The Dalai Lama says not to pray to God... should we listen to him?

The Dalai Lama says not to pray to God, because humankind created terrorism... is he saying we should pray to God over hurricanes because those are not humanity's fault... or are all problems our doing in some form or other? Is he saying we should be deeply cruel to others because no semblance of justice, of comeuppance exists? That is a dark and scary God he seems to believe in: one who condemns us for any human mistake, judges all humanity not as individuals but in one brush and as one whole, and won't lift a finger to help the innocent under any circumstances. Yes, I know unimaginable evil is commonplace in this broken, ragged world of ours, but that does not mean we should not speak against it... in our minds, with our words, with our actions, and our very lives. Even small babies and animals screech into the nothingness when threatened with evil... should humanity not follow the course of all living things and beg the hinterlands of consciousness for help?

This is very similar to those who ask others not to show solidarity to France, because their actions might not have an effect. Perhaps they will not have an effect, but telling people not to object to evil, even in the far flung nether regions of their mind: is telling them that evil is not to be mourned, and that only the powerful deserve a voice.

The fact of the matter is that if there is a God, he is interested in humanity, likely in even the smallest of things. After all, we all obsess over our own creations, and have you seen the undue attention we all - myself included - give our pets, and parents give their children?

I believe in an all powerful God who acts subtly through humanity. One who should be prayed to and who works all to the good of those who love him - in the end, even if there are very dark times in between. I think that even if prayer is to the void, it is a good thing: it makes us contemplate suffering, realise that we are small in the scheme of things, and causes us to contemplate others and to consider what behaviour is good and what is evil. The people praying for Paris, for France, are doing something truly selfless, even if it is as worthless as the Dalai Lama claims it to be. That good faith towards people we do not know, is the bedrock upon which all society rests. Whatever God someone worships, prayer is good. It is an act of humility and in the very least helps us order our thoughts from the perspective of one who is not us. I also believe in a God who answers not just my prayers but the prayers of all who pray in the nature of God: for those things which are good, though God is far wiser than I and works in ways I do not have a capability to understand. Just because my pet cat wants his food when it is not dinner time, does not mean that I will feed him, but I will comfort the little creature, and perhaps point out if there are still scraps of what he ate the last meal remaining in his bowl.

So, please, do not stop praying for the good of others and for the world, our thoughts and words guide our actions... prayer for others, even if God were to not exist or were to not care about humanity... imbues a good faith in humanity... and permeates us with a care and connectedness with the world... a love... one for another.

Do what you can with what you have in the world. That is a message that transcends so much else... if all you can do is...

Posted by Marc Evan Aupiais on Wednesday, 18 November 2015