The Prayer of St Francis

I've always liked this prayer, ever since I was a child. Just take out references to Lord and Divine Master and I'm happy!

Lord, make me a channel of thy peace;

that where there is hatred, I may bring love;

that where there is wrong, I may bring the spirit of forgiveness;

that where there is discord, I may bring harmony;

that where there is error, I may bring truth;

that where there is doubt, I may bring faith;

that where there is despair, I may bring hope;

that where there are shadows, I may bring light;

that where there is sadness, I may bring joy.

Lord, grant that I may seek rather to comfort than to be comforted;

to understand, than to be understood;

to love, than to be loved.

For it is by self-forgetting that one finds.

It is by forgiving that one is forgiven.

It is by dying that one awakens to eternal life.

Amen.

Clinging

...to this morning's pain au chocolat.

So for breakfast I went to the boulangerie and bought myself a nice fresh baguette and a pain au chocolat. I ate the baguette at home and, because I was running a little late, took the pain au chocolat to eat on the metro on the way to work.

Now I don't know if Buddhist folklore talks of deities sent by the heavens to test ordinary folks' compassion and wisdom, but it seemed like there were at least two of them on the metro wanting a bit of my snack!

First, a small child next to me was fixated on the pain au chocolat in that unselfconscious way that children stare. I stuck my tongue out and pulled a face or two, to no avail. She wanted the chocolate. Her mother eventually told her not to be rude, but I could still feel her eyes boring into me, willing the chocolatey goodness to slip out of my hands and into hers. Finally, she settled for a puppy-dog look to try to pull on my heart strings. I was on the point of giving in when the train arrived at their stop and they left. Phew.

Talking of puppy dogs, next to covet my breakfast was a small, stinky one of this species, who got on the metro with its owner, who also looked fairly small and stinky. I'm not a fan of dogs at the best of times, and when they're dribbling on the floor with food-induced lust I find them even less appealing. Its owner was distracted, talking on her mobile phone, so it was between the dog and me. A staring contest ensued. Another woman noticed the silent struggle between me and my canine admirer, smiled, and immediately took the dog's side, both of them batting their eyelashes and pouting. She said "Can't you give him just a little bit?" I said "well, it's got chocolate in, which isn't good for dogs, is it?", to which she replied "can't you find a bit without chocolate?" I couldn't really say no. Goodbye nice crunchy bit of my pain au chocolat!

I've got a hell of a long way to go before I live up to the ideal in that Buddhist story about the Buddha, in a former life, sacrificing his body to a mother lion to feed her cubs.

Charter for Compassion

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.

To sign your name on the Charter for Compassion, go to the website: http://charterforcompassion.org/