Do to Others Like You Want Them to Do to You

 

"Do to others what you would want them to do to you." Likewise, "Don't do to others what you wouldn't want them to do to you."

      This principle is a tenet found in nearly every ancient philosophy and faith in one way or another. From Aristotle to the Buddha to the words of Jesus Christ Himself, it is a foundational understanding of right practice that we simply treat other people the way we would want to be treated. It is a simple concept, yet so profound and so profoundly difficult.

      How would I want to be treated if I were poor? How would I want to be treated if I were sick? How would I want to be treated if I was black? White? Asian? Latino? Queer? Transgender? How would I want to be treated if I was mentally ill? How would I want to be treated if I was having a crisis of faith? How would I want to be treated if I no longer believed the things I did in my youth? How would I want to be treated if...? How would I not want to be treated in any of these situations or a dozen more circumstances I might or might not be able to imagine?

      Would I want to be judged for things seemingly beyond my control? Would I want a grudge held against me? Would I want to be forgiven for a grievous mistake? Would I want to be yelled at? Belittled? Verbally abused?

      Treat others how you want to be treated. Forgive others and you will be forgiven. Don't judge and you won't be judged. These are, in many ways, the ABCs of being a disciple of Jesus Christ, and are teachings even Atheists know that He taught. They form the foundation of Christian practice towards one another which Paul goes into great detail about in his letters, and can also be summed up in "You will love your neighbor like you love yourself."

      And in order to really do this, we have to let go of all of our preconceptions, judgments, moral codes, and even our own self-identities. We have to let go of anything and everything that prevents us from being love incarnate to the other person in front of us, because that is who Jesus Christ is, and that is who we are to be as His disciples. Love incarnate to all those around us.

      To do to others as you would have them do to you requires that you first see yourself in the other person. You have to look at things from their perspective, try to see things through their eyes. Thich Nhat Hanh and other Buddhist authors call this "Looking Deeply" at the other person. If we are going to be disciples of Jesus Christ, and we are going to do to others as we would want them to do to us or not do to them what we wouldn't want done to us, then we must learn to look deeply at them. We must learn to see the whole person, the child they were, the adult they are, the pains, the frustrations, the triumphs, the successes, the failures, and the struggles they have endured. We must endeavor to understand where they are coming from, and not judge them but have compassion and mercy for who they are right now in this moment.