A plaque similar to the one hung in Ramallah. Photo: Photo: Kevin Wolf, AP Images for TED Prize.
Compassion plaque unveiled at Ramallah Quaker meeting
Ramallah Friends endorse global call for compassion
Ramallah Friends were among the first to endorse Karen Armstrong’s new Charter for Compassion. A Charter plaque was unveiled at their Meeting house on 12 November. The charter is an attempt by religious writer and commentator Armstrong to bring together the highest common principles of the world’s faiths., She began the project after winning last year’s TED prize awarded by the influential Technology, Entertainment, Design community in 2008.
Bringing together over 150,000 online contributors from 180 countries worldwide, and given the endorsement of prominent people including the Dalai Lama and archbishop Tutu, the charter is now on display in several cities, including Sydney, Beirut and Washington, DC, in addition to Ramallah.
Jean Zaru of Ramallah Friends told the Friend that they plan to hang additional plaques, in English and Arabic, in the Meeting house and the Friends Boys School auditorium to make sure the message was seen as widely as possible. ‘I started reading the words on the plaque in Arabic and my tears would not stop running’, says Jean. ‘I live in Ramallah and have lived here all my life. It was never as difficult as it is now. I pray that compassion will transform our hearts and minds and communities so we can build for a culture of peace and justice for Palestinians and Israelis, and for the rest of our broken world.
‘Having the plaques in the Friends Meeting and the Friends Schools in Ramallah, which have witnessed for over a century in our land, may enlighten us all to commit ourselves again to a spirituality of compassion. Spirit of compassion, we are thirsty for you in a thirsty land. Let’s start acting together so the rain of justice and righteousnes will return.’
Visit www.tedprize.org or www.charterforcompassion.org for more information or to read the charter.
The charter text reads:
‘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.#
