The golden rule states: Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.
I was thinking of some events that happened in the mid 2000s. Due to certain events I did not want to have anything to do with some people and their friends and acquaintances. They complained that although I may have a grievance against them I was not being fair to other people who had done nothing to harm me.
The answer I gave them was that it was not my job to be fair to all and sundry and if they had a grievance they could take legal action or complain against me to God almighty on Judgment Day.
They had to accept that since they had no way to force me. But they did not like it. And now all these years later I remembered these incidents and was thinking of the philosophical points related to this subject.
The golden rule says what it does (see above). It does not say do unto others as they would have you do unto them.
Meaning that the ethical standard that you use in treating people should be internal. Have empathy and be fair to people. Try to avoid hurting them. This is prudent as well as sound ethics. But no matter how hard you try to be fair there will always be people who don’t like you and how you treat them.
There is nothing you can do about that. You are here to live your life and (if you choose) take steps towards the Divine. You are not here to treat all people you meet in a way they think is fair.
It is impossible to keep everybody happy. Life is suffering. All objects in the Universe are unsatisfactory. You (or rather your ego) is also part of the Universe and you are also unsatisfactory. What is so surprising.
Since life is suffering there will always be something for people to complain about because no one likes to suffer.
So try to be fair but do not be surprised if people still complain. Most of them will not have read philosophy or Buddhist teachings. Almost all of them in fact. So it is natural for them to complain.
You are not here to please all the people whom you meet in your life. You may find it necessary to be harsh with people at times (as I did). Give those people a fair warning and explain your reasons (unless that is confidential). But do what is necessary to survive and meet your objectives.
The Chinese philosopher, Confucius, may have been more realistic. From a Google search:
Confucius’s principle is “do not do unto others what you would not want others to do unto you”. This is also known as the Silver Rule, a negative form of the Golden Rule.
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