It might help to understand the interdependence of our inner emotional or mental conditions through an analogy of how our internal organs work. Here, too, we see interdependence at work. Having two strong lungs is not sufficient. Our lungs must function in close connection with the rest of the respiratory system, our heart, our liver, and all the rest of the interdependent internal organs. Each needs to have a certain level of health, although if one is slightly compromised, others can compensate to a certain degree. But no one organ can keep us alive on its own.
17th Karmapa
from the book Interconnected: Embracing Life in Our Global Society
Read a random quote or see all quotes by the 17th Karmapa.
Further quotes from the book Interconnected:
- Individualism or interdependence
- Self-reliance
- The air we breathe
- Naturalness
- The deeper common ground all living being share
- Everything and everyone is benefiting you
- The imagination to see the other as free and happy
- Inner conditions of interdependence
- The interdependence between us and the world
- The impulse to connect
- Cultivating a spirit of generosity
- Interdependent individuals
- A greater sense of possibility
- Interdependence always works both ways
- Our innate ability to connect with others
- Thinking about the consequences of our collective actions
- Collective actions and attitudes
- Viewing others through the lens of interdependence
- Our intimate dependence on the natural environment