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Peace of the inner mind is one with birdsong of the
forest
One sector of Thai society passionately concerned with the future for
the natural environment is the Buddhist religion. Both monks and
lay-people have been making
efforts to bring some areas of deteriorated forest under ecclesiastical
control. One such scheme is at Wat Pa Pha Tat Tan Sawan, a forest temple
deep in the Kwae Noi valley of Kanchanaburi province which is guardian of
a remarkable waterfall. Nuannipha
Reuan-mai is the lay-person most anxious for the projects here to receive
attention from the outside world.
The abbot in overall charge is Ajhan Sanong Katapunyo who actually
heads a network of forest temples all over the country with the nerve
centre at Wat Sanghathan, Nonthaburi
province. This is the Buddha Anek
Prasong
Foundation.
The forest, as opposed to the urban, temple has traditionally placed more
importance on concentration or samadhi which requires a peaceful
environment for success. Another aspect of the meditative approach to the
forest is the phenomenon of spread metta towards beasts which could
otherwise be dangerous such as snakes, bears and big cats. It is a solid
proof of meditating skill that the animals respond to the compassion
(metta) directed at
them.
Of the
land here the temple is fully in charge of 300 rai. The electricity
authorities made a batch of plots over while some was bought by the
temple. Much more important however is 3,000 rai of reserved forest (under
the Royal Forest Department) which is beyond a small stream and hidden
from the road by the temple
land.
Monks have
been gradually working on the scheme for nearly 20 years. Nuannipha, in
her capacity as a class teacher at Sri Bunyanon School in Nonthaburi, has
been keen to involve her charges in order to instil a love of nature and
the forest in the younger generation. A party of children from Sri Bun has
been coming to plant forest in May every year since 1983. Wat Nong Phai
School in Suphanburi and Nong Jork School of Minburi also help
regularly.
Ajhan
Sanong is responsible for the overall policy of planting. Species such as
cinnamon, the clove-bearing kaanpluu (Eugenia carophyllata) , krawaan
(cardamoms), nutmeg and kritsana (Aquilaria agaiocha), a large red-wood
rich in fragrant resin, were planted to provide local villagers with
saleable commodities to harvest. |
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All of
this stemmed from Ajhan Sanong's great interest in the Thai tradition of
herbal medicine. Some medicinal species are now so rare that seedlings can
command their own price. Luckily most shoots and seedlings are to be found
in the reserved forest, and from there they can be replanted in other, not
so lucky provinces. It must be said that they received invaluable
assistance in this matter from the Royal Forest Department and the Medical
Science Department of the Ministry of Public
Health.
With the animals in mind they have planted species such as makaam porm
(Emblica officinalis) from which deer and wild boar can forage. Mainly
though the trees selected are those commonly prized for their wood such as
pradu (various species of the genus Pterocarpus) and takhian(Hopea
odorata). In the temple compound a banyan (ton sai) towers well over 20
metres.
The
major concern at Pha Tat is to conserve the existing forest, and of the
temple's many projects this is held to be by far the most important. The
policy is to plant rows of trees to block the reserved forest off from the
road. Visitors then cannot avoid passing the temple and it is hoped that
potential poachers, encroachers, hunters and loggers will be considerate
of the religious
presence.
Once this protective barrier is established perhaps the larger species can
be coaxed out of the deep forest whence they have fled for some years now.
To see even geng and gwaang (deer) currently involves several days of
arduous tramping. Footprints of some big cats have been found, probably
the seua plaa or fishing cat. Besides this there are bears,wild boar,
gibbons and the on, the large bamboo rat.
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The
importance of the forest at Pha Tat for the citizenry of Kanchanaburi
province can hardly be understated. It is the watershed of the River Klong
and as such prevents disastrous flooding of the type the people of
Chumphon and Nakhon Sri Thammarat know only too well. And yet only a small
band of monks and schoolchildren, struggling against massive odds, are
doing anything to preserve it!
All the funding for the project has come from the donations of private
individuals who are disciples of Ajhan Sanong. Although the scheme has
been initially successful under the watchful eye of Phra Udom Patumo, the
resident monk in charge, there is still much that must be
done.
Nuannipha estimates that to buy the land (more than 1,000 rai), erect
barbedwire fences and cover every other cost such as labour,
transportation, saplings and seedlings a figure of around Bt30 million is
required. |
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What they are doing now is coming along very well. Hopeful young trees now
occupy land that was before stripped and left for dead. What remains of
the original forest is still very impressive with some of the largest
rubber trees being at least as wide as the average
office.
Villagers have not unreasonably tapped them for rubber but the exposed
gashes leave the tree vulnerable in the event of a forest fire. To this
end the gashes are being filled in with
cement.
As mentioned earlier the Foundation considers Pha Tat to be the most
pressingly urgent out of a total of 13 projects up and down the
Kingdom.
Khao Wong in Uthai Thani borders the famous Huay Kha Khaeng wildlife
sanctuary. There are two plateaus half-way up the mountain with the trees
in a deteriorated state. The philosophy of planting here is the same as at
Kanchanaburi that all parties concerned (villagers, the temple and the
government) are satisfied. Khao Wong has an interesting cave system and
around its peak is a colony of
monkeys.
Another interesting project is at Bung Malaeng in Ubon Ratchatani
Province. This started out as 500 rai of virgin Northeastern forest. It
has been left alone partly because it is a local cemetery and a recent
survey counted around 6,000 trees. The plan here is to plant another 700
rai and dig a protective moat around the lot. Unfortunately this woodland
is an island in a sea of rice paddies and watermelon plantations and the
wildlife has something of a problem. The remaining 13 projects are in
provinces as diverse as Chol Buri, Suphanburi, Prachuab Khiri Khan and
Tak, but the total land area involved in each case is rarely in excess of
50 rai.
As
Nuannipha says, our efforts may be a little water to put out a big fire,
but I am never discouraged because there is always something to do. Even
if there was no money left there is still work to do, something to be
done. I hope the trees will outlive us as we try to prolong the
inevitable.
If you would like to help Ajhan Sanong and Nuannipha in their work any
donation would be appreciated. Please contact:
The Vimokkha Social Project
Varalak Vichianchai
"Keep the Forests"
Bangpai, Muang, Nonthaburi 10100 THAILAND
Tel: 66+(2)
447-0799, 0800 Ext. 117 |
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