The topic was how to encourage compassionate action among people, especially young people in our region. Our master of ceremonies said seventeen religious groups were represented among the participants. Some of those present were Christians. Among the others were the Wiccans, the unaffiliated and the Mormons.
The Archbishop reminded us that God is compassionate and referenced the example from the book of Daniel, of the One who walked in the fiery furnace with the three heroes. Compassion is defined as “suffering with” another, or entering into another person’s suffering. The Archbishop would say we Christians are to help pass God’s compassion to the wounded ones.
The Dalai Lama said it was easy to cultivate compassion with friends, but difficult to do so with an enemy. “We need an enemy to practice compassion.”
The Archbishop engaged in some friendly banter with His Holiness, and shared a secret, to inspire us, that the Dalai Lama prays daily for two hours before 6 a.m. The Dalai Lama noted playfully that the Archbishop had gained some weight since their last meeting and then said that: “Since Christians have been on the wrong side of many issues over the centuries, we should not wish that His Holiness would be a Christian.” (You can read more about the Dalai Lama in a cover story in a recent issue of Time Magazine)
After breakfast we boarded busses to the B of A Pavilion at UW where at least 7,000 people gathered to listen to a panel discussion about how to encourage young people to practice compassion.
They began by quoting Albert Schweitzer on the importance of bringing deep waters to the surface. Then we focused on a variety of questions posed by the MC. The panel included His Holiness, the Archbishop, an evangelical pastor from Michigan, a Benedictine Catholic nun, a Sikh representative, the president of the US Islamic Society, a rabbi, a Vendanta nun and a Zen Buddhist Master, along with some young people from age 12 to 18. I’ll give you a sampling of the questions and some responses:
Q: What turned you toward compassion?
A: Among the responses were these: “Don’t find faults in others if you wish to see the world as your own.” “How can you love me if you don’t know what causes me pain?” The Archbishop said when he was young and in the hospital with TB, a white man came weekly to visit him, and he wanted to emulate him.
Q: Does the first step toward compassion begin internally or externally? Does a person’s heart mirror his/her compassion for others?
A: It’s important to connect the heart with the brain regarding the suffering of others.
Q: How can we learn to overcome the anger we have inside ourselves?
The Dalai Lama said he tries to connect with the countervailing emotion. In other words, he tries to keep in touch with laughter and joy as a countervailing response to his anger.
A: Remember that life is more of a journey than a destination.
Q: How can people who have endured tragedy find the strength to heal?
A: The Archbishop said: Only God can ultimately carry us.
One participant said that interfaith dialog is like the Olympics of the Spirit.
After lunch another panel discussion began, including the Rev. Samuel McKinney, who said one of his challenges has been to “relieve people of their excuses when they wish to avoid acting compassionately.”
It was my great privilege to represent you at these events on Tuesday. A highlight for me was hearing the Archbishop Tutu bring his very well developed and thoroughly Christian perspective to the various questions posed to him that day. A second was to see hundreds of Christians coming together (along with many others who did not share our faith) with a common goal.
In His grip,
Jerry
I hope you have an opportunity to greet General Assembly Moderator Joan Gray on Sunday at UPC.