Symbolic tree ordination is a ritual initiated by Ecology Monks (Phra Nak Anuraksa), a group of Thai Buddhist Monks, in the late eighties. Cambodian, Vietnamese, Sri Lankan and Burmese monks have also practised this symbolic ritual in a good faith effort to reduce or reverse deforestation or to make young people understand the importance of preserving mother nature for posterity. On the surface, tree ordination is presented to the world environmentalist movement as a clever and original idea, using the widely respected symbol of monastic robes – yellow or saffron cloth pieces tied around vulnerable trees – to make loggers hesitate to cut down the trees thus marked. It combines the pre-Buddhist values of spirit worship, the Buddhist values of respecting nature and the political messaging of saving the forests and trees from destructive development.
Author: Nick KeomahavongPublished: Select Date 2020
Language(s): English
Content Type(s): Video
Region(s): Asia
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VVm_ecCRRrM