“Paradoxically, each thing is made of what it is not.”
- Thich Nhat Hanh
As technology and science progress, we increasingly discover the interdependent relationship of all things. What once seemed unrelated is now known to be completely interrelated.
Our mood affects our breathing, and our breathing affects our mood.
The chemistry in our brains and in our DNA shapes our thoughts, but it is also scientifically proven that our thought patterns can change the brain physically. It is the study of Neuroplasticity.
Our thoughts and mood are also affected by the music we listen to, the movies we watch, the books we read, and every other type of media, environment, people and food we consume.
In Buddhism, the most important precept of all is to live in consciousness. Knowing what is happening and being aware of what we do and who we are at every minute.
“When we are conscious, we are in direct contact with reality, not just in contact with images and symbols of reality. In consciousness, we realize that all phenomena are interdependent and infinitely interconnected.”
- Thich Nhat Hanh.
Everything that appears to be a separate entity is actually dependent on and therefore intertwined with that other thing. Absolutely everything! An object, an event, an idea or an experience are composed of other things. Everything that appears to be an “isolated” thing is actually a combination of its constituent elements. These elements are the influences of the other things with which it is intertwined. And these elements, too, are made up of other combinations, and so on.
A simple example of this is your bicycle. The bicycle itself is a mental concept, it does not exist. Because the bicycle is a combination of rubber, aluminum, plastic, iron, etc. And these elements are also combinations of other elements.
In short, the world is an infinite web of combinations.
And the awareness of interdependence makes it immediately evident that each of us shares responsibility for everything that happens and will happen in the world.
