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His Holiness the Dalai Lama
The Sheltering Tree of Interdependence
A Buddhist Monk's Reflections on Ecological Responsibility
The XIVth Dalai Lama
1.O Lord Tathagata
born of the Iksvakus
Peerless One
Who,
seeing the all-pervasive nature
Of interdependence
Between the
environment and sentient beings
Samsara and Nirvana
Moving and
unmoving
Teaches the world out of compassion
2. O the Savior
The One called Avalokitesvara
Personifying the
body of compassion
Of all Buddhas
We beseech thee to make our spirits
ripen
And fructify to observe reality
Bereft of
illusion
3. Our obdurate egocentricity
Ingrained in our minds
Since
beginningless time
Contaminates, defiles, and pollutes
The
environment
Created by the common karma
Of all sentient
beings
4. Lakes and ponds have lost
Their clarity, their coolness
The
atmosphere is poisoned
Nature's celestial canopy in the fiery
firmament
Has burst asunder
And sentient beings suffer
diseases
Unknown before
5. Perennial-snow mountains, resplendent in their glory
Bow down and
melt into water
The majestic oceans lose their ageless
equilibrium
And inundate islands
6. The dangers of fire, water, and wind are limitless
Sweltering heat
dries up our lush forests
Lashing our world with unprecedented
storms
And the oceans surrender their salt to the elements
7. Though people lack not wealth
They cannot afford to breathe clean
air
Rain and streams cleanse not
But remain inert and powerless
liquids
8. Human beings
And countless beings
That inhabit water and
land
Reel under the yoke of physical pain
Caused by malevolent
diseases
Their minds are dulled
With sloth, stupor, and ignorance
The joys of the body and spirit
Are far, far away
9. We needl
essly pollute
The fair bosom of our mother earth
Rip out her trees to
feed our short-sighted greed
Turning our fertile earth into sterile
desert
10. The interdependent nature
Of the external environment
And
people's inward nature
Described in the Tantras
Works on Medicine,
and astronomy
Has verily been vindicated
By our present
experience
11. The earth is home to living beings;
Equal and impartial to the
moving and unmoving
Thus spoke the Buddha in truthful voice
With the
great earth for witness
12. As a noble being recognizes the kindness
Of a sentient
mother
And makes recompense for it
So the earth, the universal
mother
Which nurtures all equally
Should be regarded with affection
and care
13. Forsake wastage
Pollute not the clean, clear nature
Of the
four elements
And destroy the well being of people
But absorb
yourself in actions
That are beneficial to all
14. Under a tree was the great Sage Buddha born
Under a tree he
overcame passion
And obtained enlightenment
Under two trees did he
pass in Nirvana
Verily, the Buddha held the tree in great
esteem
15. Here, where Manjusri's emanation
Lama Tson Khapa's body bloomed
forth
Is marked by a sandalwood tree
Bearing a hundred thousand
images of the Buddha
16. Is it not well known
That some transcendental deities
Eminent
local deities and spirits
Make their abode in trees?
17. Flourishing trees clean the wind
Help us breathe the sustaining
air of life
They please the eye and soothe the mind
Their shade makes
a welcome resting place
18. In Vinaya, the Buddha taught monks
To care for tender
trees
From this, we learn the virtue
Of planting, of nurturing
trees
19. The Buddha forbade monks to cut
Cause others to cut living
plants
Destroy seeds or defile the fresh green grass
Should not this
inspire us
To love and protect our environment?
20. They say, in the celestial realms
The trees emanate
The
Buddha's blessings
And echo the sound
Of basic Buddhist
doctrines
Like impermanence
21. It is trees that bring rain
Trees that hold the essence of the
soil
Kalpa-Taru, the tree of wish fulfillment
Virtually resides on
earth
To serve all purposes
22. In times of yore
Our forbears ate the fruits of the trees
Wore
their leaves
Discovered fire by attrition of wood
Took refuge amidst
the foliage of trees
When they encountered danger
23. Even in this age of science
Of technology
Trees provide us
shelter
The chairs we sit in
The beds we lie on
When the heart is
ablaze
With the fire of anger
Fueled by wrangling
Trees bring
refreshing, welcome coolness
24. In the tree lie the roots
Of all life on earth
When it
vanishes
The land exemplified by the name
Of the Jambu tree
Will
remain no more
Than a dreary, desolate desert
25. Nothing is dearer to the living than life
Recognising this, in
Vinaya rules
The Buddha lays down prohibitions
Like the use of water
with living creatures
26. In the remoteness of the Himalayas
In the days of yore, the land
of Tibet
Observed a ban on hunting, on fishing
And, during designated
periods, even construction
These traditions are noble
For they
preserve and cherish
The lives of humble, helpless, defenseless
creatures
27. Playing with the lives of beings
without sensitivity or
hesitation
As the act of hunting or fishing for sport
Is an act of
heedless, needless violence
A violation of the solemn rights
Of all
living beings
28. Being attentive to the nature
Of interdependence of all
creatures
Both animate and inanimate
One should never slacken in
one's efforts
To persevere and conserve nature's energy
29. On a certain day, month, and year
One should observe the
ceremony
Of tree planting
Thus, one fulfills one's
responsibilities
Serves one's fellow beings
Which not only brings one
happiness
But benefits all
30. May the force of observing that which is right
And abstinence
from wrong practices and evil deeds
Nourish and augment the prosperity
of the world
May it invigorate living beings and help them
blossom
May sylvan joy and pristine happiness
Ever increase, ever
spread and encompass all that is
During the course of my extensive traveling to countries across the world,
rich and poor, east and west, I have seen people reveling in pleasure, and
people suffering. The advancement of science and technology seems to have
achieved little more than linear, numerical improvement; development often
means little more than more mansions in more cities. As a result, the
ecological balance÷the very basis of our life on earth÷has been greatly
affected.
On the other hand, in days gone by, the people of Tibet lived a happy life, untroubled by pollution, in natural conditions. Today, all over the world, including Tibet, ecological degradation is fast overtaking us. I am wholly convinced that, if all of us do not make a concerted effort, with a sense of universal responsibility, we will see the gradual breakdown of the fragile ecosystems that support us, resulting in an irreversible and irrevocable degradation of our planet, Earth.
These stanzas have been composed to underline my deep concern,
and to call upon all concerned people to make continued efforts to reverse
and remedy the degradation of our environment. The poem is being released
on the occasion of the presentation of a statue of Buddha to the people of
India; and to mark the opening of the International Conference on
Ecological Responsibility: A Dialogue with
Buddhism.
Bhikshu Tenzin Gyatso
The XIVth Dalai Lama