Interbeing

Understanding your interdependence with the world around you provides insights and perspectives that can help you practice spiritual humanism.

Thich Nhat Hahn coined the word “interbeing.” He taught people about interbeing by helping them see the cloud in a piece of paper. I encourage people to read Hanh’s teaching about seeing the cloud in a piece of paper.^1-3

I would like to quote Hanh’s entire teaching. However, the quote would be so long that it would violate Hanh’s copyrights. In order to respect Hanh’s copyrights, I am going to offer two smaller quotes. The first quote explains how the existence of a piece of paper depends on the existence of a cloud.

Without a cloud, there will be no rain; without rain, the trees cannot grow; and without trees, we cannot make paper. The cloud is essential for the paper to exist. If the cloud is not here, the sheet of paper cannot be here either. So we can say that the cloud and the paper inter-are.

– Thich Nhat Hanh ⁴

The next quote from Hanh points out that the piece of paper also depends on the existence of a logger.

And if we continue to look, we can see the logger who cut the tree and brought it to the mill to be transformed into paper. And we see the wheat. We know that the logger cannot exist without his daily bread, and therefore the wheat that became his bread is also in this sheet of paper. And the logger’s father and mother are in it too. When we look in this way, we see that without all of these things, this sheet of paper cannot exist.

– Thich Nhat Hanh ⁵

The existence of the piece of paper depends on the logger, the people who prepare the food for the logger to eat, the people who manufacture the tools the logger uses, and the parents who gave birth to the logger and raised the logger.

It does not stop there. The existence of the piece of paper also depends on the people who built the papermill, the people who manufactured to equipment used in the papermill, and the people who operate the equipment to produce the piece of paper. Each of these people depend on others for the food they eat, the clothes they wear, the vehicles they use for transportation, the medical care they receive, and so on. The existence of the piece of paper would not be possible without the existence of many people, many tools, and many pieces of equipment.

I still have not listed all the people, things, and places needed to produce a piece of paper. However, I hope the point is made. The piece of paper exists because it is part of a great web of existence that brought it into being.

My birth reveals my interbeing. I was born because of my mother and father. My mother and father were born because of my grandmothers and grandfathers. My grandmothers and grandfathers were born because of my great grandmothers and great grandfathers. My existence depends on a line of ancestors stretching back to the beginnings of humanity. This is interbeing.

My survival during infancy reveals my interbeing. Like all human beings, I depended on other people during my infancy. I depended on other people to feed me, bathe me, clothe me, shelter me from the weather, and protect me from dangers. If other people had not provided me sufficient care, I would not have survived my infancy. This, too, is interbeing.

My continued survival and quality of life reveals my interbeing. I rely on other people for my survival and for my quality of life.

• I eat food that I did not grow.
• I wear clothes that I did not make.
• I drive a car that I did not manufacture.
• I use a phone that I did not assemble.
• I live in a house that I did not build.
• I listen to music that I did not write.
• I watch movies and shows that I did not create.
• I receive medical care that I did not learn how to perform myself.
• I rely on my family and friends for help, encouragement, and love.

Other people rely on me for their survival and their quality of life.

• I drive carefully to avoid injuring other people.
• I support other people by paying for the goods they create.
• I support other people by paying for the services they provide.
• I offer help or advice to other people when they ask for it.
• I donate to charities to help people satisfy their basic needs.
• I stand up for other people when they are being mistreated.
• I speak up for other people whey they are being ignored.
• I participate in leisure activities with other people.
• I give my family and friends help, encouragement, and love.

Thus, I rely on other people for my survival and quality of life, and other people rely on me for their survival and quality of life. We are all interdependent in a great web of existence. This is also interbeing.

Interbeing does not mean that I give up acting in my own interest. Being motivated by self-interest is natural. Acting on self-interest is important to satisfying my basic needs, avoiding circumstances that cause me suffering, and pursuing circumstances that bring me happiness. Self-interest only becomes a problem when I focus so strongly on my self that I neglect or harm the larger web of existence of which I am a part.

What is important is that when pursuing our own self-interest we should be “wise selfish” and not “foolish selfish.” Being foolish selfish means pursuing our own interests in a narrow, shortsighted way. Being wise selfish means taking a broader view and recognizing that our own long-term individual interest lies in the welfare of everyone.

– Dalai Lama ⁶

If I harm, mistreat, or ignore the suffering of other people, then I harm the web of existence on which I depend for my survival and quality of life. Harming or mistreating other people is like intentionally breaking my own bones. Ignoring the suffering of others is like ignoring open wounds on my own arms and legs.

If I show compassion and help others reduce their suffering, then I benefit the web of existence on which I depend for my survival and quality of life. Showing compassion and care for other people is like feeding my own body when I am hungry. Helping other people reduce their suffering is like carefully nursing the wounds on my own body.

1. Thich Nhat Hanh (2012). The Heart Sutra: The Fullness of Emptiness. Published by Lion’s Roar.
2. Thich Nhat Hanh (1988). The Heart of Understanding: Commentaries on the Prajnaparamita Heart Sutra. Berkeley, CA: Parallax Press. See pages 3-4. Available from Amazon.
3. Thich Nhat Hanh (2017). The Other Shore. Berkeley, CA: Parallax Press. See pages 27-28. Available from Amazon.
4. Thich Nhat Hanh (1988). The Heart of Understanding: Commentaries on the Prajnaparamita Heart Sutra. Berkeley, CA: Parallax Press. Quote taken from page 3.
5. Thich Nhat Hanh (1988). The Heart of Understanding: Commentaries on the Prajnaparamita Heart Sutra. Berkeley, CA: Parallax Press. Quote taken from page 3.
6. Dalai Lama (2011). Beyond Religion: Ethics for a Whole World. New York, NY: Mariner Books & Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. Quote taken from page 48.