Charter of Compassion TED Talk

This past summer I had the opportunity to hear and visit with Karen Armstrong at the Chautauqua Institution. Karen, for those who don't know, was once a Roman Catholic nun. It was a hard and difficult road, but she eventually left that calling to join the secular world and follow a different path in 1969. Since that time, however, she has distinguished herself as one of the world's foremost authorities on world religions. Her many books include:

• The Case for God
• The Great Transformation: The Beginning of our Religious Traditions
• A History of God: The 4000-Year Quest of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam
• Buddha

One of Karen's recent passions has been the Charter for Compassion, and that was what she was talking about at Chautauqua. The Charter asserts that: "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."

So it "calls 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."

In other words, the Charter calls upon to live by the Golden Rule. Her talk at Chautauqua was similar to a TED Talk she gave in Oxford, England in July 2009 titled "Let's Revive the Golden Rule." It's only 19 minutes long and I encourage you to give it a listen.

Coaching Inquiries: What does your religion, tradition, or culture have to say about the Golden Rule? How do you incorporate that into your own life? Who do you associate with that could support you on the journey? How could the Golden Rule -- the Empathy Rule -- become more a part of our world today?

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