I enjoyed Jean Stimmell’s article (my turn weekend edition). He was responding to an interview with Mark Taylor by Sean Illing, about Taylor’s new book “After the Human.” I ordered the book then listened to the interview. Jean wrote that Taylor’s use of the word interdependence was the Buddhist sense of the word. Taylor did not imply that and admitted that he had little knowledge of Buddhist philosophy. The doctrine of Pratityasamupada (sanskrit), dependent co-production, is the core principle of the four noble truths, and a description of the nature of reality. Simply stated that all phenomena in the whole universe are dependent on the rising and ceasing of conditions. I agree with Jean that the human condition is interconnected and interdependent, but that condition isn’t inherent. The scientific understanding of impermanence renders inherency incoherent and creates a vicious regress. As stated by the Dalai Lama, Buddhism is a religion, a philosophy, and a psychology. Buddhism has been marginalized and misunderstood, but could play an important role in helping to change the current state of social disorder.
James Seidel
Center Barnstead