Anonymous asked: Some people argue that if God was real and omnipotent and omnibenevolent, the Bible would tell us (or He would have just come out and told us) things like how to cure diseases, that the sun is the center of the solar system and other scientific truths, and that slavery is evil, that is wrong to ever beat your children, that men and women are equal no matter what instead of allowing things like racism, bigotry and sexism to exist and people to suffer. What are your thoughts?

Such people have my respect. They look at the world and they realize that it’s flawed and filled with suffering, and they respond by questioning the accepted norms of their day. It takes a rare strength to realize that those in places of earthly power can be wrong.

But let’s look at this differently. Not all diseases effect all people, in all places, and all times. It would have made no sense for God to have sent someone thousands of years ago to tell us how to cure diseases, because their words would be lost or changed, and even if the diseases that they educated their times about were cured, others would emerge. What is universal, however, is love. It is nearly impossible to keep up with every disease, and not all diseases are necessarily curable. But those suffering always need love, and every religion teaches us how.

In the east, we find this idea again. Remove one suffering, and there will be another. The idea isn’t to conquer suffering as if one can fight it to its own non-existence. Ignorance of our natural unity with God, ignorance of the presence of God in others, or around us, etc. cause suffering. Attachment to pain, to pleasure, to desire causes suffering. In the east, the idea is to realize that suffering is a part of this world, rooted in our own ignorance and nature to sin, and overcome it so that we can live in peace, whether in pain or pleasure.

Of course, that doesn’t mean we should become complacent about the circumstances of the world. We should fight homophobia, sexism, racism, and other forms of bigotry. We should stand for animal rights, Tibetan freedom, and liberation of all oppressed people and beings. We should support and encourage scientific research into treatments and cures for diseases. 

I always teach that in practice, we are the hands of God, the hearts of God, the mouths of God. It is up to us to speak on behalf of those who can’t, to love those who need to be loved, and to serve those in need. God works through us. 

Be blessed.