Beyond religion - 7. Ethics in our shared world

• Ethical problems come from human behaviour to solve them we must change our outlook and our ways of doing
• We cannot set an ethics for our personal level and another for the social level.  If we look only for our inner development neglecting the wider problems of the world we are mistaking. We must apply the principle of global responsibility
• Rapid progress of technology is a challenge to keep the pace of our discernment to use all this power
• Indeed, all this progress, and the fact that we do not have destroyed ourselves, is due to our ability to cooperate.
• War is outdated and illogical.  Violence only conduces to more violence.  In our highly connected world, distant events can have an impact (e.g.terrorism is an extreme example).  Also the outcome is unpredictable.
• Therefore, it is necessary to adopt programs of discernment (compassion in practice) committing to dialogue, cooperation, and understanding also increased and we cannot longer pretend ignoring the impact of our actions in the environment.  These challenges needs cooperation, and states cannot think only in their national self-interest.
• The economic inequalities are more extreme than ever and apart of the morality issue, it provokes many problems: wars, immigration... Initiatives like microfinance can help to alleviate poverty.
• Education has focused on technological knowledge and ethics was assumed through religion, but this changed.  In a secular approach ethics must be based in an universal approach.  Education must include formal exercices of attentiveness and the cultivation of inner values.
• Teacher must embody these values: i) academic excellence; ii) moral integrity; 3) kindness
• To face all the challenges we must perseverate

Meditation

• Interdependence: i) how are we at peace? ii) how we got economic prosperity? iii) how the environment changes?