One going to take a pointed stick to pinch a baby bird should first try it on himself to feel how it hurts.”
This Yoruba proverb is one of hundreds of iterations of the Golden Rule around the globe and through human history. Given the prevalence of the Rule, often expressed in Western culture as “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you,” we can consider it the universal human ethic, distilled from the well of humanity’s conscience.
Yet the Golden Rule is more than an ethic; it also offers a Golden Path. As we engage with it and its wish, it can offer a way to self-knowledge and to the awakening of mind, heart, body—as explored in Stephen Aronson’s “The Golden Rule and the Transformation of Being,” the opening essay in this Winter 2021-2022 issue of Parabola. Myriad aspects and lore of the Golden Rule are considered throughout these pages, from Confucian wisdom on doing the right thing to the captivating story of how painting the Rule changed everything for renowned artist Norman Rockwell; from an exchange of letters on friendship between a journalist and a Trappist monk to a stirring story of compassion and respect between bear and human.
There are cautionary tales here too, one a memorable Hanukkah lesson and the other a deep look at what can happen when the Golden Rule is ignored in spiritual work. These pages also feature an enjoyable and ready-to-assemble magic device to teach the Golden Rule, and a conversation with its creator, magician Steffan Soule.
In addition, Parabola is proud to again present the annual winners of the Poetry of the Sacred Contest (2021), chosen by the Center for Interfaith Relations.
Our gratitude to Bonnie Phillips and the Golden Rule Project for their help and support on this issue, which we hope will serve all readers well.
—Jeff Zaleski
table of contents
The Golden Rule and the Transformation of Being Stephen Aronson
How the Golden Rule can be the Golden Path
Norman Rockwell and the Call of Conscience Kim Wagner-Hemmes
Painting the Golden Rule changed everything
A Profound Connection Jennifer Skiff and Jill Robinson
A bear, a human, and the arising of purpose
Pure Gold Margaret Wolff
A conversation with Br. Satyananda of Yogananda’s Self-Realization Fellowship
The Golden Rule and the Law Trevor Gruwell,
Tamara Lemmon, Elizabeth Kronk Warner
The ongoing struggle to get it right
The Golden Coins of King Kanishka Nartana Premachandra
He ruled through cruelty; then came the Dharma
Friendship Judith Valente and Br. Paul Quenon
A journalist and a monk exchange revelatory letters
The Consummate Commandment Ezra ben-Pesach
Jewish wisdom on loving one’s neighbor as oneself
What the World Needs Now Jennifer Rose
A conversation with magician and educator Steffan Soule
The Golden Rule Tetraflexagon Steffan Soule
A ready-to-assemble magic device
Golden Words The Golden Rule Project
The Golden Rule as expressed around the world
A Universal Ethic Paul McKenna
A powerful poster spreads the word
The Runaway Guru Amir Freimann
A conversation with teacher and former Adi Da student
Saniel Bonder
All That Glitters Is Not Gold Taylor Sucec-Phillips
The tarnished state of fast fashion
The Clay Set Enid Kassner
A Hannukah gift brings an unforgettable lesson
To Overflow with Love for All Miles Menander Dawson
Confucius on the best way forward
Loving-kindness Translated by Laurence Khantipalo Mills
The Buddha’s teaching on benevolence
Charter for Compassion Council of Conscience
A global call to live the Golden Rule
The Language of a Good Heart Florence Hartley
Manners matter
epicycle
The Lion and the Mouse Aesop / Ancient Greek
poetry of the sacred
Beast of Burden Sofia Skavdahl
Grace Tom Hunley
Human Beans John Berry
Season on the Equator Skip Maselli
tangent
Tracking Leopold and Thoreau Keith Badger
Extending the Golden Rule to all and everything
book review
Gurdjieff Reconsidered: The Life, the Teachings, the Legacy Roger Lipsey / reviewed by Jim Metzner