The Dynamics between Consciousness and Reality (tendrel)

With Impulses for Dialogue with other Religions and Worldviews

Interdependent arising, in Tibetan “tendrel” is a translation of the Sanskrit expression “pratityasamutpada”. The word pratityasamutpada has a very complex connotation. Actually the entire Buddhist philosophy is based on the concept of pratityasamutpada, which can be very roughly interpreted in the English language as ‘interrelatedness’, ‘interdependent’ or ‘dependent arising’. All of these words cannot encompass the completeness of the connotation of the word pratityasamutpada, but very roughly we can say “interdependent arising” because it signifies that things do not exist or arise by their own nature whithout depending on something else. Everything exists in relation to something. Everything arises because of conditions. Every change occurs due to an interconnectedness, interrelation or by mutually depending on something else. According to tendrel no action, no existence, nothing can be remain in absolute, separate, independence or exist of its own conventional nature. This view distinguishes Buddhism from all pre-Buddhist views of India. It is a reason for hope for humanity and for making efforts to gain freedom. It also gives the individual the possibility to change, to develop and to reach the ultimate goal of life.
The phenomena of the entirety of existence appears to the mind of the unenlightened person as existing inherently by their own nature or by their own independent existence. Due to this appearance we have the illusion of grasping the things as if they have a true nature or an absolute nature like the self and the other, which is the root of division. And when there is division, conflict is almost inevitable. In turn, that conflict leads to negative emotions such as attachment, hatred, anger and ignorance. Ignorance, that is not seeing the true way in which things exist, is the beginning of a wrong view about the entirety of phenomena. Negative emotions like attachment and hatred are not based on real facts; they are always based on a false view. Unless and until we eliminate this false view, we will not be able to come out of the bondage of misery, devoid of individual freedom. This bondage is called the circle of pain and suffering. Any individual that has the wish and the will to come out of this bondage has to see things as they really are, without any distortion. For that, one has to understand the nature of interdependence and interrelatedness.

In order to explain or understand interrelatedness more clearly it will be easier to start with understanding the interrelation between the subject and object, the cause and the effect, the consciousness and matter of the mind and body. It is easier to see how these pairs are interrelated with each other. Interrelated means one cannot exist without depending on the other. The self and the other are also an entity. The self exists because of the other and the other exists because of the self. Seeing this interrelatedness, the dependence of these pairs, you can apply this view towards the entire universe.
The principle of interdependence is defined in two different categories. The first category is interdependence of cause and effect, the principle of casualty. The principle of causality is applicable only to those phenomena, which are of composite matter, which are subject to impermanence. The cause and its conditions give the result and the result in turn is emerging from causes and conditions. The effect is always dependent on the cause. If there is no cause, there is no effect.
This is the insight the Buddha identified in order to eliminate pain and misery. They cannot be treated as symptoms. Misery cannot be eradicated by opposing the misery itself. One has to find the cause of misery. Once the cause is eradicated, the effect will automatically come to an end and cease. This is the principle of misery and the cause of misery which is technically termed “dukkha”. When the cause is present, then it cannot go away without giving the effect or the result. And when the cause is eliminated then there is no separate effort required to eliminate the result. In casualty, whatever result is there, it is always dependent on, related to, or is due to that cause. So cause and effect have an inseparable relation. If one does not exist, the other does not exist. If there is no cause, there can be no effect.
This principle of reality can be seen in many things, for example in the generations of living beings or the arising and decay of non-living things. This arising and decay of everything is evidence of the relationship of causality. So the principle of causality in one of the foundations of the principle of interdependent arising. If something exists separately without depending on something else, then there should be an effect without cause, and also the cause should exist on its own without an effect. If there is no effect, we cannot term an entity or phenomenon as the cause, because the definition of cause is that it gives an effect. Of it doesn’t give an effect, it cannot be taken as a cause.
The other category, which is not cause and effect, is made up of the phenomena which exist spontaneously as the same time. They don’t have a relationship of casualty but are mutually dependent on each other. Mutually depending means something does exist in relationship to something else. For example we see or we project or we understand the idea of something which is termed “big” or “bigger”. Nothing is “big” based on its own nature. Something is termed “big” in comparison with something else, which is smaller than the entity. And something smaller is not small by its own nature but is small in relation to a size which is bigger than that size. Good and bad, positive and negative, darkness and light, all these are things which came into being or do exist is relation to or in comparison with something else. They are designated and therefore exist spontaneously. They do not have a relationship of cause and effect but have been projected in comparison or in relation to something else. This relationship is also an inseparable relationship because when one side is eliminated the identity of the other is also being affected or being altered or changed. Therefore in this category of interrelatedness or interdependent arising things are being projected or being recognized or being identified as something in relation to something else.
The entire existence of phenomena can be encompasses in this view. Living or not living, they are related either in the form of causality or mutually dependent of each other. So nothing can be harmed which is interdependent of everything. The nature of dependency gives everything an identity and it makes something an identity. Therefore it is very important to understand the interrelatedness of everything in existence. If you are able to see this reality then your behavior and your approach to everything would be quite different to the way you usually approach things. The misconception of existing independently or inherently of anything is the cause of all kinds of contradiction and conflict. All contradiction and conflict is being caused by this illusion, thinking that the “I” exists independent of others and others exist independently without relating to anything else. This view leads to the rising of attachment to whatever is “I” and “mine” and a feeling of hatred towards what is “the other” and “others”
By this delusion and this feeling of unrelatedness and the feeling of not being connected to oneself or oneself being not connected to others, the feelings of loving kindness, intimacy, or respect towards the existence of the entirety of phenomenon is difficult to arise in our mind. This applies in a similar way to the intimacy of the mind/body relationship. Some diseases are caused due to seeing mind and body as independent and separate entities. If you are able to see the interrelatedness of mind and body, sensitivity towards your body becomes much sharper. Therefore maintaining of good health also becomes easier.
I am just giving some examples of how to feel the relatedness of the entire existence of the universe. This relatedness is without limitation, it is so vast that you won’t find anything which is unrelated even to yourself. If you do something here, thousands of miles way this action can have a reaction or an effect on something else although we will be not able to see or understand it. Mutual dependence and causality have a very progressive nature. The reality of interrelatedness is dynamism. This dynamism is so vast, it progress to encompass the entire existence of all phenomena. It is not only limited to immediate causality or immediate mutual dependence. So if we are not able to understand this, we are not able to behave harmoniously with nature, with the environment, and with the entirety of society. So many difficulties, so many challenges appear due to our lack of understanding of interrelatedness. Lack of understanding of interrelatedness has caused numerous divisions and conflicts that are the cause of many major challenges in the world such as war, violence, terrorism, economic disparity and exploitation. All of these exist due to our lack of understanding of interrelatedness.
These relations can be maintained in two ways: either the relationship is maintained in a harmonious way demonstrated by cooperation, or its opposite in the form of conflict. If the nature of the relation is conflict then there will only be destruction and misery. If the relations are being maintained in a harmonious way, in a cooperative way, then there will be creativity, positivity, happiness and development. So it is essential to understand how to turn our relationship into a form of cooperation.
There are two very diverse viewpoints. One viewpoint is: all new things are being created by the cause of cooperation. And the other view is that things can be created from struggle or from conflict. But this needs to be examined very carefully and scientifically. Under close examination, only the cooperative relationship is creative, and a relationship of conflict is destructive. That can be seen in the relation between nature and living beings, relation between nations, relation between communities and relation between individuals. Therefore we have to discover ways to pursue cooperation in order to face the enormous challenges of humanity. These challenges are can never be encountered or solved by conflict and destruction. They have to be overcome by cooperation and an attitude of loving kindness. This will result in nonviolent action. Nonviolent action can resolve all kinds of challenges, all kind of difficulties, and all kind of obstacles. If we try to eliminate these using the same faulty actions which created them, then the problem or challenges will increase. They will not decrease. This phenomenon is underlined by a law of nature which we have to understand. In principle, causality and interdependence must be supplementary not contradictory. When they are contradictory then they are bound to give negative results.
In order to establish a harmonious relationship between human beings, the only instrument or the way to proceed is by way of dialogue: between individuals, communities or groups, different cultures and societies; and particularly dialogue between religious traditions.
Dialogue means communicating with each other in a proper way. In spite of all the modern communication devices, people are not able to communicate in a righteous way, because they are not able to listen, they are not able to think in a way that produces harmony. There are so many behaviors as predispositions and conditions of the mind. So everyone needs an open mind and an accepting heart. With a combination of these two aspects you will be able to communicate sensibly. Communication will bring understanding and understanding will cause harmonious mutual relationships which can establish peace and stability. So therefore we must learn the art of dialogue. His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama is always saying that the 20th century has been a century of conflict and violence; now we must try to make the 21st century a century of dialogue.
Dialogue doesn’t mean talking for one’s own benefit. You might be negotiating in a room but carrying out only a monologue based on your own preconceptions. The other party may also listen to your voice and interpret it with their own preconditions or preconceptions. On this view, we are not actually able to listen to each other. To listen to the other’s voice, we have to free ourselves from our own prejudices, we have to give our entire attention to the speaker, the other, and with that attention and attentiveness we must try to understand what the other speaker really means. This is a very effective method, which is the basis of establishing a genuine and harmonious relationship within humanity and between groups. It is also a way of understanding the relationships within nature and the environment, physical resources and everything else. By adopting this approach of attentiveness and understanding as the basis of relationships built on the knowledge of the interrelatedness of all things, we might be able to make this world a bit better and more comfortable for sentient beings living in this world.
We have also lost the sensitivity to listen to our own inner voice. Loss of this sensitivity is largely due to the conditioning of modernity that makes us think about ourselves as something independent and artificial. We have distanced ourselves from our own nature, and when we distance ourselves from our own nature we also distance ourselves from nature surrounding us outside. This distance creates fear and conflict. My old friend Jiddu Krishnamurti used to talk a great deal about fear and why fear arises. Fear always arises in the mind because of our misconception of the nature of the self. In the Buddhist tradition we call it the grasping of self, and then we talk about the antidote of selflessness. Selflessness does not mean the self does not exist. Selflessness means we do not exist as an independent “self” to be clinging to and grasping after. We grasp after this misconceived autonomous self and erroneously believe that it has complete independent and inherent existence without interrelatedness.
When one is uprooted from their own nature, then fear automatically results. That fear leads to not being sensitive to our inner voice. So in order to relate to others we should understand the true nature of our self. And for that we have to understand who we are. If you see who you are, then you will be able to relate yourself to the other-not to your projection of the other, but to the real nature of the other. Only then can an intimate relation be established for the benefit of humanity and produce meaningful dialogue between religions and other worldviews.

By courtesy of Academy of World Religions, University of Hamburg
Source: Samdhong Rinpoche (2015) The Dynamics between Consciousness and Reality (tendrel). With Impulses for Dialogue with other Religions and Worldviews. In: K. Amirpur & W. Weiße, eds., Religionen – Dialog – Gesellschaft – Analysen zur gegenwärtigen Situation und Impulse für eine dialogische Theologie. Münster: Waxmann, pp. 201-205.