From Thich Nhat Hanh – Living Buddha Living Christ page 10-11

“Looking deeply” means observing something or someone with so much concentration that the distinction between the observer and the observed disappears. The result is insight into the true nature of the object. When we look into the heart of a flower, we see clouds, sunshine, minerals, time, the earth and everything else in the cosmos in it. Without clouds, there could be no rain, and there would be no flower. Without time, the flower could not bloom. In fact, the flower is made up entirely of non-flower elements; it has no independent existence. It “inter-is” with everything else in the universe. Interbeing is a new term, but I believe it will be in the dictionary soon because it is such an important word. When we see the nature of Interbeing, barriers between ourselves and others are dissolved, and peace, love and understanding are possible. Whenever there is understanding, compassion is born.

Commentary: Thich Nhat Hanh, the Vietnamese Buddhist monk & peace advocate, deserves the credit for coining the term Interbeing which defines the brand. His analogy of the flower being composed of only non-flower elements is a concept to ponder for ourselves. What are the elements that we are made from? How might compassion be born in us from this point of view?