Work in Progress

Charter for Compassion

At TED every year, extraordinary individuals are invited to express their wish for the betterment of life on Earth. Called the TED Prize, winners receive $100,000 plus "One Wish to Change the World." and TED attendees' commitment to work toward the fulfillment of said wish.

Karen Armstrong was awarded a TED Prize in 2008 and here is how she described her wish:

“I wish that you would help with the creation, launch and propagation of a Charter for Compassion, crafted by a group of leading inspirational thinkers from the three Abrahamic traditions of Judaism, Christianity and Islam and based on the fundamental principles of universal justice and respect.”

From the TED.com website:

"I say that religion isn't about believing things. It's ethical alchemy. It's about behaving in a way that changes you, that gives you intimations of holiness and sacredness." 

Karen Armstrong is one of the most provocative, original thinkers on the role of religion in the modern world. Armstrong is a former Roman Catholic nun who left a British convent to pursue a degree in modern literature at Oxford. In 1982 she wrote a book about her seven years in the convent, Through the Narrow Gate, that angered and challenged Catholics worldwide; her recent book The Spiral Staircaseher iconoclastic take on the great monotheistic religions. discusses her subsequent spiritual awakening after leaving the convent, when she began to develop

She has written more than 20 books around the ideas of what Islam, Judaism and Christianity have in common, and around their effect on world events, including the magisterial A History of God and Holy War: The Crusades and Their Impact on Today's World. Her latest book is The Bible: A Biography. Her meditations on personal faith and religion (she calls herself a freelance monotheist) spark discussion -- especially her take on fundamentalism, which she sees in a historical context, as an outgrowth of modern culture.

In the post-9/11 world, she is a powerful voice for ecumenical understanding.

The Charter was announced a few days ago. Here it is:

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.

You will find the Charter site here. I affirmed my support because I believe compassion is the single greatest force for good in the world because it does not subscribe to any particular vision or ideology, but is merely care and empathy, directed outward.

Check it out and you may decide to do the same.

TED talk: Rory Sutherland on the (hysterical!) life lessons of an Ad man

Don't miss this one...

TED talk: Karen Armstrong on reviving the Golden Rule

If Religion ever wants to resume a place of relevance in the world of today, it must return to its roots, which is the defined as the Golden Rule, do unto others, etc. If it fails to do this, it will be doomed to fade away over the course of the 21st Century because as humans learn more about the keys to the universe, they will view the boogeyman model of religion as increasingly anachronistic.

This is a wonderful talk. It's not often C.S. Lewis is quoted at TED.

Hello Dalai (Updated w/ video links)

For anyone who thinks my Habs passion is in any way out of the norm for a Montrealer, this piece should put those thoughts to rest.

Following his talk to 14,000 people at the Bell Centre yesterday, the good people of Montreal decided there was no higher honour they could bestow to this living Prince of Peace, this spiritual leader of hundreds of millions of Tibetan Buddhists, not to mention the exiled political leader of Tibet, than presenting him with Habs jersey with the word Kundun on the back. You can't make this stuff up.

Here's a good-natured piece on the whole episode by Habs beat-writer Dave Stubbs. (An aside: I worked with Dave during an internship at the Gazette a million years ago and he is a very nice man. Also, he worked as a WWE referee in the past, not sure if he still does, but that's still a pretty cool thing.)

Kundun, read the nameplate on the Canadiens jersey presented Saturday afternoon at the Bell Centre to His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso, head of state and spiritual leader of Tibet.

Translated to his native Tibetan, Kundun means "Presence," the title by which His Holiness is addressed.

About 14,000 listeners were buoyed by the Dalai Lama's inspiring words of peace, delivered from a stage erected over the boarded ice surface not far inside a blue line in the home of the Canadiens. The arena's primary tenant was in Buffalo to play the Sabres that night in a game that would include 38 penalty minutes, 20 of them for roughing.

The closest the Canadiens have come to Kundun on their 101-year-old roster is Les Kuntar, a goalie chosen in the sixth round of the NHL entry draft, the Habs' eighth pick, 122nd overall. Kuntar forgettably appeared in a total of six NHL games, all with the Canadiens in 1993-94, winning two and losing two with a save percentage of .877.

Kundun has had a more remarkable career, to be sure. There should have been a C stitched on the front of the Dalai Lama's jersey; he'd be the most worthy and selfless captain of the Canadiens since Jean Béliveau.

His Holiness views himself as "a simple Buddhist monk," which is not unlike the late Rocket Richard having seen himself as "just a hockey player."

I have profound admiration for the Dalai Lama, especially after having spent a month in Beijing a year ago at the Olympic Games and been at arm's length from the decades-old Tibet-China conflict. The 74-year-old has spent his entire adult life travelling the world to promote the ideals of peace, tolerance and compassion, having authored more than 70 books on the subject.

He assumed full power in Tibet in 1950, a year after China's invasion. Failed peace talks with the Chinese and the brutality inflicted upon Tibetans who arose in protest sent him into exile in 1959. He has been living in northern India the past 50 years.

His Holiness was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize 20 years ago this December, recognized for his work in "the struggle of the liberation of Tibet and the efforts for a peaceful resolution instead of using violence."

Three years ago, the Dalai Lama was named an honourary citizen of Canada, one of 84 special honours bestowed upon him since he was named Doctor of Letters by India's Denares Hindu University in 1957.

He can now add CH to those letters, his wardrobe complete with a Canadiens jersey.

By all accounts, the Dalai Lama is a warm, sensitive engaging human being, a man with a delicious sense of humour and even a little mischief in his soul.

So it was with a bashful grin that he accepted the Canadiens sweater, a jersey that would have cost him about $500 had he visited the Habs Zone boutique to buy the authentic-model RBK Edge with sewn cresting.

His Holiness might even have use for it during daily workouts that would exhaust many professional athletes. He awakens at 3:30 a.m. for his daily prostrations and confessions - from standing to lying positions and back up three times - then does his cardio on the treadmill before sitting down to breakfast at 5:30 and heading out into a full day and evening of activities.

With only blissful blood in his veins, you hope the Dalai Lama was steered away from Bell Centre photos of the late John Ferguson while being told that Georges Laraque is vegan.

And of course, none of his talk alluded to his alleged prowess on a golf course, as magnificently described in the 1980 movie classic Caddyshack.

Bill Murray, playing Bushwood Country Club assistant greenskeeper Carl Spackler, tells a pitchfork-threatened caddy that he once was a looper for the Dalai Lama, a "big hitter" with shallow pockets in his flowing robes who tipped not with cash but with the gift of death-bed "total consciousness."

In The Book of Caddyshack, his 2007 study of the movie, former Montrealer Scott Martin publishes his letter to the Dalai Lama's office in India, asking among other things for the true meaning of "gunga galunga," which His Holiness is claimed by Murray to have uttered after his round of golf (the scorecard undisclosed).

The reply received a month later said the Dalai Lama wasn't aware of this reference in Caddyshack, nor did His Holiness even play golf. As for "gunga galunga," Martin was directed to the Office of Tibet in New York.

Apparently gibberish, the phrase is available on bumper stickers and T-shirts at cafepress.com, though not at dalailama.com.

With injured Canadiens dropping like flies, the club could use a few of His Holiness's good vibes. Meanwhile, watch for the Habs' new Kundun jersey - big seller, the Lama - to be on souvenir racks any day.

Here is part of the Gazette's piece on the Dalai Lam's actual talk:

Know thyself and have an open heart toward others.

That was the simple yet potent message delivered to Montrealers yesterday by the Dalai Lama, who has come to personify laid-back cool among religious leaders.

The 74-year-old Buddhist monk and exiled leader of Tibet’s 6 million people used little more than his famously down-to-Earth appeal in his talk about the power of compassion to more than 14,000 people at the Bell Centre.

“I speak to you not as a Buddhist, nor as a Tibetan, but as a human being to other humans,” said the 1989 Nobel Peace Prize winner who was on his third Canadian stop after Vancouver and Calgary.

“My parents were illiterate peasants but they were very honourable and kind,” he said, adding that a parent’s love can seed compassionate potential in all people.

He got a big round of applause when he answered a question emailed beforehand about how to raise a child.

“I’m not an expert,” said the never-married monk, with a hint of his well-known humour. “But I believe warm-heartedness and brain development” are key. “Parents must also provide maximum affection and spend more time with their children.”

Compassion leads to better health too. “People who say ‘me, I and mine’ a lot are at greater risk of having heart attacks” according to scientific studies, he explained.

Wise words but then again, he was wearing a Habs' jersey when he said them.

Go Habs. Go Kundun.

Here's the video of the 14th Dalai Lama being presented with another holy icon:

And standing beside the Dalai Lama is TED Presenter Matthieu Ricard. His wonderful talk should be watched again and again.

TED talk: Stefan Sagmeister on the power of the sabbatical

Somehow I'm not sure the long lunch I take once in a while provides the same rejuvenating qualities. This is a very intriguing approach to life and work. Have a look.

TED talk: Lewis Pugh swims(!) the North Pole

I suppose it is a sign of my immaturity but as I watched the man swimming in the Arctic waters in a Speedo, one word flashed in my mind: shrinkage.

Here's Matt!

I met Matt Harding at the TED@Palm Springs (now TEDActive) conference last February. He taught us his dance and recorded a bit of footage (is it still footage when there's no film?) at the conference. I hadn't heard of him before that but millions of people had seen his video which began as a goof and went viral such that it has been viewed more than 23 million times on YouTube.

The concept is simple: Matt dancing at different locations around the world. To tell you the truth, I'm not sure what his point is, other than maybe highlighting how much more binds us that separates us as a species. In any case, it's a fun video, full of happy, dancing people. Seems fitting for a Saturday morning.

Enjoy.

TED talk: Dan Pink on motivating your workers

This is another fascinating talk from the TED website.

Dan Pink, considering he was Al Gore's speechwriter in a past life, gives a surprisingly entertaining talk on motivation and how to get the best out of your people at work. (Here's a hint: it ain't promise them all more money)

I also found it interesting because if you change the context from work to home, this idea of paying (or more accurately, bribing) your kids to do what you want them to do is just as likely to fail. Have a look, this is good.

TED talk: the Energizer Bunny is going to be so pissed

TED talk: Stewart Brand on environmental heresies

From his bio on TED.com:

Founder of the Whole Earth Catalog, co-founder of the Well and the Long Now Foundation, writer, editor and game designer, Stewart Brand has helped to define the collaborative, data-sharing, forward-thinking world we live in now. Since the 1960s, he has maintained that — given access to the information we need — humanity can make the world a better place. One of his early accomplishments: helping to persuade NASA to release the first photo of the Earth from space. The iconic Big Blue Marble became the cover for his Whole Earth Catalog, a massive compendium of resources and facts he thought people might like to know. And we did: the 1972 edition sold 1.5 million copies. In 1987, he wrote The Media Lab: Inventing the Future at MIT; in 1994, How Buildings Learn. Currently Brand is working with computer scientist Danny Hillis to build the Clock of the Long Now, a 10,000-year timepiece; his Long Now Foundation also runs a number of spinoff projects, including the Rosetta Project, cataloguing the world's languages, and the Long Bets website. He's also busy with the Global Business Network (part of the Monitor Group), helping businesses plan for the near and way-far future.

Frankly, I'm not sure whether any of his arguments hold water because I'm not qualified to even have an opinion but I found his talk to be full of fascinating ideas and pleasantly optimistic. Have a look for yourself.