"Every major wisdom tradition arrived at the same answer independently. 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' -Jesus; 'Do not hurt others in ways that you yourself would find hurtful.' -the Buddha; 'That which is hateful to you, do not do to another.' -Hillel (Judaism); 'None of you truly believes until he loves for his brother what he loves for himself.' -Muhammad. These are different fingers pointing at the same Moon."
"Here is the question nobody is asking: What if war is not a failure of strategy, diplomacy, or intelligence? What if war is a failure to live the Golden Rule? The word 'sin' comes from the Greek term hamartia, meaning to miss the mark or miss the target. War is hamartia at the largest possible scale."
"Right now, somewhere on Earth, neighbors are killing neighbors. It is happening as we read this. And every time, both sides believe they are in the right. Both sides believe God is on their side. Both sides believe they are 'the Good Guys.' The Bullseye of Life is to expand our circles of compassion to include everyone, even our enemies."
Multiple wisdom traditions—Christianity, Buddhism, Judaism, and Islam—converge on identical ethical principles despite developing independently across different cultures and centuries. The core teaching is that compassion and love for others, including enemies, represents the bullseye of human life. War represents the ultimate failure to live this principle, occurring when both sides believe they are righteous and God supports their cause. The Greek concept of sin as hamartia means missing the mark or target. Hatred and warfare represent missing this fundamental target at the largest possible scale. Recognizing this shared truth across traditions deepens understanding of human interconnectedness and reveals that war stems not from strategic or diplomatic failures, but from failure to practice the Golden Rule.
Read at Psychology Today
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