ETHIC OF RECIPROCITY
Quotation:
"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
Overview
Religious groups differ greatly in their concepts of deity, other beliefs and practices. Non-theistic ethical and philosophic systems, like Humanism and Ethical Culture, also exhibit a wide range of beliefs. But there is near unanimity of opinion among almost all religions, ethical systems and philosophies that each person should treat others in a decent manner. Almost all of these groups have passages in their holy texts, or writings of their leaders, which promote this Ethic of Reciprocity. The most commonly known version in North America is the Golden Rule of Christianity. It is often expressed as "Do onto others as you would wish them do onto you."
One result of this Ethic is the concept that every person shares certain inherent human rights, simply because of their membership in the human race. People are individually very different; they come in two main genders; different sizes, colors, and shapes; many races; three sexual orientations; and different degrees of ability. They follow many religious and economic systems, speak many languages, and follow many different cultures. But there is a growing consensus that all are equal in importance. All should enjoy basic human rights. The United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) is one manifestation of this growing worldwide consensus. 3,4
The greatest failure of organized religion is its historical inability to convince their followers that the Ethic of Reciprocity applies to all humans, including those of other religions, the other gender, other races, other sexual orientations, etc. Only when this is accomplished will religiously-related oppression, mass murder and genocide cease.
Some "Ethic of Reciprocity" passages from the religious texts of various religions and secular beliefs:
Bahá'í World Faith: "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 duty: Do naught unto others which would cause you pain if done to you". Mahabharata, 5:1517
Buddhism: "...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." Udana-Varga 5:18
Christianity: "Therefore 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." Matthew 7:12, King James Version.
"And as ye would that men should do to you, do ye also to them likewise." Luke 6:31, King James Version.
"...and don't do what you hate...", Gospel of Thomas 6.
Confucianism: "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
Ancient Egyptian: "Do for one who may do for you, that you may cause him thus to do." The Tale of the Eloquent Peasant, 109 - 110 Translated by R.B. Parkinson. The original dates to 1970 to 1640 BCE and may be the earliest version ever written. 9
Hinduism: "One should not behave towards others in a way which is disagreeable to oneself." Mencius Vii.A.4
"This is the sum of the Dharma [duty]: do naught unto others which would cause you pain if done to you." Mahabharata 5:1517
Humanism: "(5) Humanists acknowledge human interdependence, the need for mutual respect and the kinship of all humanity."
"(11) 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. " 5
"Don't do things you wouldn't want to have done to you, British Humanist Society. 9
Islam: "None of you [truly] believes until he wishes for his brother what he wishes for himself." Number 13 of Imam "Al-Nawawi's Forty Hadiths." 6
Jainism: "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: "...thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.", Leviticus 19:18
"What is hateful to you, do not to your fellow man. This is the law: all the rest is commentary." Talmud, Shabbat 31a.
"And what you hate, do not do to any one." Tobit 4:15 8
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
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"
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 own gain, and your neighbor's loss as your own loss." T'ai Shang Kan Ying 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: "We affirm and promote respect for the interdependent 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 unto another whatsoever is not good for itself". Dadistan-i-dinik 94:5
"Whatever is disagreeable to yourself do not do unto others." Shayast-na-Shayast 13:29
Care is needed in applying the Golden Rule:
Any rule must be applied carefully, and with full knowledge of the likely consequences. Many of the above "golden rules" imply that there is some absolute standard on what is beneficial and what is harmful. Consider:
George Bernard Shaw, (1903): "Do not do unto others as you would that they should do unto you. Their tastes may not be the same."
A lot of harm has been done historically, in the name of helping other people. Some examples:
Many individuals involved in the torture and murder of Witches during the late Middle Ages and Renaissance felt that their mission was to help the Witches, and to defend the rest of society. The Witches were tortured until they gave the interrogators what they wanted: a confession in which they renounced their beliefs. They were then executed before they recanted. The church felt that they might then attain Heaven. If they retained their beliefs in Witchcraft, it was believed that they would inevitably be sent to Hell for endless torture. Thus, any amount of torture was justified. It only lasted a few days and saved the Witch from an eternity of similar treatment in Hell.
In past centuries Christian missionaries, both Protestant and Catholic, invested enormous effort to convert North America's Native population to Christianity. The missionaries generally discounted Native Spirituality as worthless. Many thought that unless a person accepts their European version of Christianity, they would spend eternity in Hell. But the results were not as anticipated. Some suicidologists believe that the extremely high suicide rate among native people in North America is a direct result of the destruction of their aboriginal faith and other aspects of their society by Christian groups.
Welfare and other social programs that were originally designed to help the poor, can sometimes backfire and entrap the very people they intended to help into a lifetime of dependency.
Many states have passed laws that require teen age women to notify their parents or obtain permission from their parents before they are allowed to have an abortion. The legislators reasoned that when a young woman is pregnant, that she needs all the support that her family can give her. But many teens try to circumvent these laws. They may be afraid of the family disturbance that the news might cause; they may fear physical abuse; they may be concerned about the effect that the news might have on a parent who is in fragile health. For whatever reason, many seek illegal abortions. Some die from infection.
Before applying the golden rule, we should take care that we are really helping people, and not harming them. This often requires more wisdom than is readily available.
Failures of the Ethic of Reciprocity
Many individuals are primarily concerned with their own well being, and that of their family and "tribe." Some are able to apply the ethic of reciprocity only to their immediate friends and relatives. Somehow, people who are close to us are seen as more "equal" than strangers.
Some individuals are able to extend the Ethic to all fellow believers who share their religion. Some find it difficult to extend the Ethic to followers of other religions and ultimately to all human beings. The large number of religiously-based civil disturbances and wars currently active in the world is evidence of this failing.
Passages that violate the Ethic of Reciprocity:
Unfortunately, many religious texts contain other passages that contradict their own Ethics of Reciprocity. For example, consider the Christian Bible. It contains sections which promote both religious tolerance and religious intolerance. In places, it advocates genocide against other tribes, extermination of people of other religions, and murder of individuals with minority sexual orientations. It condones slavery and, in many places, promotes an inferior status for women.
(From Religious Tolerance dot org.)
