How Thai monks use sacred saffron rituals to save trees
The monks in Thailand’s Chaiyaphum province wrap saffron robes around endangered trees to ‘ordain’ them and protect them from being cut down
This was no ordinary Buddhist ritual, but part of a growing practice called tree ordination – a symbolic act that “ordains” endangered trees as monks to protect them from logging and development.
Part spiritual blessing and part environmental activism, the ritual is at the heart of a growing movement among Thailand’s “forest monks”, who are tweaking centuries-old traditions to confront modern ecological collapse.
“Buddhists respect monks very much. When they see the yellow robe and shaved head, they show respect ... The yellow robe represents the victory of the Buddha and his teachings. It represents sainthood,” said Venerable Dhamma Caro, a monk at Wat Pa Mahawan in northeastern Thailand, who took part in the tree ordination ceremony.
“When we wrap the tree with this yellow robe, it becomes a monk – ‘a saint-tree’. That is why people don’t hurt it. In a Buddhist country, if you harm a monk or kill a monk, it is [considered] very, very sinful. That is why we ordain the tree,” he added. “It is very effective.”
