Note 3

We know that when we look into ourselves as a human being, we see that the human being is made only of non-human elements.  We have the mineral element in us. We have the element of vegetable in us, and we have the element animal in us. We not only have human ancestors, but also animal ancestors, and vegetable ancestors, and also mineral ancestors. And our ancestors do not belong to the past: they belong to the present. They are fully present in us. Without them, we cannot see the way we see. We cannot think the way we  think.  We cannot live the way we live. And the electron is also in us. So when I produce a thought, every ancestor in me, including the mineral, vegetable, and animal ancestors collaborate with me in order to produce that thought. 

 ~Thich Nhat Hanh 

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