Now, a “Charter for Compassion” calls us as human persons to come together under a concept which is shared by all the enduring religions of the world and humanists – compassion.
The Charter is the result of author Karen Armstrong’s 2008 TED Prize. It was unveiled to the world on November 12, 2009. TED stands for Technology, Entertainment, Design. It is an annual conference which brings together the world’s most fascinating thinkers and doers, who are challenged to give the talk of their lives [in 18 minutes or less!]. The website http://www.ted.com/ makes the best talks and performances, the ideas worth spreading, from TED available to the public, for free. The TED Prize is awarded annually to three exceptional individuals who each receive $100,000 and, much more important, the granting of “One Wish to Change the World.”
Karen Armstrong's wish was for all of us to follow a "Charter for Compassion." The Charter is a cooperative effort to restore compassionate action to the center of religious, moral and political life. Compassion is the principled determination to put ourselves in the shoes of the other, and lies at the heart of all religious and ethical systems. One of the most urgent tasks of our generation is to build a global community where men and women of all races, nations and ideologies can live together in peace. In our globalized world, everybody has become our neighbor, and the Golden Rule has become an urgent necessity.
The Charter, crafted by people all over the world and drafted by a multi-faith, multi-national council of thinkers and leaders, seeks to change the conversation so that compassion becomes a key word in public and private discourse, making it clear that any ideology that breeds hatred or contempt -- be it religious or secular -- has failed the test of our time. It is a summons to creative, practical and sustained action to meet the political, moral, religious, social and cultural problems of our time.
Armstrong is a provocative, original thinker on the role of religion in the modern world. She is a former Roman Catholic nun who left a British convent to pursue a degree in modern literature at Oxford. She has written more than 20 books around the ideas of what Islam, Judaism and Christianity have in common. Her meditations on personal faith and religion (she calls herself a freelance monotheist) spark discussion — especially her take on fundamentalism, which she sees in a historical context, as an outgrowth of modern culture.
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THE CHARTER FOR COMPASSION
"The principle of compassion lies at the heart of all religious, ethical and spiritual traditions, calling us always to treat all others as we wish to be treated ourselves. Compassion impels us to work tirelessly to alleviate the suffering of our fellow creatures, to dethrone ourselves from the centre of our world and put another there, and to honour the inviolable sanctity of every single human being, treating everybody, without exception, with absolute justice, equity and respect.
"It is also necessary in both public and private life to refrain consistently and empathically from inflicting pain. To act or speak violently out of spite, chauvinism, or self-interest, to impoverish, exploit or deny basic rights to anybody, and to incite hatred by denigrating others - even our enemies - is a denial of our common humanity. We acknowledge that we have failed to live compassionately and that some have even increased the sum of human misery in the name of religion.
"We therefore call upon all men and women:
~ to restore compassion to the centre of morality and religion.
~ to return to the ancient principle that any interpretation of scripture that breeds violence, hatred or disdain is illegitimate.
~ to ensure that youth are given accurate and respectful information about other traditions, religions and cultures.
~ to encourage a positive appreciation of cultural and religious diversity.
~ to cultivate an informed empathy with the suffering of all human beings, even those regarded as enemies.
"We urgently need to make compassion a clear, luminous and dynamic force in our polarized world. Rooted in a principled determination to transcend selfishness, compassion can break down political, dogmatic, ideological and religious boundaries. Born of our deep interdependence, compassion is essential to human relationships and to a fulfilled humanity. It is the path to enlightenment, and indispensible to the creation of a just economy and a peaceful global community."
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So, how can you and I BE the compassion we all seek in the world?
(Website: http://charterforcompassion.org//) [See a 3 minute discussion by Karen Armstrong at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DCG4qryy1Dg] and also http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wktlwCPDd94&feature=related).
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