Karen Armstrong is a religious historian of excellent proportions. Her presence at the conference for Empathy and Compassion in Society was totally inspiring.
She opened her talk with,
…every single one of the world religions had developed it’s own version of the golden rule – never treat others as he would not like to be treated yourself. And they’ve all said that that is the essence of faith… Yet we don’t here much about it anymore….
Unless we implement the golden rule globally so that henceforth we treat all peoples who ever they are as we wish to be treated ourselves, the world is not going to be a viable place.
The theme of her talk is to take this idea and act globally upon it.
She said the the first one to teach on the golden rule was Confucius. He told his disciples, “Never treat others as you would not like to be treated yourself.”
Karen is also responsible for the Charter for Compassion, which I signed months ago. Other speakers in this series also mentioned the Charter for Compassion.
I have authored a similar document called The Declaration of Interdependence, which I invite you to read and sign.
Please share what you feel and think about the golden rule and how you will support it in your life.
