I just wrote the following message and sent it to the office of his holiness, the 14th Dalai Lama. The issues I have been wrestling with all last night prompted me to reach out for some answers. I'm hoping to get a response which I can share with you all at a later date.

My letter to the Dalai Lama,

"I have a question that I would like to find an answer to and it occurred to me that I should start my search with a highly respected and wise expert - I could think of no-one more appropriate than his holiness himself.

To put my question into perspective, I should explain a little about myself. I am a Canadian man who has always looked at life with as open a mind and heart as I can manage and have had many wonderful adventures in the forty years I've enjoyed so far.

As a youth, I studied world religions and later I became an archaeologist. In recent years I was a Naval Officer but I am now disabled and unemployed due to two auto-immune diseases that came on very suddenly and unexpectedly.

There is a notion that many people in my country hold to be true and I would like to think that it is based upon a lack of understanding of Buddhist teachings. The concept of Karma being something that is accumulated in past lives which determines the fate of those alive in the here and now.

Another concept that is closely related to this is that of the power of positive thinking and how thoughts can manifest themselves in the physical realm.

Long before I ever became a disabled person I rejected the ways in which these ideas were casually tossed about by those I encountered. It struck me as a thought born from the hateful and callous minds of the over-privileged who took comfort from these notions in an attempt to soothe their guilty consciences. To dismiss the pain and suffering of millions of people in distant lands so easily by suggesting that they somehow deserved their lot in life because of past misdeeds also implies a kind of smug superiority in that their own comfortable lives and luxuries were somehow earned or deserved because of their righteousness in days long forgotten. The power of positive thought is similarly offensive when it is used to imply that someone who is suffering is doing so by choice because they have the power to heal themselves by simply changing their attitudes?

I don't mean to rude or give offence in any way. In fact, I find it difficult to accept that these are legitimate Buddhist teachings. I understand that Karma can play a role in this Maya existence due to the motions of Samsara (please forgive my clumsy attempt to remember Buddhist terminology as it has been many years since I gave any serious thought to Buddhism). I also acknowlege the wondrous powers of positive thinking and prayers but to use these beautiful concepts to try and justify another's suffering seems ugly and offensive to me.

Instead, I would like to think that Karma is an influence while Dharma is ultimately more relevant to this time and place. And yet there are so many people in pain and turmoil at this very moment, billions of innocent people ravaged by wars and famine, I refuse to accept that it is appropriate to blame the victims for their own misfortunes.

I would like to know the truth of this from a Buddhist perspective and maybe learn how to reconcile these conflicting thoughts. Obviously, his holiness has far too important demands upon his time and energy to answer my email but I was wondering if someone closer to him who has a better understanding of his perspective might be able to help me find these answers. Perhaps even directing me to a place where I might find what I am seeking on my own would suffice.

As a last resort, I would consider contacting a local Buddhist temple in my area but I suspect that much like other major religions, there are varied interpretations similar to different Christian denominations and I do not understand Buddhism nearly well enough to make an informed choice about who to seek guidance from. For this reason, I wanted to reach out to his holiness as he is the living embodiment of the Buddha spirit, as I understand it.

I would be very grateful for any help or guidance you could offer me in this regard,

Thank you for taking the time to read this letter,

[tiredofpain]"

I suppose I should send one off to the Pope and leaders of Judaism, Islam and Confuscianism too, just to cover my bases? Maybe I'll just start with this one letter and see how that goes.

Chris