All tremble at violence; life is dear to all. Putting oneself in the place of another, one should not kill nor cause another to kill.
The Buddha
(Dhammapada: Verse 130:
tr. Acharya Buddharakkhita)
There is the so-called Golden Rule (黄金法则) in many religions and philosophies, even embraced by many freethinkers. It is generally along the line of, ‘Do not unto others what you do not want others to do unto you‘, or ‘Of that you do not desire, do not give to others.’ (己所不欲,勿施于人) A Buddhist version from the Udânavarga 5:18 goes — ‘Hurt not others in ways that you yourself would find hurtful.’
The disappointing reality is that not everyone abides by this ‘universal’ Golden Rule. If we all do, there should be no wars, crimes and such. Even though this empathetic rule seems common-sensical, in application, it requires deeper contemplation on ‘what should and should not be done.’ In other words, on ‘what defines good and evil’, which are classified differently by each school of thought subscribed to.
In the Buddhist teachings, evil (恶) arises from the three poisons (三毒) of greed (or attachment), hatred (or aversion) and delusion (or ignorance) (贪嗔痴), as expressed through the three karmas (三业) of body, speech and mind (身口意). Good (善) arises from their ‘three antidotes’ (三药) of generosity (布施), compassion (慈悲) and wisdom (智慧). (The intricacies defining these qualities deserve further study.)
In Buddhism, beyond morality, there is also strife towards spiritual purity (清净), which arises from ending evil (止恶) and practising good (行善), but without aversion to evil and attachment to good. There are also specific do’s and don’ts taught by the Buddha with increasingly morally pure guidelines, from the Five Precepts (五戒) to Eight Precepts (八戒), Bodhisattva Precepts (菩萨戒) and Monastic Precepts (出家戒).
Yet, even after spelling out the do’s and don’ts, there will be grey situations with moral ambiguity, which make it tricky to discern what is right or wrong, to do or not. Thus, is there need to learn the spirit of the precepts, which is the essential purpose behind the letter of the precepts. When there are contentions, similar case studies that occurred in the Buddha’s time should be looked into for clearing the air too.
This world has many conflicts because some ignore the Golden Rule entirely, and even if there is general consensus on its sensibility, the ‘devil’ or rather ‘demons’ are in the many details, on what is exactly agreeable, disagreeable and in between. Despite having the Golden Rule, there are varying shades of gold lived up to. Thus, the challenge is to keep asking ourselves — ‘How can I further refine for pure gold?’
One who, while himself seeking happiness, oppresses with violence other beings who also desire happiness, will not attain happiness hereafter.
The Buddha
(Dhammapada: Verses 131:
tr. Acharya Buddharakkhita)
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