Buddhist monks ordain trees
Oct 2010
In response to widespread logging, the monks of the Samraong Pagoda acquired legal protection for 18,261 hectares (45,000 acres) of evergreen forest in northwest Cambodia. They established patrol teams, demarcated the forest’s boundaries, and raised environmental awareness among local communities. The monks have developed unique approaches to law enforcement based on Buddhist principles, demonstrating the power of linking conservation with traditional customs and beliefs. [1]
In Buddhist thought and teaching (based particularly on the Lotus Sutra) the Buddha can take any form to bring about the release of any aspect of nature from suffering – including taking the shape of a tree. Based upon this and in response to the illegal destruction of trees in Cambodia and Thailand, Buddhist monks working in partnership with the Alliance of Religions and Conservation (ARC), have ordained trees as monks. Wrapped in robes these trees are totally protected and the forest within which they stand becomes a sacred and protected area. [2]
The monks of the Samraong Pagoda received the 2010 Equator Prize for outstanding community efforts to conserve biodiversity. The award is sponsored by the UN Development Programme (UNDP).
Monk’s Community Forest is now Cambodia’s largest community forest. While logging and hunting are prohibited, villagers may use traditional fishing methods, collect fallen timber for construction, and harvest non-timber forest products like bamboo, wild ginger, fruit and mushrooms. Illegal logging of the forest has been reduced significantly.
UPDATE 2020: Since the good news from Cambodia it emerged that a Buddhist monk in north-east Thailand has practiced the ordination of trees since 1990 (see Huffington Post, or BBC, or Royal Thai Embassy Washington DC). Symbolic tree ordination has been spreading ever since, also to Sri Lanka (see Friends of the Earth).
sources:
[1] Equator Initiative
[2] Martin Palmer, Sacred Life of Trees, ARC Downloads
