The Idea Of Interdependence And Covid 19

As the Covid-19 pandemic upends our lives, some of us struggle to find meaning in our collective misery. It is heartbreaking to see images of migrants --those who build our cities, work in our farms and help us in running our homes smoothly -- take long arduous, sometimes fatal journeys to find their way home. Their agony has moved even the most stoic among us. During such times when suffering is ubiquitous, Indic wisdom traditions can help us make sense of what’s going on.  The truth of suffering and its suspension is the essence of the Buddha’s teaching. The Buddha had realised long ago that cessation of suffering can be achieved by realising our interdependence on a host of causes and conditions, many of them beyond our control. His teaching of dependent origination is referred to as Pratityasamutpada, meaning that all things are devoid of an intrinsic and independent existence. It does not mean that we don’t exist; it simply means that we depend on many other big and small things, processes, which perpetuate our continuance.

According to the Buddhists, nothing exists independently; everything is dependent on several other phenomena that help in its eventual manifestation.

In other words, we and everything that exists around us is because of certain factors that have come together in an amazing harmony for our survival.

 

Take for instance, a glass kept on a table in one corner of your house. At first glance, it may not seem extraordinary, but these components of your home have deep philosophical underpinnings. To begin with, both the glass and table don’t exist in a vacuum. The wood for the table comes from trees and requires an entire timber industry for it to reach the carpenter, who then shapes it into a table. It is then transported to the marketplace, and from there you pick it up for your home. Similarly for both the water and glass to reach you, hundreds of other people and procedures our involved which make sure that you get a glass of clean drinking water. All of these systems work without you knowing how these processes explicitly work. What matters is how you perceive them and the impact they have on you.

The theory of dependent origination helps us see ourselves in the context of a greater whole, beyond our limited understanding of our world. Buddhism denies a creator god that created the universe; instead Buddhists believe in a cyclical nature of existence that comes into being because of several causal links aided by karmic forces.

Interestingly, even the idea of dependent origination does not exist independently; it is dependent on thinkers who contemplate on it. This is known as shunyata of shunayata. Legend has it that the Buddha once rebuked Ananda for not taking teaching of dependent origination seriously. To explain his point, the Buddha gave the example of flame in an oil lamp. The flame is not independent of the wick and oil; it appears because of them. If either the wick or oil is absent, it will be impossible to light the flame. If the lamp runs out of oil, the flame will also be extinguished.

To better understand the theory of dependent origination, you only have to take a look at your garden. A sprout springs forth from a seed that is dependent on the fruit and the tree and other factors such as earth, water and minerals. It is only when the temperature is right, sunlight is abundant, water and compost are available in required measures, a sprout comes forth.