Dreaming of a common language beyond platitudes.

Surely at a time when religious fundamentalism in its varied expressions is polarizing nation from nation and people from people, finding a common language for people of faith would be a priority. But how to do that is no easy feat.

On this topic I was intrigued when in a recent edition of On Faith , panelists wrote in on the Dalai Lama’s pronouncement that “All major religious traditions carry basically the same message: That is love, compassion and forgiveness.” While there were a few, most notably the Muslim scholar Sulayman Nyang, who expanded on how the Dalai Lama’s words spoke across religious traditions, most writers dissected the statement to show its limitations.

Susan Thistlethwaite pointed out how when not connected to a social justice context of non-violence the concepts of love, compassion and forgiveness can be as corrupting as they are liberating. She argues, for example, that women are often counseled by religious leaders to forgive their batterers and stay in violent situations for the sake of a misguided interpretation of the Christian doctrine of forgiveness.

Other panelists speak to the real damage done by religion. As Hindu Chaplain Rajan Zed pithily explains: “there are some more things in common in religions: misapplying holy scriptures through selective study and decoding, seeing ourselves as God’s charge d’affaires, claiming to be the lone owner of the truth and all the roads to salvation, positioning the ideal portrayal of one’s own religion with the apparently defective truth of other religions, etc.”

Others challenged the value of lumping together these sentiments and showed the ways varied religious traditions respond differently to concepts like love, forgiveness and compassion.

I agree with many of the panelist; without a context these words are little more than platitudes. Nonetheless, I see the Dalai Lama as an international pastoral voice attempting to articulate a dream shared by many for a common language, to borrow a phrase from the poet Adrienne Rich. Many of us are searching for the principles of love, compassion, and forgiveness in our own religious traditions while simultaneously seeking out ways to connect with similar shared values across cultures and faiths. Think of the new Coexist bumper sticker and tee shirt that are popping up everywhere. The Dalai Lama is speaking directly to this longing.

I know sometimes when I throw together a litany of “good faith values” like love, compassion, and forgiveness—or add in a few others such as hospitality and care for the neighbor—my list can sound shallow and easily exploited for unintended uses.

Yet, it still speaks to a longing for connection. When Rodney King famously stated, "Why can't we all get along," his words became easily mocked as naive and were turned quickly into cliche. Nonetheless, they also spoke to a deep seated pain and longing; they made vulnerable a desire for connection and understanding, a desire in and of itself worth nourishing. Words like "love, compassion and forgiveness" figure the same way and, for all their vague and seeming insipidness, they still speak to a deep human need for connection. Something that we can ill afford to ignore.