Billy Initiated :
I just noted the difference between the Eastern and Western approaches in
teaching the GOLDEN RULE. The Western approach is ” Do unto others as you
would want others do unto you.” and the Eastern approach is: ” What I do not
want others to do unto me, I shall not do unto them.” One is Active and the other
Non Active.
Cheers !
Billy
Joshua Responded :
Hi Billy – that’s quite interesting! Anabel Jensen advocates for “the Platinum
rule” instead: Do unto others and is truly best for them.
Anabel Clarified :
Hi William,
I hope you are continuing to thrive. Yea! Josh was close. I call it the Palladium
Rule—an extremely expensive mineral. And, the rule is to ASK what they want
and then provide that. The secret is in the asking not guessing.
Yes-let’s have lunch and discuss.
Love,
anabel
Rick Hanson Added :
Billy, this is really interesting. It highlights how the Five Precepts in Buddhism –
as well as much of the moral teachings in general, and even the ultimate
realization – are expressed through negation, e.g., not harming, not stealing . . .
even not conditioned, not dying, not subject to arising and passing away.
You might know about Thich Nhat Hang’s reformulation of the Five Precepts in
the affirmative: https://plumvillage.org/mindfulness-practice/the-5-mindfulness-
trainings/ .
Obv, both approaches are needed. Meanwhile, yep, there seem to be some
ways that the different orientations – between doing/not-doing – loosely track what
some might see as Western/Eastern sensibilities.
Cheers back!
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ADITIONAL COMMENTS by JGL :
Do not do unto others what you would prefer being done unto you…
(especially if you are insane)
Rather…
Do unto others what they would prefer being done unto themselves.
(unless it’s something harmful)
If there’s any doubt…
Do not do unto others what you would not have done unto you.
jgl
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