the Jewish rabbis were discussing the scope of the meaning of Leviticus 19:18 and 19:34 extensively:
The stranger who resides with you shall be to you as one of your citizens; you shall love him as yourself, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt: I the LORD am your God.
—Leviticus 19:34[1]
Some deputized the excluding opinion: “neighbor” only refers to Jews and proselytes. Others summed up Samaritans as the proselytes (= ‘strangers who resides with you’) (Rabbi Akiba, bQuid 75b) or Jews (Rabbi Gamaliel, yKet 3,1; 27a).
The Sage Hillel formulated a negative form of the golden rule. When asked to sum up the entire Torah concisely, he answered:[32]
That which is hateful to you, do not do to your fellow. That is the whole Torah; the rest is the explanation; go and learn.
—Talmud, Shabbat 31a, the “Great Principle”
On the verse, “Love your fellow as yourself,” the classic commentator Rashi quotes from Torat Kohanim, an early Midrashic text regarding the famous dictum of Rabbi Akiva: “Love your fellow as yourself — Rabbi Akiva says this is a great principle of the Torah.”[33]
The Hassidic perspective of Rabbi Shneur Zalman of Liadi based on the teachings of the Zohar implores one to “repay the offenders with favors”:
“So, too, in matters affecting a person’s relations with his fellow, as soon as there rises from his heart to his mind any animosity or hatred, G-d forbid, or jealousy, anger, or a grudge and the like, he allows them no entrance into his mind and will. On the contrary, his mind exercises its authority and power over the feelings in his heart to do the very opposite, namely, to conduct himself towards his fellow with the quality of kindness and a display of abundant love to the extreme limits, without becoming provoked into anger, G-d forbid, or to revenge in kind, G-d forbid, but rather to repay the offenders with favors, as taught in the Zohar, that one should learn from the example of Yosef [Joseph] towards his brothers.”
—Tanya, ch. 12
Israel’s postal service quoted from the previous Leviticus verse when it commemorated the Universal Declaration of Human Rights on a 1958 postage stamp.[34]
[edit]Bahá’í Faith
See also: Bahá’í Faith
From the scriptures of the Bahá’í Faith:
Blessed is he who preferreth his brother before himself.
—Bahá’u'lláh[35][36]
And if thine eyes be turned towards justice, choose thou for thy neighbour that which thou choosest for thyself.
—Bahá’u'lláh[37][38]
Ascribe not to any soul that which thou wouldst not have ascribed to thee, and say not that which thou doest not.
—Bahá’u'lláh[39][40][41]
Beware lest ye harm any soul, or make any heart to sorrow; lest ye wound any man with your words, be he known to you or a stranger, be he friend or foe.
—`Abdu’l-Bahá[42]

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[edit]Buddhism
See also: Buddhism
Buddha (Siddhartha Gautama, c. 563 – c. 483 B.C.) made this principle one of the cornerstones of his ethics in the 5th century BCE. It occurs in many places and in many forms throughout the Tripitaka.
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.
—Sutta Nipata 705
One who, while himself seeking happiness, oppresses with violence other beings who also desire happiness, will not attain happiness hereafter.
—Dhammapada 10. Violence
Hurt not others in ways that you yourself would find hurtful.
—Udanavarga 5:18
Putting oneself in the place of another, one should not kill nor cause another to kill.[43]
[edit]Christianity
See also: Christian ethics
The “Golden Rule” has been attributed to Jesus of Nazareth: “Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them” (Matthew 7:12, see also Luke 6:31). The common English phrasing is “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you”. A similar form appeared in a Catholic catechism around 1567 (certainly in the reprint of 1583).[44]
Christianity probably adopted the golden rule from two edicts, found in Leviticus 19:18 (“Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against one of your people, but love your neighbor as yourself”; see also Great Commandment) and Leviticus 19:34 (“But the stranger that dwelleth with you shall be unto you as one born among you, and thou shalt love him as thyself; for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt: I am the LORD your God”).
The Old Testament Deuterocanonical books of Tobit and Sirach, accepted as part of the Scriptural canon by Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodoxy, and the Non-Chalcedonian Churches, also express a negative form of the golden rule:
“Do to no one what you yourself dislike.”
—Tobit 4:15
“Recognize that your neighbor feels as you do, and keep in mind your own dislikes.”
—Sirach 31:15
At the time of Hillel, an elder contemporary of Jesus of Nazareth, the negative form of the golden rule already must have been proverbial, perhaps because of Tobit 4:15. When asked to sum up the entire Torah concisely, he answered:
“That which is hateful to you, do not do to your fellow. That is the whole Torah; the rest is the explanation; go and learn.”
—Talmud, Shabbat 31a
Two passages in the New Testament quote Jesus of Nazareth espousing the golden rule:
Matthew 7:12
12Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets.
Luke 6:31
31And as ye would that men should do to you, do ye also to them likewise.
A similar passage, a parallel to the Great Commandment, is Luke 10:25-28
25And one day an authority on the law stood up to put Jesus to the test. “Teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to receive eternal life?”
26What is written in the Law?” Jesus replied. “How do you understand it?” 27He answered, “ ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul. Love him with all your strength and with all your mind.’(Deuteronomy 6:5) And, ‘Love your neighbor as you love yourself.’ ” 28“You have answered correctly,” Jesus replied. “Do that, and you will live.”.
The passage in the book of Luke then continues with Jesus answering the question, “Who is my neighbor?”, by telling the parable of the Good Samaritan, indicating that “your neighbour” is anyone in need.[45] Jesus’ teaching, however, goes beyond the negative formulation of not doing what one would not like done to themselves, to the positive formulation of actively doing good to another that, if the situations were reversed, one would desire that the other would do for them. This formulation, as indicated in the parable of the Good Samaritan, emphasises the needs for positive action that brings benefit to another, not simply restraining oneself from negative activities that hurt another. Taken as a rule of judgement, both formulations of the golden rule, the negative and positive, are equally applicable.[46]
[edit]Confucianism
See also: Confucianism
Rushworth Kidder attributes the “golden” appellation to Confucius: “Here certainly is the golden maxim: Do not do to others that which we do not want them to do to us.”[8]
Zi Gong asked, saying, “Is there one word which may serve as a rule of practice for all one’s life?” The Master said, “Is not RECIPROCITY such a word?[21][22]
—Confucius, Analects XV.24 (tr. Chinese Text Project)
Never impose on others what you would not choose for yourself.(己所不欲，勿施于人）
—Confucius, Analects XV.24 (tr. David Hinton)
The same idea is also presented in V.12 and VI.30 of the Analects.
[edit]Hinduism
See also: Hinduism
One should never do that to another which one regards as injurious to one’s own self. This, in brief, is the rule of dharma. Other behavior is due to selfish desires.
—Brihaspati, Mahabharata (Anusasana Parva, Section CXIII, Verse 8)[47]
For those who set their hearts on me
And worship me with unfailing devotion and faith,
The way of love leads sure and swift to me.
Those who seek the transcendental Reality,
Unmanifested, without name or form,
Beyond the reach of feeling and of thought,
With their senses subdued and mind serene
And striving for the good of all beings,
They too will verily come unto me.
—[Bhagavad-Gita, Chapter XII.][48]
[edit]Humanism
See also: Humanism
Many different sources claim the Golden Rule as a humanist principle:[49][50]
Trying to live according to the Golden Rule means trying to empathise with other people, including those who may be very different from us. Empathy is at the root of kindness, compassion, understanding and respect – qualities that we all appreciate being shown, whoever we are, whatever we think and wherever we come from. And although it isn’t possible to know what it really feels like to be a different person or live in different circumstances and have different life experiences, it isn’t difficult for most of us to imagine what would cause us suffering and to try to avoid causing suffering to others. For this reason many people find the Golden Rule’s corollary – “do not treat people in a way you would not wish to be treated yourself” – more pragmatic.[49]
[edit]Islam
See also: Islam
The Golden Rule is implicitly expressed in some verses of Qur’an, but is explicitly declared in the sayings of Muhammad.
[edit]Quran
The first verse recommends the positive form of the rule, and the subsequent verses condemn not abiding the negative form of the Golden Rule:
“…and you should forgive And overlook: Do you not like God to forgive you? And Allah is The Merciful Forgiving.”
— Qur’an (Surah 24, “The Light,” v. 22)
“Woe to those… who, when they have to receive by measure from men, they demand exact full measure, but when they have to give by measure or weight to men, give less than due”
— Qur’an (Surah 83, “The Dealers in Fraud,” vv. 1–4)
“…orphans and the needy, give them something and speak kindly to them. And those who are concerned about the welfare of their own children after their death, should have fear of God [Treat other people's Orphans justly] and guide them properly.”
— Qur’an (Surah 4, “The Women,” vv. 8-9)
“O you who believe! Spend [benevolently] of the good things that you have earned… and do not even think of spending [in alms] worthless things that you yourselves would be reluctant to accept.”
— Qur’an (Surah 2, “The Calf,” v. 267)
“They assign daughters to Allah, Who is above having a child [whether male or female] and to themselves they assign what they desire [which is a male child]; And when the news of the birth of a female child is brought to one of them His face darkens and he hides his inward Grief and anger… They attribute to Allah what they dislike [For themselves] and their tongues assert the lie that the best reward will be theirs! Undoubtedly, the Hell fire shall be their lot and they will be foremost [in entering it].”
— Qur’an (Surah 16, “The Honey Bees,” vv. 57-62)
[edit]Hadith
A Bedouin came to the prophet, grabbed the stirrup of his camel and said: O the messenger of God! Teach me something to go to heaven with it. Prophet said: “As you would have people do to you, do to them; and what you dislike to be done to you, don’t do to them. Now let the stirrup go! [This maxim is enough for you; go and act in accordance with it!]”
—Kitab al-Kafi, vol. 2, p. 146
“None of you [truly] believes until he wishes for his brother what he wishes for himself.”
—An-Nawawi’s Forty Hadith 13 (p. 56)[51]
“Seek for mankind that of which you are desirous for yourself, that you may be a believer.”
—Sukhanan-i-Muhammad (Teheran, 1938)[52]
“That which you want for yourself, seek for mankind.”[52]
“The most righteous person is the one who consents for other people what he consents for himself, and who dislikes for them what he dislikes for himself.”[52]
Ali ibn Abi Talib (4th Caliph in Sunni Islam, and first Imam in Shia Islam) says:
“O’ my child, make yourself the measure (for dealings) between you and others. Thus, you should desire for others what you desire for yourself and hate for others what you hate for yourself. Do not oppress as you do not like to be oppressed. Do good to others as you would like good to be done to you. Regard bad for yourself whatever you regard bad for others. Accept that (treatment) from others which you would like others to accept from you… Do not say to others what you do not like to be said to you.”
—Nahjul Balaghah, Letter 31 [53]
[edit]Jainism
See also: Jainism and Ahimsa in Jainism
In Jainism, the golden rule is firmly embedded in its entire philosophy and can be seen in its clearest form in the doctrines of Ahimsa and Karma
The following quotation from the Acaranga Sutra sums up the philosophy of Jainism:
Nothing which breathes, which exists, which lives, or which has essence or potential of life, should be destroyed or ruled over, or subjugated, or harmed, or denied of its essence or potential.
In support of this Truth, I ask you a question – “Is sorrow or pain desirable to you ?” If you say “yes it is”, it would be a lie. If you say, “No, It is not” you will be expressing the truth. Just as sorrow or pain is not desirable to you, so it is to all which breathe, exist, live or have any essence of life. To you and all, it is undesirable, and painful, and repugnant.[54]
Saman Suttam of Jinendra Varni[55] gives further insight into this percepts:-
All the living beings wish to live and not to die; that is why unattached saints prohibit the killing of living beings.
—Suman Suttam , verse 148
Just as pain is not agreeable to you, it is so with others. Knowing this principle of equality treat other with respect and compassion.
—Suman Suttam , verse 150
Killing a living being is killing one’s own self; showing compassion to a living being is showing compassion to oneself. He who desires his own good, should avoid causing any harm to a living being.
—Suman Suttam , verse 151

[edit]Mohism
See also: Mohism
If people regarded other people’s families in the same way that they regard their own, who then would incite their own family to attack that of another? For one would do for others as one would do for oneself.
—Mozi
Mozi regarded the golden rule as a corollary to the cardinal virtue of impartiality, and encouraged egalitarianism and selflessness in relationships.
[edit]Platonism
See also: Platonism
The Golden Rule is a central concept in Plato’s philosophy.
One should never do wrong in return, nor mistreat any man, no matter how one has been mistreated by him.”
—Plato’s Socrates (Crito, 49c) (c. 469 BC–399 BCE)
[edit]Quakerism
“Oh, do as you would be done by. And do unto all men as you would have them do unto you, for this is but the law and the prophet.” Postscript to the Quaker peace testimony, signed by George Fox.
[edit]Sikhism
See also: Sikhism and Karma
Whom should I despise, since the one Lord made us all.
—p.1237, Var Sarang, Guru Granth Sahib, tr. Patwant Singh
The truly enlightened ones are those who neither incite fear in others nor fear anyone themselves.
—p.1427, Slok, Guru Granth Sahib, tr. Patwant Singh
I am a stranger to no one, and no one is a stranger to me. Indeed, I am a friend to all.
—p.1299, Guru Granth Sahib
[edit]Taoism
See also: Taoism
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.
—Tao Teh Ching, Chapter 49
Regard your neighbor’s gain as your own gain, and your neighbor’s loss as your own loss.
—T’ai Shang Kan Ying P’ien
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