Wednesday, April 11, Elizabethtown College welcomed Dr. Karen Armstrong, renowned historian and theologian of world religions and author, to speak on the importance of compassion at the annual Ware Lecture on Peacemaking. In addition, groups of students were invited to meet with Armstrong in small-group discussions Thursday, April 12.
Throughout Armstrong’s lecture, she compared different religious philosophers’ views and theologies, focusing in particular on how having compassion for others was a common theme across all major religions. She said she believes that unless we start being compassionate now, the world will not be a viable place.
“Compassion is not feeling sorry for others, it’s not pity, but it is being on the same level, to look at another and be equal,” Armstrong said during the lecture. “Look at what gives you pain, and never give that pain to someone else.”
Armstrong’s book, “Twelve Steps to a Compassionate Life,” discusses the steps to become more compassionate towards others. The first step is to go beyond our egos and to take the “I” out of our thinking.
The final step is to “love your enemy” which, she clarified, was not a term meaning affection, but a term to describe loyalty used in treaties between kings.
Armstrong emphasized that being compassionate is neither an easy nor pleasant experience, and individuals must not limit their compassion to members of their own groups, but to also expand it to include all people.
Part of the process is recognizing existence is suffering, and to allow pain to come into our hearts and use it to build sympathy.
“A compassionate city shall be an uncomfortable city,” Armstrong said. “We should be disturbed by poverty and hunger, and we should cultivate that and allow ourselves to feel distressed. That’s the grain of sand in the oyster that creates the pearl.”
Armstrong said that she pulls her beliefs on religion from many scriptures and faiths. Although she feels closest to Confucianism and other Asian-culture religions, she does not identify with any of them or identify herself as a person of faith.
She stressed the importance of not just having tolerance for others, as tolerance suggests the idea of putting up with or only allowing someone to stay. Instead, students should focus on learning from and having acceptance for others.
“Having compassion has a lot to do with understanding other people’s religions, and I think that’s something a lot of us lack in today’s culture,” junior Rehana Persaud said. “A lot of people feel that their religion is the best or the only right answer.”
The most important piece of advice Armstrong had for learning to be compassionate is practicing compassion all day, every day.
It is not just about feeling, which is “dependent on how much sleep you got the night before.” She suggests starting small by not looking away or ignoring human suffering, but continuing to think about it and carrying that mental image throughout the day.
“Compassion is something that every person has the capacity for, regardless of their faith or if they are religious at all,” Armstrong said. “It is a human quality, and something that can be cultivated in all of us.” Armstrong calls individuals to develop a sense of the preciousness of life, and the ubiquitous nature of pain.
In addition to her book on compassion, Armstrong has written 23 other books on various religions and religious philosophers, as well as books on her personal experiences with religion. She also founded the Charter for Compassion organization in 2009. More information regarding Armstrong’s organization can be found at www.charterforcompassion.org.
