Golden rule

By Park Sung-ik

In Xue Er, in the first part of "The Analects of Confucius," in which his disciples edited Confucius’ words, the first sentence begins with “Is it not pleasant to learn with a constant perseverance and application?” These days, as I read the Bible and "The Analects of Confucius," I realize that the two scriptures have something in common, and I am moved and delighted. It is "The Golden Rule" from the two scriptures. It is an ethical principle that says, "Do what you want others to do."

In Christianity, it appears as the basic Christian ethics shown by Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount. In the New Testament, Matthew 7:12, Jesus said: “Do to others what you would have them do to you,” and in Leviticus 19:18 in the Old Testament, God says, “Love your neighbor as yourself.”

"Love of one's neighbor" is generally the core of Christian ethics and is a fundamental feature. Jesus emphasizes "love of neighbor" along with "love of God" as God's greatest commandment, and Paul also follows the message that no matter how many laws there are, "in the end, love your neighbor as you love yourself." However, the love for others spoken of in this Bible is known to stand on a different foundation from love for humanity or the idea of human equality. In other words, it can be said that biblical love can only occur in an order that is surrounded and supported by the words and love of God.

Meanwhile, in the Yan Yuan section of "The Analects of Confucius," he taught his disciple, Zhong Gong, “Do not to others as you would not wish done to yourself.” In addition, he told Zi Gong in the Wei Ling Gong section of the same book, "What you do not want done to yourself, do not do to others." In short, Confucius taught that consideration for others is something that can be practiced throughout one's life.

The attitude of a man of benevolence is to treat people with respect as if they were big guests. Because he regards and loves others as himself, he reveals the strengths of others and respects them for their strengths, just as he hides the weaknesses of a brother or child and reveals the strengths. If you reveal and respect someone's strengths, there will be no one in this world whom you cannot respect. If you find out the shortcomings of others and correct them, there will be no one in this world whom you will not ignore. If you love them, you will respect them, and if you hate them, you will ignore them. If a leader loves and respects his people, he cannot make them do things carelessly. A person who cares for others as much as himself cannot make others do what he does not want to do.

The world we live in is a world where we live together with others. A heart that is considerate of others, a heart that understands other people's positions, a heart that changes one's position, and if these feelings accumulate, there will be no friction with others or fights with others. A heart that is considerate of others is a heart that loves others and wants to be with them. Through this consideration, we can create a peaceful and harmonious world.

Park Sung-ik ([email protected]) is a retired English teacher from Pungmoon Girls' High School.