Compassion: Revisiting a revolutionary ethic

I don't think compassion is an option for us. It's essential for the survival of our species. ~Karen Armstrong

Compassion is a practically acquired knowledge, like dancing. You must do it and practice diligently day by day. ~Karen Armstrong

Love and compassion are necessities, not luxuries. Without them, humanity cannot survive. ~Dalai Lama XIV, The Art of Happiness

If you want others to be happy, practice compassion. If you want to be happy, practice compassion. ~Dalai Lama XIV, The Art of Happiness

Compassion means “to suffer together.” When you see someone hungry, perhaps a person who may have fallen, a classmate that is being bullied, a parent who might be scolding a brother or sister and it was your fault. Among emotion researchers, it is defined as the feeling that arises when you are confronted with another’s suffering and feel motivated to relieve that suffering.

Compassion is not the same as empathy, though the concepts are related. Empathy refers more generally to our ability to feel the emotions of another person, compassion is when those feelings and thoughts include the desire to help and you do help.

Research shows that when we feel compassion, our heart rate slows down, we secrete the “bonding hormone” oxytocin, and regions of the brain linked to empathy, caregiving, and feelings of pleasure light up, which often results in our wanting to approach and care for other people—it means that we begin to take care of other people, animals, the environment, and as importantly ourselves.

Scientific research on compassion shows that being compassionate can improve health, well- being, and relationships. Many scientists believe that compassion may even be vital to the survival of our species, and they’re finding that its advantages can be increased through targeted exercises and practice. By the way, many people equate compassion with kindness.

If you want to learn more about the science of compassion you might want to look at the work of Doctors James Doty, Dacher Keltner, Christopher Kukk and Paul Ekman.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SsWs6bf7tvI

Compassion is Radical

Compassion is radical—radical—meaning getting to the root of things. We look at compassion in this way because we are pragmatic, sensible, no nonsense, feet-on-the ground kind of people.

When Karen Armstrong won the TED prize, the act which started the Charter for Compassion, the TED organizers called compassion the best idea humanity ever had. It seems to be built into the core of our very being. However, more than often, it gets almost completely lost. But what would happen if every person or at the very least a majority of us made empathy and compassion our central and sole focus.

What if every person put everything else — everything else — aside?

The Golden Rule — that simple call to make compassion central to one's actions — is obviously NOT as golden as it might be. While every institutional religion speaks highly of it as a model for human behavior, far too often it is institutional politics and power that determine institutional behavior. Without the Golden Rule put to practice, hatred, prejudice, neglect and horror can follow. However, we are hardwired for compassion—to act on the needs of others—to bring less suffering in the world. Fortunately each of us has deep reservoirs of compassion.

Into this mix of theological theory and daily life comes The Charter for Compassion. Initiated by Karen Armstrong’s award, contributed on line by over 180,000 people and written by a group of thinkers from across the spectrum of beliefs— the Charter reminds us what all spiritual endeavor should aim for.

Quote from the Charter: It is worth repeating one of the lines of the Charter:

Compassion impels us to work tirelessly to alleviate the suffering of our fellow creatures, to dethrone ourselves from the center of our world and put another there, and to honor the inviolable sanctity of every single human being, treating everybody, without exception, with absolute justice, equity and respect.

It is likely the Golden Rule a basis in evolution. It may be that altruism in individuals (based on modeling others as oneself) confers evolutionary fitness.

It is a rather obvious fact that are world is interdependent—what happens in one part of the globe has an effect in another part—whether it is economic, environmental or cultural. This is clearly another step in our evolution. So, perhaps, now there is a new evolutionary imperative to both deepen and widen the Golden Rule.

It's Time to Make a Difference

The Charter for Compassion’s goal is to get the world’s people to pony up, walk the walk, to speak out and to get our hands dirty.

- I am convinced that the Charter for Compassion is what the world needs right now.

- From Confucius, Lao Tzu, The Buddha, Jesus, the Prophet Mohammad, Jesus to Bono and Oprah, people have preached compassion for centuries. But how often is it put into practice? Religion, which should advocate for compassionate living, is too often seen as part of the problem.

- In light of recent events — shootings, assassinations, the conflicts throughout the Middle East— the world is filled with injustices, unequal distribution of wealth, lack of access to basic needs of education, food and water.

- There’s a mood of despair around, “[and] despair is a dangerous thing, because once people lose hope, they can resort to extreme measures."

- Compassion isn't a very popular virtue. "People often prefer to be right.” There is no compassionate- quick scheme. "This is a struggle for a lifetime, because there are aspects in it that militate against compassion.” For example, it's hard to love your enemies. We are driven by our legacy from our reptilian ancestors. It "makes us put ourselves first, become angry, [and] when we feel threatened in any way, we lash out.”

- People struggle with compassion, "all the time, every day.” Nonetheless, we must force ourselves back to the theme of compassion. Isn’t time we build a global community, where people of all opinions and all ethnicities can live together in harmony? Isn’t it time to get to work?

- Making space for the other "in our minds and our hearts and our policies" is essential . "We are always talking about the importance of democracy. But in our perilously divided world, we need global democracy, where all people's voices are heard, not just those of the rich and the powerful and of the movers and the shakers, but of the homeless, the disenfranchised—from all who live on the fringe of society.

- Many turn to the Charter for Compassion for hope others to say that our prescription for compassion is naive. Think of Martin Luther King Jr., Mother Teresa, Chico Mendez, Rabindranath Tagore, of Gandhi, of Nelson Mandela. ”One sees what one person can do," the tremendous impact a decision to seek reconciliation, as Mandela chose, not revenge,. "You have to be optimistic," "Because when optimism fails and despair takes over ... then you've got a problem.”

- The Charter for Compassion and its partners hope to emulate those who have shown us compassion in action. Here are a few of our partners who working on behalf of compassion: Living Room Dialogues, One Billion Acts of Peace, Empathy and Compassion in Society, Conscious Capitalism, Business Alliance for the Future, Circle of Bereaved Families, Forgiveness Project, the Green World Campaign which will be launched at the Parliament of World Religion. All of these have focused on global conflict, climate change and widening gaps of wealth and consumption.

Lessons to learn and implement

- Learn about Compassion: "You cannot learn to swim by sitting on the side of the pool watching others cavort in the water; you have to take the plunge and learn to float. If you persevere, you will acquire an ability that at first seemed impossible. It is the same with compassion; we can learn about the neurological makeup of the brain and the requirements of our tradition, but until and unless we actually modify our behavior and learn to think and act toward others in accordance with the Golden Rule, we will make no progress.”

- Look at your own world: "During this step, we should take ourselves mentally to the summit of a high mountain, where we can stand back and see things from a different perspective.”

- Practice Compassion for yourself: "The faith traditions agree that compassion is the most reliable way of putting the self in its proper place, because it requires us 'all day and every day' to dethrone ourselves from the center of our world and put another there. ... Once you have started to feel a genuine compassion for yourself, you will be able to extend it to others.”

- Practice Mindfulness: "Mindfulness is a form of meditation that we perform as we go about our daily lives, and is designed to give us more control over our minds so that we can reverse ingrained tendencies and cultivate new ones.”

- Be Kind: "One small act of kindness can turn a life around.”

- Broaden your perspective: "The aim of this step is threefold: (1) to recognize and appreciate the unknown and unknowable, (2) to become sensitive to overconfident assertions of certainty in ourselves and other people, and (3) to make ourselves aware of the numinous mystery of each human being we encounter during the day.”

- "The effort of getting to know one another demands sound information and a willingness to question received ideas.”

- Speak to share and listen: "We should make a point of asking ourselves whether we want to win the argument or seek the truth, whether we are ready to change our views if the evidence is sufficiently compelling, and whether we are making a place for the other in our minds. ... Above all, we need to listen.”

- Expand your areas of concern: make a place for the more distant other. Understanding different national, cultural and religious traditions is no longer a luxury; it is now a necessity and must become a priority.”

- Practice Recognition: "We have learned that we cannot put ourselves in a special, separate category. Instead, we have tried to cultivate the considerate attitude of shu ('likening to oneself'), reflexively relating our own pain to the suffering of others. As a result, we are beginning to acquire what the Tibetan Buddhists call 'the inability to bear the sight of another's sorrow,' so that we feel it almost as intensely as we feel our own.”

- Love your enemies: "We are aiming at an impartial, fair-minded assessment of the situation in the cause of peace. Try to wish for your enemy's well-being and happiness; try to develop a sense of responsibility for your enemy's pain. This is the supreme test of compassion.”

A Second Chance for Us to Act Justly

Ending story (The Story of Our World from beginning of time to now in 24 hours—a second chance)

And then, on the stroke of midnight, the people had the world to themselves. For a long while, so far as we know, they were very quiet. All through the morning, and all through the afternoon, they just wandered around in small groups--hunting animals with spears and arrows, sheltering in caves, dressing themselves in skins. At about six o'clock in the evening they began to learn about seeds and manure and so on, and about how to herd and milk animals. By about half past seven some of them were living in biggish cities. This was mainly in Egypt, North India, and China, and in the countries between.

Moses came and went at about a quarter to nine. Buddha in India, Socrates in Greece, Confucius in China, all came and went together, though they didn't know each other, at about ten past ten. Christ was at half past ten, as also, give or take a minute or so, were the Great Wall of China and Julius Caesar. Mohammad was at eleven.

At around half past eleven there began to be biggish cities in northern Europe. From about a quarter to twelve onwards people went out from these cities, and they began stealing from the rest of the world. They stole America, both North and South, they stole Northern Asia, they stole India, and just after four minutes to midnight they stole Africa. At about two minutes to midnight they had a big war among themselves, and then had another big war only 50 seconds later.

During the last minute before midnight these people from Northern Europe were pushed back out of India and Africa, and also back out of many other countries, though not out of North America or Northern Asia, where they had become very settled indeed. Also during this last minute these people invented nuclear weapons, they landed on the moon, they were responsible for almost doubling the world's population, they used up more oil and more metal than had been used in all the previous 23 hours 59 minutes put together.

It was now midnight again. The start of a new day.

Source: Marilyn Turkovich, Director, Charter for Compassion International