Revere and conserve

What is considered sacred is revered, and what is revered and respected gets conserved and protected. That's how the Gurusheng tree, in Zemithang, Arunachal Pradesh, came to survive and flourish, even bearing fruit. When the 14th Dalai Lama fled Tibet in 1959, he reportedly left his walking stick on a rock here. Soon, it sprouted leaves and took root to grow into a tree.

When the Dalai Lama turned 90 recently, locals gathered under the tree - now a spiritual landmark that draws thousands of pilgrims each year - offering long-life prayers, paying tribute to the monk. Prayers offered here are believed to be wish-fulfilling.

Another sacred tree is the Jaya Sri Maha Bodhi Tree in the Mahamewna Gardens in the historical city of Anuradhapura, in Sri Lanka. This tree is believed to have grown from a branch taken from the Bodhi Tree in Bodh Gaya seated beneath which Gautama Buddha is believed to have attained enlightenment.

Buddhist temples in China are home to several endangered species of ancient trees that are dying in the wild but thriving here due to the sanctity accorded them. The New York Times reports that a study found that religious sites in eastern China have become refuges for old, ancient and endangered trees.

Since the early years of the Common Era, Buddhist and Taoist temples have sheltered plants that otherwise struggled to find a foothold, including at least eight species that now exist nowhere else on earth. Sacred groves around village temples in India have since long sheltered trees that are revered and protected.


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