The Ordination of a Tree: The Thai Buddhist Environmental Movement

Notes

Notes Chapter 1. The Framework 1. Quoted in Santikaro 1996:161; from Buddhasasanik kap Kananurak Dhammajati (Buddhists and the Conservation of Nature) (Bangkok: Komol Kimtong, 1990), 13. 2. Thus the title of Philip Hirsch’s (1996) edited book on environmentalism in Thailand, Seeing Forests for Trees. 3. For other photographs of the event, see the Web site of Bangkok Broadcasting & T.V. Co., Ltd. (Channel 7), the pageant’s sponsor: http://mtu. ch7.com/gallery.aspx?PostId=2850. Accessed 8/22/2011. 4. I deliberately use the term citizen here, aware of the debates and inequalities related to ethnic minorities, particularly in the Northern uplands, who do not hold citizenship and usually are not Buddhist. The discourses surrounding both non-Buddhist and Buddhist upland peoples and their relationship with and rights to use forest resources form another significant aspect of all of these debates, but are beyond the immediate scope of this work. For more on these issues, see Forsythe and Walker 2008; Lohmann 1993, 1999, 2000; and Pinkaew 2001. 5. A handful of monks focus their social efforts on issues of urban poverty, but they are less well known than those who work in rural areas. 6. The Eightfold Path defines proper behavior and attitudes that lead to the cessation of dukkha (see Payutto 1985, 251–52). 7. See King (2005) for a detailed consideration of the ethical aspects of engaged Buddhism. 249 250 Notes 8. The Forum on Religion and Ecology, currently based at the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, maintains an extensive Web site and database on examples of connections between religion and ecology: http://fore.research.yale.edu. Accessed 8/18/2011. 9. Buddhist environmentalism, as with all forms of environmentalism, is not a single, unified, cohesive movement. Different approaches and groups within Buddhist environmentalism draw on various interpretations of ecology, and have differing degrees of scientific knowledge. Western Buddhists in particular most often draw from deep ecology. 10. Environmentalism in the West is itself complicated and not monolithic. For a good discussion of major trends in the United States, see Cronon, 1996. 11. Phra Prajak was twice arrested in 1991 because of his outspoken position and actions related to environmentalism and social justice. For details on his case, see chapter 7. 12. Forsythe and Walker (2008, 17) define “environmental narratives” as follows: “In environmental studies, the term ‘narrative’ has been used to describe succinct summaries of environmental cause and effect that are seen as factual within popular debates or policy networks, but which are essentially based on highly selective participation in the problem definition and knowledge production.” Their use of the term fits the various ways in which “environmental monks” talk about their work and the problems that they address, although they do not consider the monks’ concern over the suffering that results. 13. The main exception to this position is Phra Achan Pongsak Techadhammo . In the early 1990s, the Dhammanaat Foundation, which he founded and ran, called for the removal of Hmong farmers from the uplands in Chom Thong District, Chiang Mai Province, claiming that their agricultural methods damaged the watersheds and threatened the forests and water supply critical for the lowland Thais in the area. For more on this controversy, see chapter 7, as well as Darlington 2005, Forsythe and Walker 2008, 96–99, Lohmann 1999, and Paiboon 2003. 14. I have previously called these monks “ecology monks” (Darlington 1998). I now prefer the term “environmental monks” for the same reasons, as “ecology” implies too much emphasis on the natural world while “environmental ” incorporates people and politics with nature. 15. The tree ordination performed as part of the Miss Thailand Universe 2010 contest involved a full ritual, including merit making and reverence Notes 251 of Buddhist monks. In some ways, the ritual illustrated the degree to which being Buddhist and being concerned for the environment have become part of what it means to be “Thai.” Nevertheless, the question remains as to the main purpose of this ritual—to engage in Buddhist environmentalism targeted at relieving suffering, or to promote a beauty contest. For photographs of the ritual event, see Channel 7’s Web site: http://mtu.ch7.com/gallery.aspx?PostId=2850 (accessed 8/23/2011). 16. The more general translations of these terms are “tangibles” (rupatham; So 1989, 251) and “intangibles” (namatham; So 1989, 155). 17. Achan means teacher or professor. Used as a title, it denotes respect, and can...