Original Contributions
The Charter for Compassion is an open and collaborative effort. In Fall 2008, people of all nations, all faiths, all backgrounds, submitted their own words for inclusion in the Charter.
The Charter for Compassion is a product of its time, for its time. Using a unique web-based decision making platform, thousands of people from over 100 countries added their voice to the writing of the Charter. In a six-week period, thousands of submissions were entered which were then read and commented upon by over 150,000 visitors. These contributions were then reviewed by the Council of Conscience and incorporated into the final document.
FOLLOW
the charter
Abrahamic Faiths
"Not merely a feeling, compassion is action. It is the active pursuit of understanding your uniqueness as distinct and the ability to experience your reality as significant. It is the extension of me-ness beyond the borders of my body. Much more than a refusal to inflict pain, it is about suspending the layers of my identity to see beyond the walls that divide to embrace the purity that unifies."
Islam, Pakistan
"Compassion is often expressed as a feeling, attitude, belief, or intention. Compassion, however, demands living acts or it will die. Each person may look around, count the resources at hand, find the present need; then act compassionately to mend and restore. The tasks may be small and close or part of something large and well-organized, but once we set ourselves the task and do it, compassion itself grows and expands‚ stronger, braver and central to our experience."
Christianity, United States
"Daily focus 1 minute on Compassion. Imagine one compassionate act for the day and take that action. Before retiring for sleep give thanks for the blessings of your compassionate act toward yourself or others."
Christianity, United States
"To educate means to “educe” – or to bring forth – each person’s unique, inherent gifts and abilities. As the author Thomas Moore has written, “Education is not the piling on of learning, information, data, facts, skills, or abilities - that’s training or instructing - but is rather making visible what is hidden as a seed.” This is a lovely reminder for us as we think about “teaching compassion” – it is a making visible of this hidden seed that exists within each human heart. It is NOT something “out there” (in religion, or in codes of ethics, etc.) that needs to be “taught” in the conventional sense. Instead, by embodying compassion in their Being, and by encouraging their students to look within, to “be still and know,” educators can perform a great service to all humankind."
Christianity, United States
"In transmitting to our future generations a compassionate education, it is vital to revisit the old institutions that have transmitted discrimination, fear, and misunderstanding: history textbooks and Euro-centric approaches to social studies. One of the most remarkable ways of doing this is to address contributions of all cultures and faiths and how they have shaped the life we lead today. In this way, all students’ heritages are celebrated and their inter-dependencies made truly tangible. Our collaborations and interaction are our compassionate links with each other. Let us celebrate the belief that all peoples have genius and recognize we all owe each other great debts of gratitude and commitment."
Islam, United States
