2 days ago
- General
- South China Morning Post
How Thai monks save trees with sacred saffron rituals
On the morning of July 11, three saffron-robed monks and a dozen devotees gathered in a dense forest of
Thailand 's Chaiyaphum province. After chanting prayers, they encircled a towering tree, draping it in a vivid orange cloth – the same used to robe ordained monks.
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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.'
Venerable Dhamma Caro says a tree becomes a 'saint-tree' after being wrapped with a saffron robe. Photo: Kim Jung-yeop
Roots of the ritual
