Karen Armstrong, founder of the Charter for Compassion, on what we need to do to create a better world.
When British author Karen Armstrong won the TED Prize in 2008, she used the money to convene a group of religious thinkers from different faiths to develop an updated version of the Golden Rule for the 21st century. What emerged was the Charter of Compassion, which calls on people around the world to “work tirelessly to alleviate the suffering of our fellow creatures, to remove ourselves from the center of our world and place others there, and to respect the inviolable sanctity of every human being, treating everyone, without exception, with complete justice and equal respect.”
This document inspired the creation of an international network, which now includes hundreds of organizations and more than 75 cities, from Karachi to Belfast to Chippewa Falls. Below is a 2016 conversation with Armstrong about the Charter, his vision for a more compassionate world, and why this particular mindset is essential to saving the planet.
Why focus on empathy?
Each of the major religions has formulated its own version of the Golden Rule. This is the essence of faith and spirituality. And it seemed to me that this was just not a good idea. It was an urgent global need. Until we learn to make sure that all people, no matter where they live, are treated the way we want them to be, the world will not be a viable place.
You have said that a compassionate city should be an uncomfortable city. what do you mean
It should be a city that is uncomfortable with the pain and suffering in the world. Especially in the West, we live lives of such privilege that we often block out the terrible things happening in the world. We shouldn’t be able to sleep, for example, when we see all these migrants literally dying to get into Europe.
The Golden Rule insists that we cannot limit our benevolence to our own birth group.
The Golden Rule insists that we cannot limit our benevolence to our own birth group. A Chinese sage says, “You should be concerned for everyone. “Love the stranger, the sojourner,” says Leviticus. The Qur’an says “reach out to all tribes and nations”. This is the message of the Charter.
That’s great, but don’t we live in a me-first culture?
People always say to me, “We should be kind to ourselves.” This is true. Unless you experience suffering in your own life, you are going to be hard on other people. But you can’t stop there. A few years ago I wrote a book called The Twelve Steps to Compassionate Livingand I created the third step of self-compassion. Then there are nine more stages, ending with: Love your enemies.
We have to see ourselves as a collective. The alienation the West is causing is as dangerous to humanity as climate change.
How so?
One thing that annoys me about Europe is that we think we are the only ones being attacked by terrorists. Two days before the latest Paris attacks, an ISIS suicide bomber blew up 44 people in Beirut and was barely mentioned by Western media. It is observed in the Muslim world. Earlier this year, I gave a lecture in Amman, Jordan, and a man who had brokered a peace deal between Jordan and Israel came up to me and said, “The West has lost its humanity.” We only care about ourselves. This is not compassion.
Is there a city that inspires you?
Karachi, Pakistan. They have built a network of schools there that integrate empathy with the core subjects of the curriculum rather than teaching it as a separate entity. It was the children who asked the mayor to make Karachi a compassionate city. They said they wanted a community where there was more equality and they could go out into the streets and not get blown up by a suicide bomber.
What gives you hope?
I am glad that many of the people who have come forward to help are business people. I am a writer who writes about ancient history. What do I know about building organizations? But entrepreneurs know how an idea becomes part of the fabric of life, not just a lot of wild goodness that burns people out.
It is a broken world and one has to look at it with love and affection. If we fall into despair, everything is lost. One must continue, but always maintain this heightened state of suffering.
