"Don't do to others what you don't want others to do to you" means: Don't do to others what you don't want others to do to you. Confucius emphasized that people should forgive others and advocated the principle of "forgiveness". Only in this way can human nature be revealed. "Forgiveness" is the negative expression of "benevolence", and its positive expression is "if you want to stand, you can stand, and if you want to reach, you can reach people". Confucius' explanation of benevolence is centered on "loving others", and this kind of loving behavior certainly includes forgiving others. As mentioned in The Analects of Confucius, the way of a master is loyalty and forgiveness.
This sentence reveals the important principles of dealing with interpersonal relationships. Confucius said that people should treat others with their own behavior as a reference. People should have a broad mind. When dealing with people, don't be narrow-minded, be generous and forgive others. If you impose what you don't want on others, it will not only destroy the relationship with others, but also make things deadlocked and out of control. The communication between people should really adhere to this principle, which is the embodiment of respecting others and treating others equally. In this world, we should not only pay attention to our own existence, but also pay attention to the existence of others. Everyone is equal. Do not do to others what you don't want them to do to you.
The above-mentioned "people" is broad and refers to the masses. The definition of "human" in the era when The Analects of Confucius was born usually refers to a narrow sense, that is, people above scholars are opposite to "human". "Don't do to others what you don't want others to do to you" is preceded by "be a distinguished guest when you go out and make the people like a big sacrifice", which is described in the same sentence. Obviously, the "people" here refers to the exploited class and the working people. In today's language, the narrow sense of "man" refers to the slave owner, that is, the exploiting class, while "man" refers to the slave, that is, the exploited class, so this sentence can of course be understood as the interpersonal principle of "don't do to others what you don't want others to do to you" applies to the exploiting class, but the relationship between the exploiting class and the exploited class is not necessarily the case. This understanding is not nonsense, nor is it completely impossible. However, as we all know, Confucius is a man who strongly advocates "benevolence", and "human" here should refer to a broad sense.
Confucius is not talking about a universal theorem. If everything starts from this principle, many things will get stuck in the middle and it will be difficult to move forward. If two people confront each other with guns, their lives are at stake. A is justice and B is evil. At this time, if A abides by the principle of "Don't do to others what you don't want others to do to you", wouldn't it be miserable! A definitely doesn't want to be killed, so don't you kill B who doesn't want to be killed Any truth and any law are only applicable under certain conditions and circumstances.
"Don't do to others what you don't want others to do to you" is the essence of Confucianism and the deep-rooted creed of the Chinese nation. However, in reality, many people can't abide by the creed of "don't do to others what you don't want them to do to you". Everything is centered on personal interests, only taking care of their own feelings, ignoring the feelings of others. Whether dealing with interpersonal relations or political relations, we should not hesitate to realize the importance of the enduring principle of "don't do to others what you don't want others to do to you".