This proverb means that we often get treated the same way we treat others. It is usually negatively, as a warning, or when a person who acted immorally gets their comeuppance. It could also be used as a promise of blessings to those who do good. A third possible meaning is that Often compared to the Hindu doctrine of karma, the exact origin of the proverb is uncertain, but it seems to have emerged in the US in middle of the last century.
Related proverbs and quotes:
Shakespeare
Related proverbs and quotes:
Shakespeare
We still have judgment here; that we but teach
Bloody instructions, which, being taught, return
To plague the inventor: this even-handed justice
Commends the ingredients of our poison'd chalice
To our own lips. (Macbeth Act I, Scene 7)
Bible:
As you sow, so shall you reap (Galatians 6:7)
Chinese:
善有善報,惡有惡報
Good is rewarded with good, and evil with evil.
German
Wie man in den Wald hineinruft, so schallt es heraus
What you shout into the forest, will echo out again