“All beings who have made their home in this tree, please find other lodgings by Monday,” the letter reads.
The Douglas Fir tree from the monastery’s perspective. Photo by John Coveney on Facebook.
The Berkeley Buddhist Monastery in California wrote a letter to a hundred-year-old tree in a backyard neighboring their center that was scheduled to be cut down on November 18, Good News Network reports.
The tree, a Douglas Fir, was in poor health with “gangly” limbs that could unexpectedly fall on passersby. The Reverend of Berkeley Buddhist Monastery, Heng Sue, knew the tree was going to be cut down, and wrote a letter to the tree and its inhabitants notifying of its removal. The letter was shared by Julia Goerlitz on Facebook, who thanked the center for its “respectful notice to the tree.”
The letter reads:
“To the Grand and Nobel Douglas Fir on Grant and Bancroft Streets and to all beings living in this tree: birds, animals, insects, spirits, and others:
We respectfully inform you that due to your poor health and taking into consideration the safety of the community, we will need to remove you on Monday, November 18, 2019. Mindful of your century of life and grateful for the shelter that you have selflessly provided to all, we wish your spirit to move on.
All beings who have made their home in this tree, please find other lodgings by Monday. We wish you no harm, and we apologize for the inconvenience this will bring to you and your families. We hope that you will find another place to live without difficulty and that you and your descendants will flourish and prosper.”
Photo by Julia Goerlitz on Facebook.
Rev. Heng Sure also held a private ceremony for the tree the Sunday before it was to be felled, and was joined by about a dozen neighbours.
Photo by John Coveney.
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