The Green Rule: Ecological Wisdom from Faith Traditions
Overview
Faith & the Common Good derived the Green Rule poster from the classic Golden Rule found in major faith traditions. For the Green Rule we are paraphrasing the Golden Rule by saying: "Do unto the Earth as you would have it do unto you."
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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.
Faith & the Common Good derived the Green Rule poster from the classic Golden Rule found in many major faith traditions. 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.
For the Green Rule we are paraphrasing the Golden Rule by saying: "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 neighbours 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.
- Download the Green Rule Handbook in Adobe pdf format (472 Kb)
- Order the Green Rule Poster and Study Guide here
More about the Green Rule
The natural world is an essential phenomenon through which we may better come to know the divine.
To represent creation as a whole we have used a tree as our central image, symbolic of the entire Earth, its various peoples, cultures, creatures and ecosystems. You will notice on the poster 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 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 'temples' and they inspired our first churches. Many traditional cultures still believe that gods and spirits dwell in trees, and thousands of small forests exist today because they were preserved for spiritual purposes. These groves now provide invaluable information about species fast disappearing elsewhere due to deforestation.
We hope to encourage people to unearth the ecological sensibilities in their own religion and, perhaps, explore similar teachings of other faiths.
Faith & the Common Good hopes the Green Rule will not only make us all more grateful for and protective of trees. Our aim is to help people of all faiths make their contribution to the conservation of creation according to their beliefs and traditions. We hope to encourage people to unearth the ecological sensibilities in their own religion and, perhaps, explore similar teachings of other faiths. As each of us learn the value of diversity, both cultural/religious and biodiversity, we can better contribute to deeper thinking about how the wisdom of all our faith traditions can individually and collectively heal our overstressed planet.
The Green Rule Poster does not represent all the world’s traditions. That would be impossible given the innumerable forms spiritual expressions in the world. The poster seeks to be inclusive but can not be exhaustive. We invite you to submit a Green Rule from your own spiritual tradition, especially if your tradition is not represented here, so that we can continue to update our list of Green Rules and grow our ‘tree’ into a truly universal Tree of Life. Send your ideas to E-mail: editor @ faith-commongood.net
The study guide offers suggestions on how you can use the Green Rule poster as an imaginative and practical tool to teach your faith community about the sacredness of creation.
A Green Rule Study Guide is available. It offers suggestions on how you can use the Green Rule poster as an imaginative and practical tool to teach youth and adult members of your faith community and school system about the sacredness of creation in their own faith, while taking into consideration the similar beliefs of other traditions.
- Order the Green Rule Poster and Study Guide here
- E-mail for Additional Information on the Green Rule