Karma and Theodicy Based on Disasters

The idea that religion can primarily be seen as a means of comfort in a world of suffering is not a new one. Religion reconcile the oppressed to their uncomfortable role sin this life by dignify in their suffering and promising spiritual world to come. But apart from the Psychological problem, the existence of suffering poses a cognitive problem, albeit in practice the two are often closely related or even confused with each other. Religion does not only have to provide the promise of some kind of escape or salvation from suffering brutal so some kind of moral vindication of its distribution in this world. Our society is driven by the need for constant clarification, transparency, and readily available answers at our fingertips. It is no surprise than that although we live in a world dominated by technology and fast web browsing there are still questions we can’t find an answer to. Regardless of how one posit the question of evil, “Where is God now”, “Why is there evil if God is almighty”, or “Why would God abandon those in need”, the answers has always been the same, “No one knows for sure”.

Theodicy juxtaposes evil and God’s ambivalent “all good, all knowing, and ever-present” condition in attempt to explain the reason why bad things happen to good people. Karma, in the other hand, simplifies the complexity of evil’s existence in the world by blaming ourselves for the bad things we have done not only in this, but also in other past lives. This paper will analyze how both theodicy and karma explain the existence of evil. My goal is to stimulate the discussion about karma as a solution to the problem of innocent suffering in the world. This paper argues that Karma is a symptom rather than a target of a capricious God adamant in e...

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...vine justice? Were they not innocent after all?

Theodicy’s credibility lies in its ability to provide a convincing explanation for why a perfect and loving creator choose not to provide to all with the level of safety achieved by his imperfect but loving creations, and instead allowed the level of suffering and death. Traditional theodicy has yet another major responsibility to provide answers to the meaning of life and death, especially when one or one’s loved ones suffers from disaster or illness. Buddhist explanations of disasters based on the doctrine of karma in areas not under the direct influence of disasters. Basically, karma stands for the belief that a person experiences the affects of his or her actions that every act or thought has consequences. Living in a balanced universe, in an ethical and moral life, with undisturbed dharma will lead to happiness.