I attended an event on October 23rd in New York at ABC Carpets where Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf and secularist Robert Wright talked about Compassion. It was fascinating, and I tweeted about it.
On November 12th, TED unveiled the Charter for Compassion, and I thought I’d share it with you. See more information below.
Thousands of contributors from around the world collaborate on the charter to bring compassion back into the heart of society.
On February 28, 2008 Karen Armstrong won the TED Prize and made a wish: to create, launch and propagate a Charter for Compassion. Since that day, thousands of contributors, including some of the world’s most respected religious leaders, from all nationalities, belief systems and cultures, have come together to promote the principle that lies at the foundation of all religious and ethical systems: compassion. Compassion is the principled determination to put ourselves in the shoes of the other, and is often referred to as the Golden Rule.
Now, more than ever, the time is right for the world to focus on compassion. The Charter for Compassion is a cooperative effort to restore not only compassionate thinking but, more important, compassionate action to the center of religious, moral and political life. On November 12, Karen Armstrong at the culmination of a 20-month process will reveal the words for the Charter for Compassion for the first time, as it is hung in significant religious and secular buildings around the world. From that day on, individuals and organizations will host events, from art exhibits to small lectures to film screenings, to celebrate the launch.
As we close a decade marked by war, help us usher in a decade focused on compassion. The names of all affirmers on December 31 will be sent along with the Charter for Compassion to 5 world leaders whose countries are engaged in conflict.
Add your name today and join the Dalai Lama, Desmond Tutu, Paul Simon, Queen Rania, Forest Whitaker, and many others in affirming the Charter. Share the Charter with your networks. Each additional name makes the compassionate voice a more potent force in the world. Let us make the silent majority a challenge to extremism and hatred. www.charterforcompassion.org
