The Charter for Compassion — Nov. 17, 2009

Have you ever heard of TED (not the short-lived low-cost airline brand of United Airlines)?  TED is a nonprofit organization devoted to "Ideas Worth Spreading." 

When Karen Armstrong won the TED Prize in February 2008 for her work on the role of religion in the modern world, she called for the creation, launch, and propagation of a "Charter for Compassion."  Her idea was that the charter would be a document about the centrality and importance of compassion to every world religion and moral code.  Armstrong's wish became a reality through a collaborative process involving thousands of contributors.

On November 12th, TED launched the Charter for Compassion.  Leading up to the launch, TED's Web site featured a series of six short talks on compassion from six different perspectives.

We agree with TED that, in a world marked by the spread of ideas and practices through globalization, there is an urgent need for a spread of compassion at a global level.

What do you think about this initiative?  Can we speak meaningfully about a universal notion and practice of compassion that transcends religious, national, ethnic, and other divisions?