Tree Ordination as Invented Tradition

The symbolic ordination of trees as monks in Thailand is widely perceived in Western scholarship to be proof of the power of Buddhism to spur ecological thought. However, a closer analysis of tree ordination demonstrates that it is not primarily about Buddhist teaching, but rather is an invented tra...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author:	Avery Morrow
Format:	Article
Language:	English
Published:	Open Library of Humanities 2012-01-01
Series:	The ASIANetwork Exchange: A Journal for Asian Studies in the Liberal Arts
Subjects:	invented traditions, environmentalism, sacred ecology, Thai Buddhism, Eco-Buddhism
Online Access:	http://www.asianetworkexchange.org/articles/11

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spelling	doaj-d994b6ad489343528ca86ea277bdfe612020-11-24T22:38:02ZengOpen Library of HumanitiesThe ASIANetwork Exchange: A Journal for Asian Studies in the Liberal Arts1943-99381943-99462012-01-01191536010.16995/ane.114Tree Ordination as Invented TraditionAvery Morrow0Graduate of Carleton CollegeThe symbolic ordination of trees as monks in Thailand is widely perceived in Western scholarship to be proof of the power of Buddhism to spur ecological thought. However, a closer analysis of tree ordination demonstrates that it is not primarily about Buddhist teaching, but rather is an invented tradition based on the sanctity of Thai Buddhist symbols as well as those of spirit worship and the monarchy. Tree ordinations performed by non-Buddhist minorities in Thailand do not demonstrate a religious commitment but rather a political one.http://www.asianetworkexchange.org/articles/11invented traditions, environmentalism, sacred ecology, Thai Buddhism, Eco-Buddhism
collection	DOAJ
language	English
format	Article
sources	DOAJ
author	Avery Morrow
spellingShingle	Avery Morrow Tree Ordination as Invented Tradition The ASIANetwork Exchange: A Journal for Asian Studies in the Liberal Arts invented traditions, environmentalism, sacred ecology, Thai Buddhism, Eco-Buddhism
author_facet	Avery Morrow
author_sort	Avery Morrow
title	Tree Ordination as Invented Tradition
title_short	Tree Ordination as Invented Tradition
title_full	Tree Ordination as Invented Tradition
title_fullStr	Tree Ordination as Invented Tradition
title_full_unstemmed	Tree Ordination as Invented Tradition
title_sort	tree ordination as invented tradition
publisher	Open Library of Humanities
series	The ASIANetwork Exchange: A Journal for Asian Studies in the Liberal Arts
issn	1943-9938 1943-9946
publishDate	2012-01-01
description	The symbolic ordination of trees as monks in Thailand is widely perceived in Western scholarship to be proof of the power of Buddhism to spur ecological thought. However, a closer analysis of tree ordination demonstrates that it is not primarily about Buddhist teaching, but rather is an invented tradition based on the sanctity of Thai Buddhist symbols as well as those of spirit worship and the monarchy. Tree ordinations performed by non-Buddhist minorities in Thailand do not demonstrate a religious commitment but rather a political one.
topic	invented traditions, environmentalism, sacred ecology, Thai Buddhism, Eco-Buddhism
url	http://www.asianetworkexchange.org/articles/11
work_keys_str_mv	AT averymorrow treeordinationasinventedtradition
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Tree Ordination as Invented Tradition

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