Troop 1396 Scouting in Isolation Volume 11

Scouts, Scouters, and Parents:

 

We are still working on summer camp options.  We received some clarity yesterday and we will discuss options this Thursday during the Troop Committee Meeting.  We hope to have a path forward soon.  Next Tuesday, our Senior Patrol Leader, Nico Morgan, will host a Patrol Leaders Council.  Part of this discussion is an examination what we can do under Phase 1 restrictions and when we can anticipate beginning to meet together in person.  Note that our Cyber Chip Instructor, Gavin Kegler, will be working with some of the patrols to organize sessions for Scouts to present cyber awareness topics.

 

As of last month, I have served as Scoutmaster for three years (this term).  Three years ago I offered examples in a Scoutmaster Minute of the commonality of religious text regarding withholding judgment on others, as none of us are blameless.  Would it surprise you to know that there is also congruency across religions concerning treatment of others like we want be treated?  In light of the news, I have been thinking a lot about compassion, kindness, and this Golden Rule.  This leads me to this week's Scoutmaster Minute:

 

I would argue that is a paramount rule to live by:  Treat others like you would want to be treated.  I learned this first from my mother.  My pastor and Sunday-school teacher taught me this as well.  My Scout leaders reiterated this Golden Rule in our meetings and our outings.  It can be found in the scriptures of many religions.  Here are some examples:

 

Judaism:  

You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against your kinsfolk.  Love your neighbor as yourself:  I am the LORD. -- Leviticus 19:18

and, 

What is hateful to you, do not do to your fellow:  this is the whole Torah; the rest is the explanation; go and learn. -- Shabbath folio:31a, Babylonian Talmud

as well as:

The stranger who resides with you shall be to you as one of your citizens; you shall love him as yourself, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt:  I the Lord am your God. -- Leviticus 19:34

 

Christianity:

Do to others what you want them to do to you.  This is the meaning of the law of Moses and the teaching of the prophets. -- Matthew 7:12

and,

And as ye would that men should do to you, do ye also to them likewise. -- Luke 6:31

as well as:

For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. -- Galatians 5:14

 

Islam:

A Bedouin came to the prophet, grabbed the stirrup of his camel and said:  O the messenger of God! Teach me something to go to heaven with it.  Prophet said: "As you would have people do to you, do to them; and what you dislike to be done to you, don't do to them.  Now let the stirrup go!" [This maxim is enough for you; go and act in accordance with it!]" -- Kitab al-Kafi, vol. 2, p. 146

and, 

None of you [truly] believes until he wishes for his brother what he wishes for himself. -- An-Nawawi's Forty Hadith 13 (p. 56)

 

Hinduism:

One should never do that to another which one regards as injurious to one's own self.  This, in brief, is the rule of dharma.  Other behavior is due to selfish desires. -- Brihaspati, Mahabharata 13.114.8

 

Buddhism:

Comparing oneself to others in such terms as "Just as I am so are they, just as they are so am I," he should neither kill nor cause others to kill. -- Sutta Nipata 705

and, 

One who, while himself seeking happiness, oppresses with violence other beings who also desire happiness, will not attain happiness hereafter. -- Dhammapada 10 

as well as:

Hurt not others in ways that you yourself would find hurtful. -- Udanavarga 5:18

 

These are merely some examples and not by any means a comprehensive list.  Their messages are similar, if not the same:  Don't do to another what you would not want him or her to do to you.  

This message is just as pertinent today as the day these scriptures were written.  Too often we see examples of people trying to justify denying others of the same basic rights they want for themselves because of the color of another's skin, the way someone worships, one's ethnicity or nationality, another's affinity, or the way someone thinks.   What a great world it would be if all members of our human race stopped looking for the ways our differences can divide us and started celebrating the commonality of the human condition.  

Imagine if we all adopted a selfless attitude where we truly wanted for others what we want for ourselves; this is the antithesis of a cycle of vengeance that is happening today in may nations, regions, and municipalities across our globe.  In the tradition of your religion, I encourage you to extend prayer beyond asking for blessings for your family and friends, but also for those who have (or you perceive have) done you wrong.  Love unconditionally with the hopes that it proves contagious.

A Scout is Reverent.  A Scout is Kind.

Yours in Scouting,

Doug Henry

Scoutmaster, Troop 1396

Chartered to St. Matthew's Lutheran Church

Lake Ridge, VA

doug.henry@troop1396.org