Quotes About Interconnectedness

There is no difference between healing ourselves and healing the Earth.

Nothing exists by itself alone. We all belong to each other; we cannot cut reality into pieces.

When we can see our partner as not separate from us, not better or worse or even equal to ourselves, then we have the wisdom of nondiscrimination. We see the happiness of others as our happiness, their suffering as our suffering.

God the Father is in God the Son; and the Holy Spirit is in the Son and in the Father. That is interbeing.

In this food I see clearly the presence of the entire universe supporting my existence.

A person is not some private entity traveling unaffected through time and space as if sealed off from the rest of the world by some thick shell.

If your love is true love, it will benefit not only humans, but also animals, plants, and minerals. When you love one person, it's an opportunity for you to love everyone, all beings. Then you are going in a good direction, and that is true love. But if you love someone and you get caught up in suffering and attachment, then you get cut off from others. That's not true love.

Look at the tree in the front yard. The tree doesn't seem to be doing anything. It stands there, vigorous, fresh, and beautiful, and everyone profits from it. That's the miracle of being. If a tree were less than a tree, all of us would be in trouble. But if a tree is just a real tree, then there's hope and joy. That's why if you can be yourself, that is already action. Action is based on non-action; action is being. There are people who do a lot, but who also

No one can be by himself or herself alone. We have to inter-be, connected with everyone and everything else.

Our happiness and suffering are the happiness and suffering of others.

I stopped committing acts that cause suffering to other living beings. All living beings want to live. All fear death. We must nurture a heart of compassion and protect the lives of all beings.

Everything depends on everything else. The One contains the many, and the many contains the One

You may like to take a moment now to look at your hand. Can you see your mother's hand in your hand? Or your father's? Look deeply into your hand. With this insight, and with all the love and care of your parents, bring your hand up to your forehead and feel the hand of your mother or father touching your forehead. Allow yourself to be cared for by your parents in you. They are always with you.

A true bodhisattva is one who sees no demarcations between organic and non-organic, self and non-self, living beings and non-living beings, bodhisattvas and non-bodhisattvas.

Thich Nhat Hanh: "The next Buddha will be a Sangha.

Our food comes from this beautiful planet. The Earth is inside us, in each morsel of food, in the air we breathe, in the water that we drink and that flows through us. Enjoy being part of the Earth and eat in such a way that allows you to be aware that each bite is deepening your connection to the planet.

we've seen that our suffering is connected with the suffering of our ancestors, our loved ones, and with the planet itself, so we know our happiness is not an individual matter. If we are able to breathe happily, we can invite our ancestors to enjoy breathing in with our lungs. If we are able to enjoy walking, we can invite our ancestors to walk with our feet.

To see things in their interdependent relational mature is to perceive their nature of non-identity. Put another way, it is to recognize their existence, even when they are not present.

When a leaf falls, we can sing Happy Continuation. When we have awakened understanding, birth is a continuation and death is a continuation, birth is an appearance and death is an appearance. People also appear to be born, grow old, and die.

We blame our suffering on another person or group, or on bad luck, but outside conditions are not the reason it appears. Our suffering was already there.

Zen is none other than Buddhism.

If the United States wants safety, it has to take care of the safety of other nations also. If Great Britain wants safety, it has to think of the safety of other groups of people. Any of us could be victims of violence and terrorism. No country is immune.

When you speak, allow the insight of our collective humanity to speak through you. When you walk, don't walk for yourself alone; walk for your ancestors and your community. When you breathe, allow the larger world to breathe for you.

Knowing how to handle suffering, you know at the same time how to produce happiness. And if you're truly happy, we all profit from your happiness. We need happy people in this world.