Raising trees as temples:
The ancient sage Chuang Tzu tells the story of the Duke of Lu, who tried to raise birds by holding a banquet, playing beautiful music and preparing sacrificial animals for them. But the birds remained wary and disturbed at heart, not daring to eat or drink. They died after three days.
This was a case of trying to raise birds using methods meant for human beings, rather than letting them roost in the deep forest or following their own habits. You can only raise birds if you use the methods they require; otherwise you go against their nature.
Yet today people grow trees as temples. Although this allows the trees to survive, it also causes them damage. "But keeping the tree is the first step," says Lo Hua-juan, senior specialist in the conservation branch of the D.A.F. 's technical laboratory. The priority at the moment is protecting trees of more than a hundred years old. If this resource is preserved first, later it can be channeled into other areas and the trees can be given a wider space for living.
The old trees are still waiting for the day when devotees will treat a tree as a tree!
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The Tali Tree King Temple has become a meeting place for the elderly of Tree King Village. Now that the old tree has the old people's company, they too have a focus for their spirits.
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Tali's revered tree some three years ago, before its temple was built. One reason for the survival of many old trees down to today is that the local land god will not "leave his wife," and the tree becomes the center for village beliefs. (photo by Vincent Chang)
This Formosan sweet gum in Ilan's Chiaohsi might have been spared the axe, but it has been left sticking out in a rather unseemly manner, much like Taipei's North Gate, which is jammed in between flyovers. (photo by Pu Hua-chih)
"We are really partners in suffering." Dogs and trees both suffer the same unfortunate bondage.
Trees harbor many creatures, including turtles, which come to air themselves on leaving their ponds.
Trees harbor many creatures, including turtles, which come to air themselves on leaving their ponds.