Interdependence represents the fundamental Buddhist teaching that all phenomena arise through mutual causation and exist only in relationship to everything else. Nothing possesses independent, inherent existence - each element of reality emerges from and dissolves back into an infinite web of connections and conditions. This principle, known as pratītyasamutpāda in Sanskrit (literally “dependent origination”), reveals that what we perceive as separate entities are actually dynamic patterns within an undivided whole.
At its core, interdependence dissolves the illusion of separation between self and world, subject and object. The classic Buddhist image of Indra’s Net - an infinite web where each junction holds a jewel reflecting all other jewels - captures how every point contains and expresses the totality. Modern theory and complexity science echo this ancient insight: from quantum entanglement to ecological networks, science increasingly confirms that isolation is impossible. Even the boundaries we draw around objects or concepts exist only as conceptual tools; the actual fabric of reality knows no such divisions.
The recognition of interdependence naturally leads to Compassion and non-dualism, as harming others becomes understood as harming oneself, and personal liberation remains incomplete while others suffer. This understanding connects directly to Sunyata (emptiness), which doesn’t mean nothingness but rather the absence of independent essence - everything is empty of separate Self because everything is full of everything else.
Monks, we who look at the whole and not just the part, know that we too are systems of interdependence, of feelings, perceptions, thoughts, and consciousness all interconnected. Investigating in this way, we come to realize that there is no me or mine in any one part, just as a sound does not belong to any one part of the lute
- Buddha