Welcome, Jainism
“One should treat all creatures in the world as one would like to be treated.”
— Mahavira, Sutrakritanga 1.11.33
Jainism takes non-harm further than any other tradition. Ahimsa — the refusal to cause suffering to any living being — is not one principle among many but the supreme principle from which all else follows. The Ultimate Law agrees that non-harm is the foundation: do not do to others what they would not want done to them. Where Jainism extends this to all creatures, the Ultimate Law focuses on agents capable of consent — but the direction is the same. Mahavira understood twenty-five centuries ago what the dictionary states today: harm without consent is the only real crime.
The Ultimate Law
Logic is the ultimate law.
Do not do to others what they would not want to be done to them, or you will be punished regardless of your will.
The purpose of punishment is to erase guilt, via retribution and restitution.
That is the entire law; it cannot be changed, all the rest is commentary.