The Interrelated Structure of Reality
Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr and Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh
In a survey that I took recently, I was asked to recall a quote that I found to be most inspiring. Without hesitation, I quoted a passage from “A Christmas Sermon on Peace,” that the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King delivered in 1967.
“It all boils down to this...all life is interrelated. We are all caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied into a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly affects all indirectly. We are made to live together because of the interrelated structure of reality…”
Those prophetic words by Dr. King articulated his long-term vision of nonviolence as a path to world peace. What inspired me most was his phrase, “the interrelated structure of reality.” Those words spoke to what I had intuited since I was a child.
I was informed and motivated by the notion that what we perceive as our reality, all experiences, and phenomena that we encounter, choices that we make and how we live our lives are not separate from anything or anyone else and creates an inherent accountability of relationships.
We are structurally and morally accountable to all life on Earth. Every choice we make matters and has a ripple effect upon something or someone else.
This is why we farm with Indigenous regenerative practices.
It is fascinating and humbling to participate in and witness the interdependent system where our daily work depends upon the rain, sun, photosynthesis, fungi, bacteria, plant matter, nitrogen, carbon, protozoa, nematodes, insects, worms, bees and other biological systems, that in turn grows healthy plant food that brings nutrients from the earth directly into the human biome and supports life!
This “network of mutuality” is what the spiritual leader Vietnamese Buddhist monk, and Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh called “interbeing.” We “interbe” with all life everywhere. We don’t be by ourselves, we “interbe”. It is not surprising that Dr King and Thich Nhat Hanh found each other and joined in their pursuits for world peace.
So, what does Indigenous regenerative farming have in common with world peace? They both acknowledge all living beings and biological systems are interconnected and sacred. And if all human beings–including farmers, investors, funders, artists, politicians, judges, police officers, neighbors, corporate executives, etc. – put life at the center of every choice we make, we will create a regenerative, peaceful world that is compassionate, just and living in balance. May it be so.
—Konda Mason