ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Karen Armstrong - Religious scholar
Karen Armstrong -- winner of the 2008 TED Prize -- is a provocative, original thinker on the role of religion in the modern world.

Why you should listen

Religious thinker Karen Armstrong has written more than 20 books on faith and the major religions, studying what Islam, Judaism and Christianity have in common, and how our faiths shaped world history and drive current events.

A former nun, Armstrong has written two books about this experience: Through the Narrow Gate, about her seven years in the convent, and The Spiral Staircase, about her subsequent spiritual awakening, when she developed her iconoclastic take on the major monotheistic religions -- and on the strains of fundamentalism common to all. She is a powerful voice for ecumenical understanding.

Armstrong's 2008 TED Prize wish asked the world to help her create the Charter for Compassion, a document based on the Golden Rule: that we should treat others how we would want to be treated. In fall 2008, the first draft of the charter was written by the world, via a multilingual website that allowed all to comment. In February 2009, the words were given to the Council of Conscience, a gathering of religious leaders and thinkers, who crafted the final document based on global input. The Charter was officially launched in November 2009. It has been signed by notable world leaders including Pope Benedict XVI, the Dalai Lama, Desmond Tutu, Deepak Chopra and Muhammad Ali. The Charter has led to the creation of the Charter for Compassion International (CCI) organization, the Compassionate Communities campaign, and Global Compassion Council -- a group of leaders continuing the movement around the the world.

More profile about the speaker
Karen Armstrong | Speaker | TED.com
TEDGlobal 2009

Karen Armstrong: Let's revive the Golden Rule

Karen Armstrong: Vamos reviver a Regra de Ouro

Filmed:
917,927 views

Faltando poucas semanas para o lançamento da Carta para Compaixão, Karen Armstrong avalia o papel da religião no século XXI: Seus dogmas nos dividirão? Ou nos unirão para um bem comum? Ela revisa os catalisadores que poderão conduzir fiéis de todo o mundo a redescobrir a Regra de Ouro.
- Religious scholar
Karen Armstrong -- winner of the 2008 TED Prize -- is a provocative, original thinker on the role of religion in the modern world. Full bio

Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.

00:12
For years I've been feeling frustrated,
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Por anos me senti frustrada
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because as a religious historian,
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porque, como historiadora da religião,
00:19
I've become acutely aware
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percebi nitidamente
00:21
of the centrality of compassion
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a centralidade da compaixão
00:24
in all the major world faiths.
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nas principais religiões em todo o mundo.
00:27
Every single one of them
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Cada uma delas
00:29
has evolved their own version
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desenvolveu sua própria versão
00:31
of what's been called the Golden Rule.
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do que chamamos de Regra de Ouro
00:34
Sometimes it comes in a positive version --
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As vezes aparece numa versão positiva:
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"Always treat all others as you'd like to be treated yourself."
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"Sempre trate os outros como você gostaria de ser tratado."
00:41
And equally important
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E, igualmente importante
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is the negative version --
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em sua versão negativa:
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"Don't do to others what you would not like them to do to you."
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"Não faça aos outros o que não gostaria que fizessem com você."
00:51
Look into your own heart,
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Olhe para o seu próprio coração.
00:53
discover what it is that gives you pain
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Descubra o que é que te causa dor.
00:56
and then refuse, under any circumstance whatsoever,
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Então recuse, em qualquer circunstância
01:00
to inflict that pain on anybody else.
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causar essa dor a qualquer outra pessoa.
01:04
And people have emphasized the importance of compassion,
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As pessoas vêm enfatizando a importância da compaixão
01:09
not just because it sounds good,
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não só porque soa bem,
01:11
but because it works.
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mas porque funciona.
01:14
People have found that when they have
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As pessoas vêm descobrindo que
01:17
implemented the Golden Rule
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quando implementam a Regra de Ouro
01:19
as Confucius said, "all day and every day,"
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como diz Confúcio, "todo o dia e todos os dias,"
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not just a question of doing your good deed for the day
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não somente fazendo sua boa ação do dia
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and then returning to a life of greed
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para voltar a uma vida de ganância
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and egotism,
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e egoísmo.
01:30
but to do it all day and every day,
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Mas quando você a incorpora todo o dia e todos os dias,
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you dethrone yourself from the center of your world,
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você destrona a si mesmo do centro do seu mundo,
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put another there, and you transcend yourself.
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e põe outro lá, transcendendo a si mesmo
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And it brings you into the presence
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Isso leva você à presença
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of what's been called God, Nirvana, Rama, Tao.
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do que é chamado Deus, Nirvana, Râma, Tao.
01:47
Something that goes beyond
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Algo que vai além
01:49
what we know in our ego-bound existence.
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do que conhecemos em nossa existência egocêntrica.
01:54
But you know you'd never know it a lot of the time,
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Mas você sabe que várias vezes você não percebe
01:56
that this was so central to the religious life.
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que isto é tão central à vida religiosa.
01:59
Because with a few wonderful exceptions,
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Porque, salvo exceções maravilhosas,
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very often when religious people come together,
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freqüentemente, quando pessoas religiosas se encontram,
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religious leaders come together, they're arguing about abstruse doctrines
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líderes religiosos se encontram, eles debatem doutrinas obscuras
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or uttering a council of hatred
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ou então manifestam conselhos de ódio
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or inveighing against homosexuality or something of that sort.
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ou de repulsa contra homossexualidade ou coisas do gênero.
02:20
Often people don't really want to be compassionate.
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Freqüentemente as pessoas não querem sem compassivas.
02:22
I sometimes see
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As vezes vejo
02:24
when I'm speaking to a congregation of religious people
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quando estou palestrando a uma congregação de pessoas religosas
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a sort of mutinous expression crossing their faces
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uma espécie de reação muda cruzando seus rostos
02:30
because people often want to be right instead.
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porque ao invés disso as pessoas preferem ter razão.
02:34
And that of course defeats the object of the exercise.
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O que, é claro, derrota o objeto desse exercício.
02:38
Now why was I so grateful to TED?
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Por que me senti tão grata ao TED?
02:42
Because they took me very gently
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Porque me tiraram gentilmente
02:48
from my book-lined study
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dos meus estudos guiados por livros
02:51
and brought me into the 21st century,
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e me trouxeram ao século XXI,
02:53
enabling me to speak to a much, much wider audience
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possibilitando que eu falasse a uma audiência muito, muito mais ampla
02:57
than I could have ever conceived.
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do que eu jamais poderia imaginar.
02:59
Because I feel an urgency about this.
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Porque sinto urgência em relação a esse assunto.
03:02
If we don't manage to implement
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Se não conseguirmos implementar
03:05
the Golden Rule globally,
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a Regra de Ouro globalmente,
03:09
so that we treat all peoples, wherever and whoever they may be,
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de modo que tratemos todas as pessoas, onde quer que estejam e quem quer que sejam,
03:13
as though they were as important as ourselves,
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como se fossem tão importantes quanto nós,
03:16
I doubt that we'll have
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eu duvido que tenhamos
03:18
a viable world to hand on to the next generation.
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um mundo viável para passar à próxima geração.
03:21
The task of our time,
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A tarefa do nosso tempo,
03:23
one of the great tasks of our time,
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uma das maiores tarefas do nosso tempo,
03:26
is to build a global society, as I said,
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é construir uma sociedade global, como disse,
03:28
where people can live together in peace.
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onde as pessoas consigam viver juntas em paz.
03:31
And the religions that should be making a major contribution
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E a religião, que deveria exercer uma importante contribuição
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are instead seen as part of the problem.
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é ao invés disso parte do problema.
03:39
And of course it's not just religious people who believe in the Golden Rule.
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E é claro que não são apenas pessoas religiosas que acreditam na Regra de Ouro.
03:45
This is the source of all morality,
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É a origem de toda a moralidade.
03:48
this imaginative act of empathy,
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Esse ato criativo de empatia,
03:51
putting yourself in the place of another.
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colocando-se no lugar do outro.
03:54
And so we have a choice, it seems to me.
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Então me parece que temos uma escolha.
03:58
We can either go on bringing out or emphasizing
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Ou continuamos expondo e enfatizando
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the dogmatic and intolerant aspects of our faith,
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os aspectos dogmáticos e intolerantes da nossa fé,
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or we can go back to
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ou podemos nos voltar para os rabinos
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the rabbis. Rabbi Hillel, the older contemporary of Jesus,
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Rabino Hillel, contemporâneo a Jesus,
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who, when asked by a pagan
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que, quando desafiado por um pagão
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to sum up the whole of Jewish teaching while he stood on one leg,
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para resumir todo o ensinamento Judaico enquanto se apoiava em uma só perna
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said, "That which is hateful to you, do not do to your neighbor.
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disse, "Aquilo que é odioso para ti, não faças a teu vizinho.
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That is the Torah and everything else is only commentary."
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Essa é a Torah inteira, todo o resto é comentário."
04:33
And the rabbis and the early fathers of the church who said that
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E aos rabinos e patriarcas da Igreja quando disseram que
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any interpretation of scripture
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qualquer interpretação das escrituras
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that bred hatred and disdain was illegitimate.
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que suscite ódio e desdém é ilegítima.
04:44
And we need to revive that spirit.
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E nós precisamos reviver essa atitude.
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And it's not just going to happen
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O que não acontecerá apenas
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because a spirit of love wafts us down.
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por causa de um espírito arrebatador.
04:52
We have to make this happen,
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Temos que fazer isso acontecer,
04:54
and we can do it
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e podemos fazê-lo
04:56
with the modern communications
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com os meios de comunicação modernos
04:58
that TED has introduced.
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que o TED introduziu.
05:00
Already I've been tremendously heartened
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Já fiquei tremendamente comovida
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at the response of all our partners.
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por todas as respostas de nossos parceiros.
05:06
In Singapore, we have a group
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Em Singapura temos um grupo
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going to use the Charter to heal divisions
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que usará a carta para curar divisões
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recently that have sprung up in Singaporean society,
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que recentemente abateram a sociedade de Singapura,
05:18
and some members of the parliament want
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e alguns membros do parlamento desejam
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to implement it politically.
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implementá-la politicamente.
05:24
In Malaysia, there is going to be an art exhibition
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Na Malásia haverá uma exposição
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in which leading artists are going to be
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na qual artistas renomados estarão
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taking people, young people,
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levando pessoas, jovens,
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and showing them that compassion also lies
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e mostrando que a compaixão também está
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at the root of all art.
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na raiz de toda a arte.
05:40
Throughout Europe, the Muslim communities
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Por toda a Europa, as comunidades muçulmanas
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are holding events and discussions,
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estão promovendo eventos e discussões
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are discussing the centrality of compassion
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falando da centralidade da compaixão
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in Islam and in all faiths.
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no Islã e em todas as religiões.
05:52
But it can't stop there. It can't stop with the launch.
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Mas não pode parar por aí. Não pode parar no lançamento.
05:55
Religious teaching, this is where we've gone so wrong,
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Ensino religioso, é aí que erramos tão feio,
05:58
concentrating solely on believing abstruse doctrines.
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concentrando em crenças e doutrinas complicadas.
06:02
Religious teaching must always lead to action.
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O ensino religioso deve sempre levar à ação.
06:07
And I intend to work on this till my dying day.
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E eu pretendo trabalhar nisto até o dia da minha morte.
06:11
And I want to continue with our partners
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E quero continuar com nossos parceiros
06:16
to do two things --
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para fazer duas coisas:
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educate and stimulate compassionate thinking.
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educar e estimular o pensamento compassivo.
06:25
Education because we've so
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Educação, porque desistimos
06:28
dropped out of compassion.
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tão intensamente da compaixão.
06:30
People often think it simply means
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Pessoas pensam frequentemente que significa simplesmente
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feeling sorry for somebody.
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sentir pena por alguém.
06:34
But of course you don't understand compassion
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Mas, é claro, você não entenderá a compaixão
06:37
if you're just going to think about it.
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se só ficar pensando nela.
06:39
You also have to do it.
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Você precisa praticá-la.
06:41
I want them to get the media involved
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Quero que envolvam a mídia
06:44
because the media are crucial
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porque ela é crucial
06:46
in helping to dissolve some of the stereotypical views
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para ajudar a dissolver algumas visões estereotipadas
06:49
we have of other people,
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que temos de outras pessoas,
06:51
which are dividing us from one another.
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nos afastando uns dos outros.
06:53
The same applies to educators.
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O mesmo se aplica aos educadores.
06:56
I'd like youth to get a sense of
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E gostaria que a juventude sentisse
07:00
the dynamism, the dynamic and challenge
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o dinamismo, a dinâmica e o desafio
07:04
of a compassionate lifestyle.
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de um estilo de vida compassivo.
07:06
And also see that it demands acute intelligence,
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E veja que isto demanda inteligência,
07:09
not just a gooey feeling.
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não um sentimento grudento.
07:12
I'd like to call upon scholars to explore
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Gostaria de fazer um chamado aos acadêmicos para explorarem
07:15
the compassionate theme
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o tema da compaixão
07:17
in their own and in other people's traditions.
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na sua tradição e em tradições distintas.
07:21
And perhaps above all,
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E, talvez, acima de tudo,
07:23
to encourage a sensitivity about
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a encorajar a sensibilidade sobre
07:27
uncompassionate speaking,
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o discurso incompassivo.
07:29
so that because people have this Charter,
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Quando as pessoas tiverem essa carta,
07:32
whatever their beliefs or lack of them,
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apesar de suas crenças ou falta delas,
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they feel empowered
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elas se sentirão fortalecidas
07:38
to challenge uncompassionate speech,
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para desafiar o discurso incompassivo,
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disdainful remarks
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posições desdenhosas
07:44
from their religious leaders, their political leaders,
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de seus líderes religiosos, líderes políticos,
07:47
from the captains of industry.
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de donos de indústrias
07:49
Because we can change the world,
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Porque podemos mudar o mundo,
07:51
we have the ability.
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nós temos a habilidade.
07:54
I would never have thought of putting the Charter online.
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Eu jamais teria pensado em pôr a carta na internet.
07:57
I was still stuck in the old world
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Eu estava presa no mundo antigo
07:59
of a whole bunch of boffins sitting together in a room
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de um monte de pesquisadores sentados numa sala
08:02
and issuing yet another arcane statement.
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publicando discursos arcaicos.
08:05
And TED introduced me to a whole new way
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e TED me apresentou a uma maneira totalmente diferente
08:08
of thinking and presenting ideas.
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de pensar e apresentar idéias.
08:10
Because that is what is so wonderful about TED.
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Porque isso é que é tão maravilhosos sobre o TED.
08:13
In this room, all this expertise,
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Nessa sala, com todos esses especialistas,
08:18
if we joined it all together,
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se nos unirmos
08:20
we could change the world.
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podemos mudar o mundo.
08:22
And of course the problems sometimes seem insuperable.
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E, é claro, os problemas as vezes parecem insuperáveis.
08:27
But I'd just like to quote, finish at the end
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Mas gostaria de fazer uma citação antes do fim
08:30
with a reference to a British author, an Oxford author
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com uma referência de um autor britânico, de Oxford
08:34
whom I don't quote very often,
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que não cito freqüentemente,
08:36
C.S. Lewis.
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C.S. Lewis.
08:38
But he wrote one thing that stuck in my mind
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Mas ele escreveu algo que ficou na minha mente
08:40
ever since I read it when I was a schoolgirl.
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desde que li, quando estava na escola.
08:43
It's in his book "The Four Loves."
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Está no seu livro Os Quatro Amores.
08:46
He said that he distinguished between erotic love,
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Ele disse que distinguia ente amor erótico,
08:50
when two people gaze, spellbound, into each other's eyes.
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quando duas pessoas flertam, encantadas, olho no olho.
08:56
And then he compared that to friendship,
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E então ele comparou isso à amizade.
08:59
when two people stand side by side, as it were, shoulder to shoulder,
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Quando duas pessoas ficam lado a lado, ombro a ombro,
09:03
with their eyes fixed on a common goal.
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com seus olhos fixos num objetivo comum.
09:07
We don't have to fall in love with each other,
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Não precisamos nos apaixonar uns pelos outros,
09:12
but we can become friends.
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mas podemos nos tornar amigos.
09:15
And I am convinced.
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E estou convencida.
09:17
I felt it very strongly
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Sinto intensamente
09:20
during our little deliberations at Vevey,
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durante nossa pequena conversa em Vevey, Suíça,
09:24
that when people of all different persuasions
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que quando pessoas de diferentes convicções
09:28
come together, working side by side
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unem-se, trabalhando lado a lado
09:32
for a common goal,
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por um mesmo objetivo,
09:34
differences melt away.
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as diferenças se desmancham.
09:36
And we learn amity.
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E aprendemos a amistosidade
09:38
And we learn to live together and to get to know one another.
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E aprendemos a viver juntos e conhecer uns aos outros.
09:43
Thank you very much.
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Muito obrigada.
09:45
(Applause)
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(Aplauso)
Translated by Elisa Hoerlle
Reviewed by Eduardo Schenberg

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ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Karen Armstrong - Religious scholar
Karen Armstrong -- winner of the 2008 TED Prize -- is a provocative, original thinker on the role of religion in the modern world.

Why you should listen

Religious thinker Karen Armstrong has written more than 20 books on faith and the major religions, studying what Islam, Judaism and Christianity have in common, and how our faiths shaped world history and drive current events.

A former nun, Armstrong has written two books about this experience: Through the Narrow Gate, about her seven years in the convent, and The Spiral Staircase, about her subsequent spiritual awakening, when she developed her iconoclastic take on the major monotheistic religions -- and on the strains of fundamentalism common to all. She is a powerful voice for ecumenical understanding.

Armstrong's 2008 TED Prize wish asked the world to help her create the Charter for Compassion, a document based on the Golden Rule: that we should treat others how we would want to be treated. In fall 2008, the first draft of the charter was written by the world, via a multilingual website that allowed all to comment. In February 2009, the words were given to the Council of Conscience, a gathering of religious leaders and thinkers, who crafted the final document based on global input. The Charter was officially launched in November 2009. It has been signed by notable world leaders including Pope Benedict XVI, the Dalai Lama, Desmond Tutu, Deepak Chopra and Muhammad Ali. The Charter has led to the creation of the Charter for Compassion International (CCI) organization, the Compassionate Communities campaign, and Global Compassion Council -- a group of leaders continuing the movement around the the world.

More profile about the speaker
Karen Armstrong | Speaker | TED.com