Compassion is at the heart of the Creator, {God, Jehova, Allah, Great Spirit, The One,..} the source of us all and our surrounding. He has compassion with each and every one of the human beings. To act with compassion, it is necessary to accept the situation of my brother- or sister-in God, and abstain from judging. Only then will the action be helpful.

Compassion is the guiding light ever beaming and drawing us toward understanding one another. Religions of the world can coexist as we acknowledge the universal language of love, which envelops compassion. No word ever spoken has more power to transform the heart of man than a kind act of selfless regard received in the very hour when the human condition is near hopeless. Compassion is the breath of life and hope capable of transcending religious difference by connecting our hearts to our neighbor's hand- pulling him upward with no regard of difference.

Compassion Is. inter-human relationships admit various factors and discrepancies All proportions are relative.

Christian, Buddhist, Moslem, Hindu and Jew All find one another in compassion renewed And in this way we can extend our hands To friends in Spirit from every land.

Compassion, the foundation of any just and equitable society, is embraced by all religions as fundamental to the human spirit. With compassion we stand united. Without it we are fated to division. Compassion is rational. Compassion is faithful. Compassion is hope. It is the bedrock of the world we dream to live.

In America there is a childrens' rhyme that goes along with hand gestures- "Here is a church, here is the steeple, open the door, and here are the people" All faiths are made up of people, all people have heart. All hearts are one as Gods' heart. God is all.

Compassion is the essence of our souls. Our soul is our mind and our mind is led by our hearts. Without compassion…we are lifeless entities taking up space on this earth. When we as humans remove compassion from our spirits and souls…we die an excruciating death. Yes, we may live for what seems like years…but in the truth of life…death has taken over the very moment that compassion leaves the spirit and evaporates from the mind. When we as humans have compassion for others, our spirits rejoice and become one with our God. In all religions, God is compassionate and loving and if we---the creations of God desire to truly live, love, and worship our God---then we will strive to become just like our God…loving and compassionate. For this reason, we need a charter for compassion. Not just to promote compassion among our family and friends…but to share it on a global scale beyond any other endeavor we as humans have encounter. We are humans, created in the image of our God…a God of love and compassion and great wisdom!

Compassion is neither Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Hindu or Buddhist -- it is a human expression of our divine nature.

(Unhappily it's not true that " all faiths ... see compassion, loving-kindness and absolute respect for every single person ... as the core of faith." That was not true for the leaders of the Catholic Inquisition, or for crusaders generally, or for Shinto-believing Kamikaze pilots. It not true today for Muslim suicide bombers or for homophobic preachers from any faith. We may deplore this. We may disagree with them. But they stand in a long and inglorious tradition of intolerance. We will not get to where we need to be by denying the reality of this tradition.)

For milennia people have struggled to understand the world and to find the principles for righteous action. Religious traditions have produced diverging views on both. But underlying every system of religion or belief we find our common humanity and our quest for meaning. Compassion arises from these sources and forms part - not always the dominant part - of every tradition.

Compassion is formally represented in a hierarchy of intimately related virtues that deal with transitional themes of a virtuous nature that appear across all religious traditions: Self-Esteem  Reverence Apology Clemency Pomp  Veneration Rectitude  Pardon Sanctity  Homage Penitence  Absolution Dominion  Benediction Contrition  Deliverance CongenialityConcession Appease.Sympathy CordialityIndulgence ConciliateCompassion HospitalityGratitude AccommodationMercy Altruism  Goodwill Sacrifice  Forgiveness Themes that complement the major virtuous themes: Nostalgia - Hero Worship Guilt - Blame Glory - Prudence Honor - Justice Providence - Faith Liberty - Hope Grace - Beauty Free-will - Truth Tranquility - Ecstasy Equality - Bliss Desire - Approval Worry - Concern Dignity - Temperance Integrity - Fortitude Civility - Charity Austerity - Decency Magnanimity-Goodness Equanimity- Wisdom Love - Joy Peace - Harmony more at www.charactervalues.org

For all to start the day with the intention to devote the day to the good of all living beings.

Unfortunately, compassion does not appear to be fundamental to all faiths. There are many "hate groups" and "separatist" groups who quote a variety of scriptures of many religions as justifications for their views and actions. If we are to have a workable charter, we must find wisdom words and actions to stimulate compassion for members of such groups without condoning their actions or accepting their interpretations of various scriptures.

Most religions are about or attempt to describe the relationship between humans and their God. Into this equation there is also much said about the expected relationship between the humans one to another. The fact that most humans fall short of the expectation is a given and shows the need for the relationship between Human and Divine to be strengthened. The way in which the relationship between human beings is best exemplified by the ideas of compassion and fellow feeling as seen in actions often toward relative or complete strangers. It is said that we should look at the needs of those round about and see to those needs as this is the way that God is shown to human beings. In most religions serving the needs of peace and support for our fellow humans is the way in which the Divine nature is demonstrated upon earth. Hence at the centre of each religion is the compassion we show toward each other as a product of Divine intervention in human affairs.

Well, we hope compassion is fundamental to all faiths, and I suppose it usually is, though I think there are exceptions. But in a vaster sense, compassion is fundamental to life. It exists before religion. Without meaning to denigrate religion at all, religion has it's place, but religions make compassion important because people create religion, and people know how important compassion is already, not the other way around.

The foundation of all the great faiths is the belief in a Divine Being or Spiritual Reality that values and encourages our wellbeing. The Source is not remote, uncaring and tyrannical, but an Abiding Presence in our lives and our world that shall reward the just and is inclined to show mercy to those who go astray. Though the differences of belief and practice between the various religions are many and cannot be ignored, we must recognize that our religions are about compassion at the core: the compassion of God or the Heavenly Realm for a fallen or suffering humanity, and the commandment that humans show compassion to each other as the way to alleviate suffering and rise to a higher, more humane and more divine state of being. All other aspects of religion are secondary to this central and universal truth.

I have to disagree with the statement that all religions at their core have compassion. The INTENT toward compassion maybe, which is not the same as the actions of compassion. Far too often the religious setting for compassion is conditional. Not in all religions, but many of the western ones. "Believe as we do in return for our acts of compassion and benevolence" as though it was the least one should expect in return for acts of compassion. I won't name religions as that only provokes animosity and defensive responses. My personal experience over my 55 years attending many congregations of many differing religions (out of personal and intellectual curiosity as much as searching), and I have to say that very few have grasped the concepts "humility" and "unconditional love". More often than not religous dogma and indoctrination makes (us vs. them)memberships act out of a sense of communal law and fear of NOT meeting up to the expectations of their teachings and being seen in a less favourable light among one's peers. Don't get me wrong whatever works, but in the end, until there is a genuine and sincere connection on a individual level toward benevolence and humanitarian compassion then religion is NOT the best vehicle for developing and encouraging compassion. I don't want to evoke outrage here, but let me re-phrase and say that it doesn't take religion to be compassionate and develope compassion. It happens to be a convenient congregation/collection of wills and minds toward a theistic dogma that encourages goodwill to man a.k.a. compassion. It is this "collective/organising" response that seems to be the best developer of compassion. So far secular humanism hasn't developed an arena for such focused attention and purpose and for that reason, in my opinion, religion STILL remains the strongest source of compassion. I'm NOT religious. Until goodwill and compassion arrives in pop-culture as "the cool way to be" or you can buy shares of "compassion" on wall street or NASDAQ, we are going to have to rely heavily on religion. Those of us who are perhaps "religiosity survivors" may think about ways to organise the community toward those ends. Start with one's own sphere of influence. Until the secularists can match or better the goodwill coming out of religion (in spite of how religion is still one of the single greatest sources of conflict), we would do good to shut up or put up. I have to say there ARE many benevolent secular groups, just not on the scale that religion brings to bear in my opinion. That is changing and needs to change.

We created different languages to name objects, express emotions, communicate ideas, and so on. objects, emotions and ideas are not arbitrary related the wording of one language. God, Alla, Tao may denote to the same thing, but expressed differently. Revelations support human being in their search of the meaning and purpose of life in different cultural languages. Compassion stands as a core experience that emphasizes that a person's faith has turned to be a style of life.

Spirituality is what separates us humans from the lower forms of life. It is the recognition that there is Something Greater in the universe than human will. Spirituality is the expression of our relationship with The Universe in recognition of our limited human power. The only mediator between heaven and hell is our spirit; it is the intercourse between the visible and invisible. We must nurture the light of peace if we are to embody it as truth. If we do not envision the light we are truly doomed to stumble over the things that go bump in the dark. The sole purpose of life must be to kindle a light in the darkness.

Everyone with hope has a faith, whether a faith in God, religious teachings, methods of enlightenment, scientific analysis, or some combination of these things. The ultimate goal of each of us, regardless of what we have faith in, is to understand how best to live to fulfill our hope. Those whose faith is focused on religious teachings often seek to live to serve God, others may focus more on what is in their self-interest. Remarkably, there are examples in all of these types of faith of the discovery that taking actions with the goal of helping others is one of the best ways to live, both for ourselves individually and our communities as a whole.

Why can't we simply disagree, why does there have to be a right or a wrong. Your opinions are just that, opinions. Your views are your views. Until we realize the value of other human beings, we as a society/civilization have no chance to reach our fullest potential. ALL people have value, compassion means that I have more than empathy for others, it means that I am willing to sacrifice and give of my means and my time, or my self to help someone who has no means of helping themselves; my giving has no judgment, and places no blame. It only fills a need.

Quoting Master Ali Rafea, the spiritual guide of the Egyptian Society for Spiritual and Cultural Research: A core concept of compassion in all revelations is to experience our oneness and turn our diversity into richness. The following holy verse of the Qur’an teaches us that ‘diversity of expression’ is one of God's laws on earth: “……... To each among you, We have prescribed a law and a clear way. If Allâh had willed, He would have made you a uniform nation. but that (He) may test you in what He has given you; so compete in good deeds. The return of you (all) is to Allâh; then He will inform you about that in which you used to differ.” (Al Ma’idah 5:48) My reflection is that: One of God's laws on earth is not to create you in the same pattern. There exist different patterns, different finger prints, different genetic imprints, and different shapes….etc. The holy verse also says that the goal of all the divine Messages is one but the paths to achieve this goal are versatile, are diverse. God revealed to each nation the laws of life in different Expressions. When reading God's Messages, then, we have to discern the common concepts in all of them, and we have to contemplate the diverse expressions.

The essence of religions are the same.All religions are borthers and lead one to God. RELIGIONS The entire Buddhist monk’s life is but a preparation, For his Death Point or moment of separation. The Jains have santhara, Quitting life consciously to join with the paramatma. Hindus go into Samadhi, Where there is no Congress, Shiv Sena, BJP or Samajwadi. The Christian merges with the Holy Spirit, Peace, no more desperate. The Sufi mystic to become one, Dances, twirls, prays, trances to get the job done. Aghora means Illumined with Light, Longing for Shiva in whom they delight. Shamanism or the Art of Ecstasy, The ultimate being one with the super entity. There is no need to change your faith, And on your old religion lay a wreath.

We must renew interest in the sacred. For that is the core understanding of all faiths. The charter for compassion should generalize the sacred to reflect understanding within all religions. Through demonstrating this we may influence many towards a "new" light of understanding within the contexts of their own spiritual and/or religious beliefs. I would argue that beneath the guise of differentiated language and contexts all religions express the same truth. Because the universe has become so differentiated (or what we now understand as "complex"), the "system" has lost sight of it's roots, namely the undifferentiated, sacred, absolute, all.

The spiritual traditions together are a great tree of many unique branches, the voices of our ancestors singing the depths of their spiritual experience and wisdom from each branch. If we choose to plumb those depths, instead of remaining on the periphery of our faiths, we may find the great tree has its roots in compassion. Here, we of the many traditions may meet with open arms and genuine loving kindness in conversation of heart. Here our heads are bowed in humility and awe, but our feet are dancing with holy wisdom.