Religious leaders must understand and accept that salvation is not the exclusive domain of any one religion. The only way God distinguish or judge His children is through the measure of our compassion and not to what extent we have complied with man-made religious doctrines and laws. Everyone has the right and freedom to choose their religion to answer their compassion call as warranted by their heart and conscience.

As Religious leaders, we should emulate the guidelines given to us by our ultimate leader, our Lord. To have and to give compassion in the truest sense we have need to know and to exude agape love-which is "unconditional" and that is to live in and be willing to share with the absolute most "unloveble" sorts of this world who, otherwise, will never know what true love and compassion consist of or feels like. To do this we first must be of clean and pure heart which is harder to do than it sounds but is entirely possible. Hardly anyone is this world wants sympathy but all want and need compassion which comes out of pure unadulterated love. Compassion can melt the hardest hearts and give hope to the one who is at the lowest point of their life and let the person-that soul-know there is indeed hope, there is light and the voice that told them that there was no hope came straight out of the pits of hell.

To religious leaders: a poem: The next godhead the next godhead will be a collective of beings. they will share in the common light although they feature aspects of themselves as facets of the oneness across a spectrum of consciousness. they are leaderless towards the one but act in accord although as themselves. their world is within as commonly shared but not dependent on external means for the solidarity to continue. nothing of culture or country is as means. the level they function at is not dependent upon display as confirmation. the dialogue that is woven in certainty leads towards attention perspective and embodied manifestation. the internal rituals that have brought them to this means persist without external distraction in their collective acknowledgment. there is no truth to be told. working in that way, what is seen is sensed as a permission for others of the same to confluently expand the oneness sense of being. there is no topic of concern but there is presence and attention and subsequent action in resolve. the focus from the heart is of an ambient nature and any concern that comes may have immediacy but only in passage. content is of a transient nature and expression comes from a deeper sense then previously attended to by human interaction in general. the next godhead is stripped of its separateness devoid of distinctions without audience as approval expresses in response to source lives as the whole back alive and makes sacred the embrace of living . . .

Can we use Compassion to rethink how we understand Scripture? …………. We should reinterpret Scripture to produce a more compassionate outcome / encourage compassion. (If anyone wants to complain that this is an unfair “bite at the cherry” of “Compassion as a lens to interpret Scripture” I say TOUGH! All’s fair in love, war & compassion!) …………. It’s easy to make platitudes, but harder to do. ………… What I’d like to give is a practical example. - This is a challenge to conventional Christianity to have a re-interpret Scripture to emphasis Compassion. … …….. Matthew 26:27,28 “Then he took the cup, gave thanks and offered it to them, saying, "Drink from it, all of you. This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.” ………. Luke 22:19 “… do this in remembrance of me.” (New International Version) ……… Now I know this is universally understood to mean that the shedding of Jesus blood is the substitutional sacrifice so that Jesus pays the penalty for all those who believe in him. …….. You could say that it is the sins of the drinker that are forgiven. …….. It is often preached that we should forgive sins of others out of gratitude for God forgiving us our sins. …….. But does this really produce a forgiving attitude? Does it really lead to Compassion? Unfortunately, it would seem that all to often, answer is no. ……. We could change our interpretation of these words. … To mean that what the wine represents is COMPASSION. And we acquire COMPASSION in order to be able to forgive sins. …… Jesus had Compassion for the Roman soldiers who were crucifying him. “Father, forgive them for they know not what they do.” …… When someone sins against us, we should have Compassion for them. Focus not on the wrong done, but on the person as a human just like us. Our anger is based on the assumption that, has situation been reversed, we would not have done what they did. But is this really fair? If someone wrongs me, my attitude is that, had life situations had been reversed, like as not, I would have done the same. Imagine some suffering that has made them sin. Imagine them suffering punishment, like a long time in prison. Will that really make them better people? Instead of seeking retribution, have compassion and seek reconciliation. Seek out causes of harmful behaviour, and deal with those causes.

A true religious leader will preach compassion and love as their highest admonishment. We need these true leaders to go one step farther and take a stand against the false religious leaders that preach hatred, intolerance, and even violence. There must be no cooperation with those who use religion to teach others to hate. The leadership of the various faiths must speak as one voice that compassion is the highest religious virtue and to willfully harm another person is always wrong.

˜Wars bring destruction, famine, and nation of orphans. In old era the nations of different faiths lived together peacefully. Why they are fighting now? Religious Tolerance produces peace. ˜Only dialogue can produce reconciliation & peace. The differences between religions produce problems and extremists in all societies hijack these differences. The resultant is the killing of innocent people. The religious and political leaders must find common values to reduce differences. The super powers must review their policies. Unjust policies & arrogance of power produce unjust and extremism. The people can be conquered by love, not by power. ˜Every depressed nation must be provided their rights according to UN Declaration of Human Rights. Poverty is the biggest factor of political disaster, ˜We can’t ignore the “businessmen ” who want to continue the wars. Whose designs are dirty and create terrorism. ˜Islam is the most secular religion that accepts all previous religious

When teaching compassion it may be stressed that good-faith personal experiments in the practice will bear the fruit of conviction regarding the principles being taught in theory from the seats of religious authority

Religious leaders of all faiths, all over the world, have the power to influence large numbers of people, for they are seen by many as a source of divine wisdom and inspiration to action. As such, it is the sacred responsibility of the world's religious leaders to * Emphasize the teachings of their respective faiths that lead to peace, love, respect, and compassion for all people, both by upholding them as general principles of true spirituality and also by enunciating and demonstrating specific examples of how individuals may follow and apply these teachings; * Develop effective strategies and methods to counter the arguments and influence of religious extremists who teach hatred for people who do not share their beliefs; * Speak out forcefully and courageously against the use of violence and terror in the name of God or religion, not only after such acts are committed but also beforehand, in an attempt to prevent their occurrence.

To transcend the narrow focus of fundamentalism and the conflict that arises from this limited perspective, it is essential for all religious leaders to recognize the imaginary boundaries that religion and religious dogma creates. Freedom from all limitation evolves from the realization that all religions point to the same Truth. Jesus says, “I am the Light of the world” and he also says, “You are the Light of the World” – Where does one light end and another begin? Once the egoic idea of ‘Us versus Them’ or ‘Me and You’ is recognized as the source of all conflict there is an opportunity to transcend the limitations imposed by the egoic ideas that create imaginary boundaries that lead to conflict. Until all religious leaders begin to understand the basic principles of mind and ego there will be no end to the conflict that religious dogma creates. It is only in the sacred meeting of mind and heart that egoic ideas of separation dissolve revealing the true nature of everyone regardless of their religious or non-religious beliefs. In the realm of the heart there is no limitation, no boundary, only love exists! Your heart has the infinite capacity to be compassion. Only the heart can see the light that radiates from the core of everyone. In the infinite meeting of mind and heart wisdom arises of its own accord. When your awareness is directed to the depth of your heart, you can see for yourself the living Truth that is alive within everyone. In this realization, your heart naturally opens to the Truth that you 'are' the Golden Rule at the core of your being! The purpose of all religion is to guide you into compassion - the sacred realm of the heart where only peace exists. Once all religious leaders have the courage to stop moving to fix, change, or convert someone to their belief system and simply open their heart – all conflict based on religious ideologies will come to a complete and sudden end!

Religious leaders must enable their congregants to engage in a conversation about compassion in action. They must encourage congregants to assess the needs of their communities and to formulate ways of addressing those needs. They must raise awareness of our interconnectedness, our shared destinies, and our common human rights. Finally religious leaders must communicate with each other and form spiritual alliances between the peoples of the world.

In the United States local zoning ordinances typically permit the housing of a small number of unrelated adults within the fabric of a church proper or as a dependency on the church’s site - several years ago we took advantage of that flexibility in the Washington DC code to design/build a small shelter for homeless folk within the fabric of our building (literally right behind the altar). Our design includes built in bunk beds with lockers, laundry with washer/dryer, restroom with shower and a common living room - the congregation provides two church member volunteers to spend the night with our guests, and this role of host is shared by the congregation thru out the winter months. Each evening other members of the congregation provide hot meals and the existing church kitchen is used to prepare/reheat meals/ clean up afterwards. We house four (4) men every night every winter – both guests and hosts are routinely transformed - what if every church in the USA participated in such an experiment in active compassion?

Religious leaders should first and foremost review the 'definition' and 'goals' of religion that have been accumulated along the years to stress the 'vessels' of religion and confusing them for 'the one essence of all'. That approach evacuated great Revelations of their core, and consequently of compassion. The spiritual teacher Master Ali Rafea many times presents reflections on what religion is: ""Religion uncovers to us the laws of Life and the goal behind our existence on earth. It also reveals to us the means by which we can realize that goal."" Religion is sincere work that bears its results on us, changes us, and renovates us. If our deeds and religious practices do not transform us into better beings, then they have meant nothing to us; we have not practiced them truly, nor have we comprehended them."

Religious leaders should consider the importance of compassion within their tradition. Call upon your followers to act compassionately as your religion requires, and act with compassion yourself. Be certain you are following the true nature of your religion. Make sure you are not following a few individuals who have misunderstood or usurped the meaning and words of your religion.

There is no greater challenge or opportunity for compassion facing mankind than to end prohibition of the world's most nutritious and useful "herb bearing seed," Cannabis. "God said, "Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed...and every green herb..." Drugs don't make seeds. Herbs do. Organized religions have been politicized by a counter-productive "drug war", effecting the degree to which an individual's personal, evolving relationship with "god" is respected by law. It is the challenge of our generation to recognize the spiritual legitimacy of individualized religion, reclaim our self-evident freedom to farm hemp, and develop universal compassion for the world's oldest global culture.

I'm a rabbi working in a Christian Seminary, doing multifaith education full time. Here's my two action suggestions. Religious leaders should: > uncover and teach authentic understandings of compassion from within their tradition (example: in the Jewish tradition, 'rachamim,' which derives from the Hebrew word for 'womb' is a good place to start, or from a narrative perspective, one could examine the reconciliation process of Jacob and Esau); > choose a religious tradition (other than their own) that they know the least about, or that they are most concerned about, and find a local religious leader from that tradition to build a relationship with, as a practice of personal compassion-making

Religious leaders MUST first and foremost be spiritual leaders and counsel. The necessary tools are compassion and patience, both of which will cost time, great effort, and great humility. Self awareness is the only path to an understanding heart, and this old truth remains universal -- they that would move the world must first move themselves. Religious leaders MUST withhold judgment and criticism unless it is offered with equal parts of compassion, understanding, patience, and loving counsel.

Our religious leaders need to get brutally honest and recognize the failings of organized religion. They need to recognize the segregation that is being forced upon their own groups/sects and realize that they are no different from their neighboring religious group. The leaders need to teach, not preach, tolerance, generosity, compassion, forgiveness, humility and a willingness to sacrifice some of one's own existance for another in small amounts daily. The simple truth is that we all only get what we give and only then when we don't expect a return.

The leaders of all beliefs are but human, with the wonderous chance to create harmony, compassion and peace among all humans. No one knows all, and the great mystery of our being is but conjecture. As an agnostic, the beauty of man's endeavour to create a livable framework, in whatever way, is our common denominator. Miracles - love - empathy - speech, are some of the reasons why I am not an Atheist, and happily so!

This conference needs to actively seek to present the final Charter to as many of the world's religious leaders as possible and seek their commitment to put it into practice. The key religious leaders, themselves, need to be supported and encouraged to issue directives to their subbordinates to do the same. This could, in part, be implemented by noteworthy persons within the domain of a particular relgion, approaching the leaders within their faith.

Should make the preaching of compassion and good interfaith relations a matter of priority by helping congregants understand the beliefs of others. Should emphasize the primacy of compassion and explore its implications in the smallest details of life in their sermons and lectures.

Religious leaders and their followers could do more good for the world by simply embracing the notion that there is only One Source, but many different roads to that Source. One path is not right above another. Preaching damnation and fear-based separate-ism will only further divide us. I suggest all people learn about and attend Religious Services other than their own. In the end, we are all the same... of God.

Religious Leaders, we call you to action. Love is a verb. We call our Religious Leaders to walk like Love, talk like Love, live like Love,Eat like Love, and Love like Love...for God is LOVE. We call you to action, we call you back to the basics:Love. Our chosen path, when followed brilliantly, will empower the world to produce unprecedented compassion.

Religion is people claiming God's power so to have control over the others. Compassion is letting go of that control and our hunger for power. Compassion is recognizing God as the almighty and the utilmate judge for all. We are God's children equal in God's sight--no matter how we call God by the name we know.

Jesus,Mahomet,Boudha are few to be known as strong religious leaders.I know of their positive values from books and their contribition to the welfare of societies they live In.It's obvious that it's very difficult to be unanimously accepted as a good person, but at least they were good leaders and it's why many religions today refers to them to seek peace and harmony between humanity.Unfortunately in today's world the way to peace varies from one religion to another.Here we come to question the real contributions of religious leaders.Peace between and among mankind does not refers to religious background.If we were to live on earth for a month without consideration of wich religion each one belive in, the frequence of violence around the world will considerably fall.Does this means religious leaders are playing a major role in achieving both peace and violence in the world? The answer seems to be positive.Because peace and violence sometimes start within the churches or mosque. What childreen know about loving their brothers as themselves or hating their brothers not as themselves are full application of what is being tought.If a young muslim does hates his felow christian because this one has drunk a glas a beer or eaten a peace of meat from pig, then it's the responsability of a religious leader to correct that fundamental mistake.For, Peace and GOD or Allah is not about eating or drinking, but about how you like your brother regardless of wich religion he grow up with sometimes without a choice.Religious leaders must know and understand that violence is not part of GOD's or Allah's mission on earth and then if they have been promoting the wrong path of their mission, now has come the time to change. If violence has been used in the past to promote religion or to prove that one or other is the best, now has come the time to turn the page and promote beter understanding between and among people of the world whatever their religion might be.That beter understanding could be the way to Peace if not a big step toward peace.In order to succed, the contribution of all religious leaders is necessary.

Religious leaders (and in this I include ALL stripes of belief including those that imagine they are not belief) should examine themselves and their belief systems to see whether these are or are not compassionate. Where they are not - that is to say, where they do not include all others exactly as they are without any need to "modify" or "correct" these others - let them change their beliefs and belief systems. They were, after all, written by other human beings just like them.