Golden Rule

The Universality of the Golden Rule in the World Religions

“Every religion emphasizes human improvement, love, respect for others, sharing other people’s suffering. On these lines every religion had more or less the same viewpoint and the same goal.” ~ The Dalai Lama

• Bahá’í Fa
  • “Ascribe not to any soul that which thou wouldst not have ascribed to thee, and say not that which thou doest not. Blessed is he who preferreth his brother before himself.”
    • Baha’u’llah
  • “And if thine eyes be turned towards justice, choose thou for thy neighbour that which thou choosest for thyself.”
    • Epistle to the Son of the Wolf
• Brahmanism
  • “This is the sum of Dharma [duty]: Do naught unto others which would cause you pain if done to you.”
    • Mahabharata, 5:1517
• Buddhism
  • “Hurt not others in ways that you yourself would find hurtful”
    • Udana-Varga 5,1
  • “…a state that is not pleasing or delightful to me, how could I inflict that upon another?”
    • Samyutta NIkaya v. 353

• Christianity
  • “All things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye so to them; for this is the law and the prophets.”
    • Matthew 7:12
  • “And as ye would that men should do to you, do ye also to them likewise.”
    • Luke 6:31
• 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.”
    • Analects 12:2
  • “Do not do to others what you do not want them to do to you.”
    • 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.”
    • Doctrine of the Mean 13.3
  • “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.”
    • Mencius VII.A.4
• Hinduism
  • “This is the sum of duty; do naught onto others what you would not have them do unto you.”
    • Mahabharata 5,1517
• 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.“
  • “Don’t do things you wouldn’t want to have done to you.”
    • British Humanist Society.
• Islam
  • “No one of you is a believer until he desires for his brother that which he desires for himself.”
    • Sunnah
• Janism
  • “Therefore, neither does he [a sage] cause violence to others nor does he make others do so.”
    • Acarangasutra 5.101-2
  • “In happiness and suffering, in joy and grief, we should regard all creatures as we regard our own self.”
    • Lord Mahavira, 24th Tirthankara
  • “A man should wander about treating all creatures as he himself would be treated.”
    • Sutrakritanga 1.11.33
• Judaism
  • “What is hateful to you, do not do to your fellowman. This is the entire Law; all the rest is commentary.”
    • Talmud, Shabbat 3id
  • “…thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.”
    • Leviticus 19:18
  • “And what you hate, do not do to any one.”
    • Tobit 4:15
• Native American Spirituality
  • “Respect for all life is the foundation.”
    • The Great Law of Peace
  • “All things are our relatives; what we do to everything, we do to ourselves. All is really One.”
    • Black Elk
  • “Do not wrong or hate your neighbor. For it is not he who you wrong, but yourself.
    • Pima proverb.
• Roman Pagan Religion
  • “The law imprinted on the hearts of all men is to love the members of society as themselves.”
• Shinto
  • “The heart of the person before you is a mirror. See there your own form.”
  • “Be charitable to all beings, love is the representative of God.”
    • Ko-ji-ki Hachiman Kasuga
• Sikhism
  • “Compassion-mercy and religion are the support of the entire world.”
    • Japji Sahib
  • “Don’t create enmity with anyone as God is within everyone.”
    • Guru Arjan Devji 259
  • “No one is my enemy, none a stranger and everyone is my friend.”
    • Guru Arjan Dev : AG 1299
• 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.”
    • Dr. Javad Nurbakhsh, Master of the Nimatullahi Sufi Order.
• Taoism
  • “Regard your neighbor’s gain as your gain, and your neighbor’s loss as your own loss.”
    • Tai Shang Kan Yin P’ien
  • “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
• Unitarian
  • “The inherent worth and dignity of every person;“
  • “Justice, equity and compassion in human relations…”.
  • “The goal of world community with peace, liberty, and justice for all;”
  • “We affirm and promote respect for the interdependent web of all existence of which we are a part.”
    • Unitarian principles
• Wicca
  • “An it harm no one, do what thou wilt”(i.e. do what ever you will, as long as it harms nobody, including yourself). One’s will is to be carefully thought out in advance of action.
    • This is called the Wiccan Rede
• Yoruba (Nigeria)
  • “One going to take a pointed stick to pinch a baby bird should first try it on himself to feel how it hurts.”
• Zoroastrianism
  • “That nature alone is good which refrains from doing another whatsoever is not good for itself.”
    • Dadisten-I-dinik, 94,5

Adapted from ReligiousTolerance.org and TeachingValues.com