Charter For Compassion Unveiled

"Peace is not merely a distant goal that we seek, but a means by which we arrive at that goal." Martin Luther King Jr.

new charter today new teacher next week
old comections shifting and rekindling
flux is the temporary baseline of my life

I am excited about the unveiling of the Charter For Compassion today. I am getting ready to attend a public reading tonight with Compassionate Action Network. I loved adding my name to the list of those affirming the Charter. Here's a small portion of the names of those affirming it so far on the front page of the Charter For Compassion website:

Some of the Affirmers

His Holiness the Dalai Lama
H.M. Queen Noor of Jordan
Chair, King Hussein Foundation
Paul Simon
Musician
Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Mpilo Tutu
Sir Ken Robinson
Author
Deepak Chopra
Author
Sheikh Ali Gomaa
Grand Mufti of Egypt
Professor Candido Mendes
Spiritual Director, Arsha Vijan Mandiram
Goldie Hawn
Actor
Dr. Abdul Sattar Edhi
Founder, Edhi Foundation


It is exciting to be in such esteemed company adding such positive to the steps toward a more compassionate world. I couldn't manage to add the widget yet that would allow anyone to affirm the Charter from my blog, but you can affirm at the Charter for compassion site. Now the rest will be striving to uphold these principles and practice kindness and compassionate until it is the deepest part of who I am.

The spoken version is here on the video, and the written version below it.



From Charter For Compassion site:

A call to bring the world together…

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.