Charter for Compassion in Chinese

Charter for Compassion

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.

慈悲憲章

爲世界大同的請求...

慈悲乃是所有宗教信仰及倫理道德的核心，感召我們要己所不欲，勿施於人。

慈悲促使我們不懈地減輕眾生之苦，令我們將心中的王位拱手讓人，也促使我們以大公無私的尊重及平等心來對待每個人所具有的尊嚴，別無例外。

同時，我們也必須堅持在公共場合及私人生活中不令他人受傷。基於憤恨、沙文主義或自利的暴力行為及言詞，剝削、利用或拒絕任何人的基本權利，並以詆毀他人來煽動仇恨〜即使是我們的敵人〜也是對人性的否認。

對於我們過去的不慈悲，甚至有些人藉著宗教名義而增長人類的痛苦，我們必須有所認知。

因此，我們呼籲大家

• 恢復慈悲於道德及宗教的核心地位
• 重歸遠古的法則，即任何滋生暴力、仇恨或蔑視的經文詮釋皆是非法的
• 確保青年人所獲取的傳統、宗教及文化訊息皆是準確並具尊重性的
• 積極地鼓勵及讚賞文化及宗教的多元性
• 致力地理解及憐憫眾人之苦〜包括視之為敵者
  
  

在這敵對性的世界，我們極需令慈悲成為一股清澈明亮的動力，基於超越自私的原則及決心，慈悲可以打破政治、教條、意識形態及宗教的界限。

由於人類是根深蒂固地相互依賴著，慈悲是人類關係及人性圓滿的要領。唯有這不可或缺的悟道才能創立公平經濟的社會及世界大同。