First, seventy-two labors brought us this food shirt. We should know how it comes to us.
The video above shows one of many fun and creative ways we can make the profound interconnectedness of life and society more visible and tangible.
I was reminded of the oryoki meal gatha I am familiar with from Zen retreats / sesshins:
First, seventy-two labors brought us this food; we should know how it comes to us. Second, as we receive this offering, we should consider whether our virtue and practice deserve it. Third, as we desire the natural order of mind to be free from clinging we must be free from greed.
I have always thought that seventy-two labors seems like an understatement, although it likely looks at only the human and immediate labor.
Most of the products I use in daily life have been brought to me through the immediate work of a great number of people. People with lives, hopes, fears, just like me. All of this has been made possible by the work of innumerable people living before us, going back to the earliest human ancestors and really the first living cells billions of years ago. Our lives and products are made possible by the living and dynamic systems of Earth, and the billions of beings living now and in the past. All of this is made possible by the dynamic evolution of the universe itself, forming itself into all of it.
As Carl Sagan said: If you wish to make an apple pie from scratch, you must first invent the universe.
If I hold an apple in my hand or put on a shirt, it’s because of the work and lives of innumerable beings – human and non-human, living now and in the past. It’s because of this amazing living system we call Earth that we are all part of. It’s because of the evolution of this universe, which all of it is part of. It’s because of existence as a whole.
Neither the apple, the shirt, nor I would be here if it wasn’t for all of it.