Tendrel is a Tibetan word (རྟེན་ཅིང་འབྲེལ་བར་འབྱུང་བ་, Pratītyasamutpāda in Sanskrit) that can be translated as interdependent co-origination, dependent arising, or simply causation. Tendrel notices that phenomena arise in relation to other phenomena. Nothing can be isolated, nor be caused only by itself or out of nothing. So everything is related, directly or indirectly.

In other words, everything depends on interactions. Complex systems, for which I have been passionate since last century, are characterized precisely because there are relevant interactions among their elements, which can generate novel information that limits their predictability, and thus also limits the usefulness of traditional scientific methods.

Since complexity (and tendrel) are prevalent, understanding these and related concepts better — scientifically and philosophically — should allow us to design and develop more beneficial interactions at multiple scales.