Faith & the Common Good created the Green Rule poster, derived from the classic Golden Rule found in major faith traditions, paraphrasing it by saying:
“Do unto the Earth as you would have it do unto you.”
Read their statement below on the Green Rule and click here to see a larger version of the poster.
Selected from many of the world’s great religious texts and spiritual teachings, the Green Rules were chosen to demonstrate that each religion and spiritual philosophy has a long-standing tradition of ecological stewardship. Most are familiar with the Christian Golden Rule: “Do to others as you would have them do to you.” In Hinduism it is expressed; “Do not do to others what would cause pain to you.” In Islam, “Not one of you truly believes until you wish for others what you wish for yourself,” and so it goes in the various faith traditions. Our Green Rule paraphrased this Golden Rule as “Do unto the Earth as you would have it do unto you.” We have looked to the same sacred teachings to reveal similar expressions of care and concern, only in choosing our quotes we have extended the plea for compassion to include all of our neighbors: human beings, animals, birds, trees… Each Green Rule was also chosen to acknowledge the natural world as an essential phenomenon through which we may better come to know the divine and our oneness with it.
More about the Green Rule
The natural world is an essential phenomenon through which we may better come to know the divine. We have used a tree as our central image, to represent creation as a whole and symbolic of the entire Earth, its various peoples, cultures, creatures, and ecosystems. You will notice that there is only one tree but many different species of leaves. This is intended to express the old adage ‘unity in diversity.’ Each leaf represents a different faith tradition, and each species is significant to the faith it represents. To Hindus, for example, the banyan tree represents fertility, love, and life, and it is believed to be home to the holy trinity of Hindu gods (Brahma, Vishnu, Shiva). Buddha found enlightenment while meditating under the bodhi tree, and bodhi trees are found next to Buddhist temples throughout Asia. Mohammad was said to have compared a good Muslim to a palm tree and stated that planting such a tree was a satisfactory substitute for alms. In addition to their many practical gifts, trees have long been sacred to people. Forests served as humanity’s first places of worship, and still evoke a sense of the divine. From the massive cathedral groves of redwoods to the gnarled olive trees of the middle east, to the signature fat-trunked baobab of Africa, trees evoke something in us that reminds us of our connection to the natural world, as well as the divine.