My doorway into this whole topic was via American author and Psychologist Howard C. Cutler, who met on many occasions with the Dalai Lama. From the archive of their conversations emerged a book called “The Art of Happiness”, a book I’m happy to share a link to on the basis of the personal value I took from it. I took to principles of Buddhism like a duck to water, as a source of logical, philosophical wisdom. This set me off exploring the deeper stuff of life, and I eventually landed upon the notion of a condensed mindfulness which I call the Code of Human Principles.
Such a code needed to be encompassing but simple — principles which could calmly cut through the noise and support right minded behaviour, a life tool for insight into the virtue or folly of personal choices and actions. For our communities I wanted a set of principles which could also be used to forge a crucible of debate, allowing each and every “issue” due respect for nuance and individual circumstance, to pick apart the weeds and reach core truths, to help provide a path towards genuine solutions.
THE CODE OF HUMAN PRINCIPLES
Article I: It is the right of every individual in society to live a life of peace and self-determination, where such actions do not contravene the responsibilities of Article II.
Article II: It is the civic duty of every member of society to reason and act with compassion, empathy and tolerance towards oneself, other citizens and living entities (natural and artificial), and to exercise a prime duty of care through those modes to the natural environment.
Article III: It is the responsibility of the system of community to afford reasonable opportunity and resources for every citizen, to enable and support their natural talents such that the individual will know a means of maintaining their personal mental and physical wellbeing, enabling that value to extend to the benefit of other citizens and the extended community.
Article IV: It is the right of every citizen to hold (or not) to their religious and/or spiritual beliefs in accordance with Article I, free from interference from fellow citizens. It is also incumbent upon the practitioner to take personal responsibility for those beliefs and any actions arising, in accordance with Articles I and II, respecting the rights of others as a priority of civility and peace for the extended community.
