The Interdependent Multicellular Organism of Existence

When Shantideva dissolved his sense of being a closed cell of self, he did not vanish into the abyss of nothingness. Instead he rediscovered himself as a cell that formed part of the interdependent multicellular organism of existence itself. He realized that his sense of being "Shantideva" was not grounded in an isolated personal essence hidden deep within himself somewhere, but was created out of his myriad and unrepeatable relationships with others.

---Stephen Batchelor---