Twelve Steps to a Compassionate Life
One of the most original thinkers on the role of religion in the modern world—and the bestselling author of such acclaimed books as A History of God, Islam, and Buddha—now gives us a thoughtful, and thought-provoking book that can help us make the world a more compassionate place.
Karen Armstrong believes that while compassion is intrinsic in all human beings, each of us needs to work diligently to cultivate and expand our capacity for compassion. Here, she sets out a program that can lead us toward a more compassionate life.
The twelve steps Armstrong suggests begin with “Learn About Compassion” and close with “Love Your Enemies.” In between, she takes up “compassion for yourself,” mindfulness, suffering, sympathetic joy, the limits of our knowledge of others, and “concern for everybody.” She suggests concrete ways of enhancing our compassion and putting it into action in our everyday lives, and provides, as well, a reading list to encourage us to “hear one another’s narratives.” Throughout, Armstrong makes clear that a compassionate life is not a matter of only heart or mind but a deliberate and often life-altering commingling of the two.
Karen Armstrong believes that while compassion is intrinsic in all human beings, each of us needs to work diligently to cultivate and expand our capacity for compassion. Here, she sets out a program that can lead us toward a more compassionate life.
The twelve steps Armstrong suggests begin with “Learn About Compassion” and close with “Love Your Enemies.” In between, she takes up “compassion for yourself,” mindfulness, suffering, sympathetic joy, the limits of our knowledge of others, and “concern for everybody.” She suggests concrete ways of enhancing our compassion and putting it into action in our everyday lives, and provides, as well, a reading list to encourage us to “hear one another’s narratives.” Throughout, Armstrong makes clear that a compassionate life is not a matter of only heart or mind but a deliberate and often life-altering commingling of the two.
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Community Reviews
This book is really intended as a program of sorts, which you're supposed to follow—there are twelve actual steps, and you're to finish each one before moving on to the next. So I should start by admitting that I didn't do that at all. I just went through it like a book. I would actually like to do it as intended, but for now I'm just reviewing it from where I am.
It was well worth reading. Armstrong's views on spirituality and human nature have always resonated with me, and this was certainly no exception. Her project here is, essentially, to take the Golden Rule out of the realm of cliché, and expand it into a guide for living a meaningful life. It may be that I'm already in line with her thinking, but I think she managed to reach that goal. In reading this, I've devoted a lot of time to thinking about the ways in which I interact with other people, at all levels. Aside from the insights I've gained from that, I also feel drawn to change those interactions and relationships so that they're more . . . life-serving, I guess (as long as we're elevating clichés). I really am hoping to go through this again, the way she intended it, and I'm anxious to see what effect it will have.
It was well worth reading. Armstrong's views on spirituality and human nature have always resonated with me, and this was certainly no exception. Her project here is, essentially, to take the Golden Rule out of the realm of cliché, and expand it into a guide for living a meaningful life. It may be that I'm already in line with her thinking, but I think she managed to reach that goal. In reading this, I've devoted a lot of time to thinking about the ways in which I interact with other people, at all levels. Aside from the insights I've gained from that, I also feel drawn to change those interactions and relationships so that they're more . . . life-serving, I guess (as long as we're elevating clichés). I really am hoping to go through this again, the way she intended it, and I'm anxious to see what effect it will have.
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