In a recent documentary made for Dutch television, called ‘Reality Doesn’t Exist’, documentary maker Alexander Oey explores the intriguing connection between Buddhist philosophy and quantum physics.

Jay Garfield, a professor of philosophy at Smith College and Harvard Divinity School, plays a key role in this discussion by offering his translation of a seminal text by Nāgārjuna, an influential Buddhist philosopher who lived in India around 150–250 CE. Nāgārjuna founded the Madhyamaka school of Buddhism, which posits that conventional reality is inherently deceptive: the way things appear is fundamentally different from how they truly exist. While objects seem to exist intrinsically, their existence is actually dependent on their relationship to other things.

Garfield: “Observing a white flower is a complex interaction of light, the visual system, eyes and consciousness. The flower appears to be what it is in relation to an observer. We cannot answer the question what it is when it is not part of that interaction. That question is not answerable. Therefore, we can say that the flower has no independent existence. Everything exists only in relation to everything else.”

Remarkably, this idea aligns with key insights from quantum physics. Renowned physicist Carlo Rovelli, whose understanding of quantum mechanics was deeply influenced by Garfield’s translation of Nāgārjuna’s ‘The Verses of the Middle Way’, draws a striking parallel.

Rovelli: “Quantum mechanics isn’t about the property of things, but only about properties relative to other things. The world is not a collection of objects with properties, but a collection of events in which systems interact with one another. A single thing has no meaning unless it interacts with something else. This is the core novelty of quantum mechanics.”

Though Rovelli’s interpretation of quantum physics, known as Relational Quantum Mechanics, doesn’t necessarily require consciousness to be the primary form of interaction, he notes that interactions can occur between seemingly inert entities, such as a cloud and a mountain. What’s notable is that more and more prominent physicists are moving away from materialism and taking steps closer to ideas like biocentrism or the mental universe theory.

This relational worldview has the potential to fundamentally alter Western ways of thinking. Many of the world’s problems stem from viewing ourselves as separate, self-contained entities—focused on “What’s best for me? What’s best for my country? For my people?” But, in a deeper sense, we are not isolated entities at all. The world doesn’t consist of static objects; it consists of relationships. Once we grasp this, we begin to care more deeply about the myriad interactions we are part of.