Charter for Compassion.
Peter Terpstra
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.
http://charterforcompassion.org/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wktlwCPDd94
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Amnesty International Report 2009 on China:
http://report2009.amnesty.org/en/regions/asia-pacific/china