Wednesday 20 March 2013

己所(不)欲,勿施于人

The phrase 己所不欲,勿施于人 came to mind during a discussion this afternoon. I want to see if there's an equivalent for the converse. I ended up finding out about the Golden Rule - effectively the English version of 己所不欲,勿施于人: "One should not treat others in ways that one would not like to be treated."

So is there a rule for "one should not expect others to like what one likes"? Or more generically, "one should not expect others to be what one is"?

Imagine this conversation:

A: Here, have a drumstick. It's good.
B: No, thank you. I don't like drumstick.
A: But it's good. Come, have one.
B: But I don't like it!

Perhaps it's as simple as 己所欲,也勿施于人! Something to think about in my parenthood journey..

1 comment:

  1. A sadist is a masochist who practises the Golden Rule.

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