Chant one million times for world peace, they
     told me.
Pray three times a day to end all wars.
Practice austerities to liberate all living beings.
     But the world's miseries have never
          diminished.

Periodically, some religious group proclaims that if everyone would just do something like chant, some fundamental social problem would be solved. Claims have been made that spiritual devotion could affect wars, famine, disease, the economy, and overpopulation.

Only personal endeavors can be spiritual. What you do with your daily devotions is purely for your own sake. Once you put ideals on a grand scale, they are compromised by the contradictions of life.

There is no utopia. There never will be. There is only the valiant attempt of each person to live spiritually in a world where spirituality is almost impossible.

utopia
365 Tao
daily meditations
Deng Ming-Dao (author)
ISBN 0-06-250223-9

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