Veezel Posted April 29, 2016 I recently bought a book, Ethics for Dummies, and it talked about the Golden Rule. Being a Christian, I went straight to the section of the book that talked about the Golden Rule in terms of Christianity. This Golden Rule thing got me thinking, and led me to conclude to what I consider to be a fact... Part of being aligned with Tao is about following the Golden Rule. We must all treat each other the same way we would want to be treated. It is one of the many paths to THE path... What do you all think? 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Brian Posted April 29, 2016 What if one is a masochist? 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Veezel Posted April 29, 2016 What if one is a masochist? Perhaps just because they enjoy hurting themselves doesn't mean they want others to hurt them. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Kar3n Posted April 29, 2016 (edited) What if one is a masochist? Welcome to the bums, Veezel. Brian is a very naughty boy! Perhaps just because they enjoy hurting themselves doesn't mean they want others to hurt them. A masochist actually does enjoy being hurt and humiliated by others. Edited April 29, 2016 by Kar3n 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Brian Posted April 29, 2016 http://www.dictionary.com/browse/masochist Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
liminal_luke Posted April 29, 2016 (edited) The golden rule seems to take it for granted that we would treat ourselves better than we´d treat others. In my experience, that´s just not true. Many people, even those who aren´t really masochists in the usual sense, treat themselves with less compassion than they treat others. Edited April 29, 2016 by liminal_luke 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Songtsan Posted April 29, 2016 I don't know. Is that lion hunting a wildabeast aligned with Tao? Is it operating by the Golden Rule? I thought Tao was Nature, at least in some aspects....does Nature operate by any such rules? 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Veezel Posted April 29, 2016 I don't know. Is that lion hunting a wildabeast aligned with Tao? Is it operating by the Golden Rule? I thought Tao was Nature, at least in some aspects....does Nature operate by any such rules? Lions are wild animals. Perhaps human nature is about following the Golden Rule. Maybe we were meant to treat each other with love. We are, after all, the premiere social creature of earth. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Marblehead Posted April 29, 2016 Lions are wild animals. So are most humans. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
WisteriaWinds Posted April 29, 2016 The East seems to focus on individual awakening via going inwards. The Western traditions tend to focus on societal awakening involving going outwards. These are generalized ideas of course, with exceptions, but true for the most part. Where Western traditions have tried to go inwards they've come up s bit short (contemplative, for example). Where Easterners have tried to go outwards they've fallen a bit short in efficacy as well (Tibetan prayer flags, etc.) There are exceptions (Christian mystics, Gandhi, etc.), but mostly this is true. So when we look at Jesus' statements concerning ethics, we have to keep the paradigm of collective awakening in mind (the ekklesia) and not forget that Chiang Tzu or Lao Tzu might've had a different measure of enlightened living in mind. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
thelerner Posted April 29, 2016 It's not so much about love. I think the world would be much improved if we treated the other with respect. In my mind, love sets so high a bench mark that it ends up being easily disregarded. People I love, family and very close friends are given a blank check by me. What ever they need. I can't and won't do that for strangers. Though I can treat them well and give them respect or strive too. 5 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dawei Posted April 29, 2016 Christianity had its golden rule; Confucius had an inverted sense of the golden rule. I believe Dao gave rise to both and yet is neither itself. So we see that Dao is indifferent to what arises because 10,000 golden rules will arise in man's Way. 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Orion Posted April 29, 2016 I thought the Golden Rule was oneness? That we are the Dao and the 10,000 things simultaneously? At the same time, each person must follow their De, their Virtue, their True Nature... not all the ego layers and learned behaviour. Telling people to treat others the way they want to be treated is useful on paper but in practice a bit unclear because everyone has a different De and they may not intersect. We may hurt people intentionally or accidentally as part of our De. However, we are all of the Dao and are therefore never separate, and therefore there is only One Nature. From that perspective it becomes easier to honour one another, though it doesn't necessarily mean uniform behaviour. Societies create a common reality through customs and social norms, and then there are individual realities happening underneath that, privately. 5 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
liminal_luke Posted April 29, 2016 (edited) I thought the Golden Rule was oneness? That we are the Dao and the 10,000 things simultaneously? At the same time, each person must follow their De, their Virtue, their True Nature... not all the ego layers and learned behaviour. Telling people to treat others the way they want to be treated is useful on paper but in practice a bit unclear because everyone has a different De and they may not intersect. We may hurt people intentionally or accidentally as part of our De. However, we are all of the Dao and are therefore never separate, and therefore there is only One Nature. From that perspective it becomes easier to honour one another, though it doesn't necessarily mean uniform behaviour. Societies create a common reality through customs and social norms, and then there are individual realities happening underneath that, privately. I like this, Orion. Sometimes love is having enough sensitivity to treat somebody how they would like to be treated, even if that´s different from how we wish people are with us. Edited April 29, 2016 by liminal_luke 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
cold Posted April 30, 2016 R.E.S.P.E.C.T. first recorded by Otis Redding. Further refined / defined by Aretha Franklin! We owe everything we encounter respect. I agree with thelerner love is to high a bar. Too often respect is a struggle. At least for me. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
thelerner Posted May 1, 2016 I thought the Golden Rule was oneness? Societies create a common reality through customs and social norms, and then there are individual realities happening underneath that, privately. Another golden rule, perhaps one that controls our outer lives more is: Whoever has the most Gold -Makes the Rules. Hmnn, cynical, but wisdom is also gold. Enough wisdom and we can slip through social and cultural constraints and live the life we choose. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
