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Spoken By Supreme Master Ching Hai, N.J., U.S.A.
June 24, 1992 (Originally in English)

Camping area in the forest of the New Jersey Center, USA

So when you park, try not to hit a tree! And don't cut it down just because it doesn't suit your car. Go find another place. The trees are there for beauty and protection. They're good for your car. When it's summer, it's not too hot, and when it snows a lot, they stop some of the snow, and it scatters all over instead of all falling on your car. They're very good. And the wind and all that, it's good for your car and good for you. Don't try to cut all of them down, or you will destroy the forest. We should try to preserve them, and meanwhile we can use them. That's why I think this car park is the best; you can park. And later, if it's necessary, we can sprinkle some gravel on top of it. But if the earth is hard enough, and it doesn't cause trouble, then we should just keep it like that. Otherwise, it might look ugly, criss-crossed and different.

Also, when you pitch your tent, please don't clean up the dry leaves. They keep your tent protected from the moist ground, and also keep your tent soft like a carpet. So they are very good for you. Then when you take your tent away, the earth will not be left naked and the rain will not flow down with all the earth. And later we will have mountains no more.

So just keep the leaves; they are clean. The leaves are very clean, soft and beautiful. For your feet, they're very soft, like a carpet. I saw in many places where you camp that you clean away all the leaves. This is very unintelligent! We should try to enjoy nature and preserve the natural environment. They are always good for us.

That's why I don't allow people to cut the trees where it's not necessary. The weather has changed, in many places drastically, because people have cut down too many trees, and they cannot grow fast enough to replace them. The weather has changed, and the rains are being all washed away instead of being preserved in the earth. The trees attract rain and also keep the water; it flows slowly down, and it preserves the mountains. It also preserves the streams and the rivers and all that. If we cut down all the trees, we will be short of water, and the weather will change drastically. That we could not bear.

That's why many places and many countries are short of water. Sometimes it's because they cut trees at random, not considering how it will be afterward, in the future. Because our children still have to live on; they will go on living after we die. After I die, this center will still be here and your children will come. So it's not for one or two days that you use places; you have to keep them for the future. Do not think that I am strict with you or forbid you to do that, do this, or do the other thing. It's all for your good. We have to preserve things that we enjoy. We have to think ahead into the future, and not just say, "Oh, I can use it today or tomorrow. I don't care," and damage everything. That's how people damage many beautiful places, cut so many trees and kill so many animals.

Animals are there for a reason. They are also inhabitants of the earth; we have no right to kill them. I've heard some people say that their research has found that animals sometimes heal people's sickness, probably because of their love. That's why many people like to keep dogs and cats, despite the inconvenience and the attachment that they bind people with. But because they are so loving and probably so soothing somehow, people feel good and keep them.

The same with trees, water, and forests-they also heal. Don't you feel better when you walk a little bit in the forest? Your eyes feel better. And your lungs feel good, your skin feels smooth, and your mood is calmer. That is all due to nature: The trees and the air that they breathe out to give us oxygen.

Therefore, it is very necessary to keep nature intact as much as we can.

If we told a professional, for example, to make a parking lot out of this, I think all the trees would be gone, with only cement left over. But I don't think it is necessary to do that! We have a big piece of land, and we can afford to just park between the trees. Because when you park over here between the trees, sometimes you don't feel like walking down right away. If you see a friend, you can just stand underneath the tree next to your car and have a few words with each other. It's better than standing on top of the overheated cement concrete floor. And then if you talk, both are also 'smoking up'! (Master and everyone laugh.) It gives you a very hard feeling, standing on the concrete floor.

So I think I like to preserve the trees, not only for me but for everyone, for America, for the world. Everywhere we go we have to try to protect nature. Especially now that we are so-called spiritual practitioners, we should prove that we are very sensitive to the environment and to the needs of other people.

I cannot believe a person parks his car and then has to cut down a tree just because it's in front of his car! He should park elsewhere. How can a person do that? It's a waste of time, waste of manpower. We already worked all day to make a parking lot for him. And then here he comes, parks one car and cuts down a big tree, this big already. (Master makes large circle with Her hands) It takes 20 years, maybe, to grow until the tree is that big!

It's difficult to grow a tree, but easy to cut it down. When it's not necessary, why do it? I cannot bear that! It's cruel, inconsiderate and stupid. Really, you cannot just do things like that. If everyone comes in to park a car and cuts down a tree, or maybe even two trees, then soon there are no more trees. Just because he didn't like it in front of his car, he cut it down so that he could go through. He didn't want to reverse the car. I cannot believe it!

So try to understand this, not only here, but wherever you go. Try to preserve nature. Only destroy when it's absolutely necessary, or you waste time, waste the beauty of nature, and waste manpower. And sometimes it wastes money.

I'm very protective of the trees, animals, grasses, everything. I'm very protective because I feel hurt when they are destroyed. Even with reason, it's already bad enough. We can't be too ridiculously strict; we become too stupid then. But we cannot just cut things down at random. It shows our cold-blooded nature, and it's no good.