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Hemantha Withanage
Writer is the Executive Director of the Centre for
Environmental Justice/ Friends of the Earth Sri Lanka. He is the Treasurer and
an executive member of the Friends of the Earth International and the Convenor
of the NGO Forum on ADB.
Buddhist
monks chanting “pirith” “Kesha , Loma, Nacha, Dantha, Tacho……… wrapped the
trees with a saffron and red color robes, and ordinated 1000 trees while local communities
and the environmentalists were chanting “Saadoo” “Saadoo” “Saadoo”. Venerable
Badullagammana Sumanasara Thero, Venerable Kalupahana Piyarathana Thero, venerable
Thalangalle Sudhamma Thero and Venerable Dr. Balaharuwe Sirisumana Thero took
the lead in this tree ordination.
This first
massive tree ordination ceremony in Sri Lanka was held on the 11th
January 2014 in Akkara Anuwa and Dimbuldena villages in the Nilgala Forest.
Fifty Buddhist monks, over 300 local people and the environmental organizations
participated the event. Muslim religious leaders of the area also joined the
event. Centre for Environmental Justice (CEJ) initiated this Tree ordination
ritual in order to highlight the massive forest destruction in Nilgala by
powerful people.
History of Tree ordination
Symbolical tree
ordination is a ritual initiated by Ecology Monks (Phra Nak Anuraksa) a group of Thai
Buddhist Monks which has also practiced by the Cambodian, Vietnam and Burmese monks
in the last two and half decades. On the surface, tree ordination is
presented to the world environmentalist movement as a highly clever and
original idea, using the widely respected symbol of monastic robes to make
loggers hesitate to cut down trees. It is a combination of bringing the pre-buddhist
values of spirit worshiping and the buddhist values of respecting the nature
and the political messaging of saving the forests and trees from destructive
development.
It is generally
acknowledged that the first tree ordination, wherein a tree not already
considered sacred was wrapped in saffron-colored cloth and given monastic vows,
was performed in Thailand in 1988 by the monk Phrakhru Manas Natheepitak of Wat
Bodharma in Phayao Province, Northern Thailand. Phrakhru Manas arrived at the
idea after hearing the story of two highway workers who had been forced to cut
down a bodhi tree, and thereafter were beset with misfortune.[1]
Venerable
Keeranthidiye Pannasekera Thero and several environmental activists ordinated
the giant “Dun” tree located along the Baduraliya-Kukulegama road in 1997 which
was suppose to cut down for the road expansion for the Kukule hydropower
project. Venerable Dr. Balaharuwe
Sirisumana Thero and the farmer organisations and with the support of CEJ
ordinated the giant ‘Red Sandalwood’ tree in the Badulla town in 2008 when the
Municipal council decided cut it down for the road expansion. Two trees still standing and offer shade to
every one passes and refuge to other living being.
Every tree is a “bodhi”
Lord Buddha said, that
"A tree is a wonderful living organism which gives shelter,
food, warmth and protection to all living things. It even
gives shade to those who wield an axe to cut it down" .
Primitive
man had the highest regard for the trees because in his view it was another
living being. In Buddhist thinking like a being, the tree also has a soul and
thus it could, when hurt or damaged, feel pain, or even bleed. Buddhism and
Hindu religions believe that 33 Crore ( 330 million) of gods, goddess and
deities are in the world and among them some are living in the big trees.
People sometimes make small shrines under the trees to worship them. Some also
believes that the spirits of our ancestors are also living on the trees. Banyan
trees are commonly believes as such sprit trees.
We all know that no one ever try to axe the sacred
“Bo” tree or even a branch for any purpose since Gauthama Budda attained
Nibbana under a ‘Asathu Bo’ tree. The term bo or bodhi is used by Buddhists to imply two distinct
meanings: in a narrow sense, it implies the Bo Tree (Ficus religiosa)
tree under which the last of the Buddhas, Siddhartha Gautama attained
Enlightenment. In a broad sense, it implies any tree under which a Buddha has
attained enlightenment.
The most
historical and most venerated tree is the Sri Maha Bodhi located in
Anuradhapura. Any other Bo tree is believed to be treated on the similar way. Twenty eight Buddhas that we believe sat
under different trees when they attained enlightenment. Ruk Atthana, Kaela, Pulila, Neralu, Sal, Na, Kumbuk, Murutha, Kiripalu,
Bak Mee, Una, Sapu, Rath Karaw, Kinihiri, Kohomba, Nelli, Palol, Atamba, Mara, Dimbul, Nuga, and Asathu are
the trees that gave shade to 28 Buddha’s [2] to attain enlightenment. It is widely
believe that none of these trees should be cut down similar to the ‘Bo’
Tree.
A
Buddhist monk is prohibited from cutting down a tree or having a tree cut down
not only because it has life but because it could also be the abode of a deity.
The Vinaya Pitaka, the Book of the Discipline, which lays down rules for
the proper behaviour of monks, states specifically that there is an offence of
expiation, pacittiya, for the destruction of vegetable growth, by which
is meant five different kinds of propagation: what is propagated from roots,
from stems, from joints, from cuttings and from seeds. [3]
Ancient
Buddha followers also practiced the principle of ‘no harm to the trees’ unless
the felling of a tree or cutting of a branch is necessary. They followed the strict rituals and urged
the deities and animals in the trees to move away before cut the tree and burn
the forest for cultivation.
Similarly, in the old
days in Thailand when certain big trees were required for the making of the
traditional royal barge or posts for the tall roof of a royal pire, an offering
was made and a royal proclamation was read to the spirit before it could be cut
down. This was a wise practice to preserve big trees of the forest from wanton
felling by the simple folk.
In that
sense the massive destruction of the forest is a modern practice and not in
line with the buddhist beliefs.
Ordination of a tree
In the
modern society where money has become the only determination, people look at
forest as a ‘land’ and the tree as ‘timber’. There we loose all our buddhist
beliefs on the nature, forest and trees. This very problem is the main reason
for all the natural disaster we face today.
If one
has to reverse the trend, there is no other solution than returning to our
ancient practices and respecting to the religions. Among the religions Buddhism
is more close to the forest and the trees. A tree is a symbol of altruism. It
doesn’t expect anything, which it provides the other living being and the
nature. In the modern culture humans has very little or no respect in return.
Therefore, it is important to bring the ancient belief on the forest and trees.
One can
ask whether ordination of a tree is the right approach and a right ritual
according to the Buddhism. Thai Buddhist Monk Achan Chah once said, “They ask, “Then are you an arahant?” Do I know? I am like a tree in a forest, full of
leaves, blossoms and fruit. Birds come to eat and nest, and animals seek rest
in its shade. Yet the tree does not know itself. It follows its own nature. It
is as it is.” (Ajahn Chah, A Tree in a Forest)[4]
Therefore
one can say that every tree is an ‘Arhat’. In that circumstances we don’t want
to ask the question whether wrapping a robe around the tree trunk is an
acceptable ritual. Although we were not needed to remind people that
every tree is a sacred tree in the ancient society, we have to constantly
remind people that tree need to be respected and worthy for worshiping.
Therefore
the notion of the ordination of a tree is a timely ritual to bring back. The tree ordination, adapted from a traditional Buddhist ritual, to
build villagers' and nations commitment to protect the trees from unending
development is the way to live longer and respect to the rights of the other
living being.
It also denoted the basic rights
such as right to life, right to nature. It also respect the Sri Lankan constitution
section 28.f which states
that “The exercise and enjoyment of
rights and freedoms is inseparable from the performance of duties and
obligations, and accordingly it is the duty of every person in Sri Lanka -(d)
to preserve and protect public property, and to combat misuse and waste of
public property; (e) to respect the rights and freedoms of others; and (f) to
protect nature and conserve its riches.
We have
given the pledge during the tree ordination that;
“Nilgala Forest which gives shade
water, coolness and air with no benefit will offer to the ‘Buddha Sasana’ to be
protected as long as the sun and moon prevails.
We admit the equal rights of the human
and other living being to the forest and agree to consume the fruits and other
things that can be taken without destroying the trees and the creepers.
We understand that any damage to the
Nilgala medicinal plant forest created by King Buddddasa ( 397 A.D) of the
Anuradhapura Era is a sin which will affect in this life and also put us in the
hell in the end of this life.
Our children and we will become the
protectors of this forest as the forest deities and the souls of our ancestors
protect this forest.
We pledge to protect all the large and
small trees living in this forest that ordained from now on. We know that
harming the ordained is a great sin.”
Instead
of elites and officials protecting the forest from commoners, now it is the
commoners who had to protect the forest from the encroaching elites and
powerful land grabbers. Instead of picking trees to be felled, the villagers
now picking trees to be saved.
Let the trees remain standing and serve the nature because they are
ordained now. “Thou shall not cut these trees.”
3 Prof J. B.
Dissanayake, What Buddhists believe about the Bodhi
Tree "Thou Shalt not cut this Tree!" http://srimahabodhi.org/disanayaka.htm
4 http://www.dhammawheel.com/viewtopic.php?f=16&t=2622
