I've been re-reading Karen Armstrong's The Great Transformation, the Beginnings of Our Religious Traditions. I am getting more out of this reading than the last, 17 years ago; perhaps that's just getting older. Still, the "Golden Rule" is the foundational theme -- compassion, selflessness, ahimsa. As I reflect on this, a new formulation comes to mind, one I rather like:
Do Onto Strangers What You Would Have Your Family Do Unto You
There is injustice in the world, selfishness, evil intentions, willful harm. Were I to act selfishly, intolerantly, to inflict intentional harm, I would expect my family to confront, resist, and constrain me. I would expect them to expect, in turn, that I acknowledge those I have harmed and make amends. If it is unintentional harm I have caused, I would expect them to confront me, forgive me, and help me make amends. And when I am in pain and need, I would expect my family to succor and nourish me.
So I likewise should do for are we not all "the other?" All strangers? All family?
No comments:
Post a Comment