At this point in time, are people on Earth happy or unhappy? If asked this question, most might reply that the world is presently in an unhappy state.
Why are people on Earth unhappy? It is because their thoughts are filled with animosity and conflict and their world abounds with imperfect, unharmonious conditions.
The world we live in has become quite small. The political measures and policies taken by the large, powerful nations immediately produce effects on the smaller ones; likewise, the events taking place in smaller countries have direct repercussions in the larger ones.
Today the life led by an individual cannot possibly be confined to that individual alone. Each person is inevitably influenced by the circumstances and attitudes in their country and the world. Consequently, I think we can say that there is no such thing as an individual life today. Individuals cannot help but respond to the conditions that prevail throughout the nation and humanity. Furthermore, no matter how capable a person is, or how much he or she has accomplished individually, that alone cannot cause the whole country or the human race to find happiness. Until nations and humanity as a whole free themselves from antagonistic emotions, and rise above their imperfect, unharmonious living conditions, there can be no true happiness for individuals.
Nowadays, wherever we look, the international conditions hold an ominous atmosphere that forebodes of a big war. If war has not yet broken out it is simply because that volatile atmosphere has not yet been ignited.
One never knows when war might break out or when natural disasters might occur. Surrounded by this kind of uncertainty, it is extremely difficult for individuals to live with a firm sense of happiness. In reflecting on this, it occurred to me that if there is no way for individual happiness to come about unless it is linked to the happiness of humanity, it will be important for us to change our perspective. We ought to try thinking of the individual and humanity as being one single entity, and conduct all our actions from that standpoint. This was the idea that gave birth to the prayer for world peace that I have been recommending to people.
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