On Wishing t be a Tree

by Diane Littman

     Growing up in a family of Buddhists, the word 're-incarnation' is no stranger to me. In fact, it is almost a religion in itself.  We think of re-incarnation as a consolation when life gets tough, for we can hope for a better life the next time around. We use it to curse our enemies when they did us a bad turn, hoping that they will become some miserable life-form in their next life. Thus, we win a psychological battle as if we have avenged our grievances. In short, re-incarnation gives us hope as well as a way of life for the believers of Buddhism.
       As a child, the myths of re-incarnadon were told to me in a form of warnings along with some scary anecdotes. They were usually told by the nurses or nannies to frighten me in order to keep me in good conduct. It was very effeceive indeed, much more effective than the 'Red Hair Witch' who, accorting to the legend, crept into people's homes in the night and devoured naughty and disobedient children. But fairy tales remain tales as we grow older whereas the inevitable 're-incarna tion' hangs over our minds until the end of our days. Since then, I have been looking and obsevering different sorts of living things in the hope to be able to find an ideal object to be the prospective host of my soul in the next life. As a rule, we cannot choose for ourselves. For we shall be given an appointed item to re-incarnate to according to the merits and demerits we accumulate in this lie. But wishing helps to lighten our hearts.
       After much thinking and research I have decided to be a tree. One reason among others for my choice is that a healthy strong tree lives longer than many other living things, especially longer than a human being. It can live up to 500 years or so. That means I would not have to worry about re-incarnating again for a long, long time even though Buddhism has it that the re-incarnation system, or the wheel of life, continues unceasingly throughout eterniy. But of course, I have never been a tree and I do not know for sure how a tree really feels or how it experiences life. I could be as miserable as can be and I would be stuck being a tree and be unconsolable for a very long time. Then that is the risk of picking the unknown, and it is in this case the negative aspect of this wish.
       I do realize that being a human is the best of all choices because I am living as one and cherish the benefits of emotions, sensitivities of the human mind, mobility and all the ice things in this materialistic world. A human life cycle is filled with joy and sorrows starting from the wonderous childhood which is full of laughter and gaiety, then the sweet and fascinating period of love and marriage followed by the joyous and proud parenthood to finally the contented old age which is accompanied by wonderful memories of a life time. A human can have great achievements in art and science because he possesses a powerful human mind which allows him to convert his learnings to beneficial and practical products. Indeed it is the most covetous dream to be re-incarnated again to a human. But in the Buddhist religion a person can almost never re-incarnate to another human being again immediately after his human life terminates unless he lives or has lived a lie of a saint. So I am obliged to choose something that I consider next to the best.
       The Buddhists believe also all materialistic belongings are of no importance to eternal life. So to forego our worldly possessions like houses, cars and fortune is not the worse thing imaginable. Besides, they also believe all living things have a soul, feelings and sensitivities just like we do only they express their differently. Of course we would not know for sure that this is true. But if all things are equal being a tree is really not so bad, for it does have a few positives points.
       As far as the wish goes, I have decided not to be an ever green, say, a cedar, which was my original choice. For if I should be a cedar and be rooted in the middle of Lebanon I certainly would be facing a lot of disadvantages. We must remember that a tree is immobile. It stays on the same spot from the day it takes root until the day it rots. Besides, being an evergreen could be quite boring. So I just want to be an ordinary oak tree which will allow me to have the possibility to change thc colour of my leaves. According to the seasons, I shall appear in different shades of green, yellow and brown and I shall be looking very pretty indeed in mid-autumn. Then the leaves will fall off, leaving me looking melancholic yet elegant at the same time. Snow will soon cover my branches and will melt away just to make room for the new young leaves to come out to welcome the hopeful Spring. All these changes of moods and appearances are provided by nature with litlee effort of my own. As a human we will have to shop for appropriate clothing and attires for different seasons and occasions, which can be very costly. In fact, most of the time we spend our hard earned money on designers' whims.       	
			As for food, nature would also provide the essentials to help a tree grown and sustain itself whereas a human has to work hard, according to one's ability, of course, in order to provide for himself and his family. In the process, a human has to go through an education, takes pressures of work and the pressure of the hostile world outside. Even humans take pride in accomplishment and succcss, after having been through the experience once, taking up a passive role as a tree should be a welcome change.
       Looking up at a tall tree while walking in the forest one cannot help but think a big tree seemingly can have the sky all to itself. That is from dawn to dusk and all through the night. There are beautiful sunny days starting with a glorious sunrise. Nights are also equally delightful especially when there is a full moon with thousands of stars lighting up the sky. A human can have all this only when he goes on a camping trip during his once-a-year summer vacation since has to work during the year, and most of the weekends ar occupied with domestic programs. And as luck will have it, the weekends and holidays are usually blessed with poor weather.
       A tree gets the privilege to befriend or host all sorts of beautiful birds, enjoying their songs as well as their beauty. But a human will have to join a special club to take a bird-watching trip in order to get to see some of the birds in the world. I remember as a child in China, I used to watch in amazement as well as fascination as my grandfather walked his favourite bird with pride. He had a few of the rare birds, so to speak And they were kept in separate cages. But he chose only one that he thought worthy of his favour. Then he would support the cage with one hand and lifted it in mid-air just like a maitre d'hotel presenting a superb dish in big, elegant strides, he proceeded towards the local famous tea-house. This particular tea-house had an indoor courtyard with a few trees just like the one in our house where the customers would hang their bird cages while they had their morning tea. Now and then they would glance over the top of their journal at their own bird with an admiring eye. Such is the unnatural way that a human enjoys nature's gifts.
       Then comes the question of mortality and longevity which is the main reason for my preferring being a tree to being a human. The older a tree gets the stronger it becomes. A human will get weaker as he ages. People admire an old tree when they see one: they look at it in awe, wondering about its strength which enables the tree to weather the years; they envy it for its fortune to have witnessed the many happenings that must have taken place through the centuries that it lives out merriments and sorrows as well as war and peace. The old age period for a human is somewhat like a shameful secret as we try very hard to hide it by means of cosmetics or plastic surgeries. This is so not just because of human vanity alone, it is because old age is generally not respected. Neither is experience considered over academic qualifications when it comes to jobs. Very often the advertisements for recruiting employees require the enclosure of a photograph of the applicant. So, it is imperative for a human to look young and energetic at all times. Unfortunately for a human, once when he reaches the age of 75 he is considered 'constitutionally' senile and is forced to be inactive even when his mind is still very alert and brilliant. So what good is it to have a human mind when we have such a limit of time to use it. We spend nearly 30 years to educate the mind, then put it to practice for another 30 to 40 years. Then it is over.
       Mortality deals largely with our physical condition. When a tree gets old its trunk combined with the well developed foliage and branches, evokes an imposing presence. It has beautiful and interesting formations on its bark. Many artists and commercial technicians alike have been inspired and sometimes copied the patterns and turned them to artistic designs. But the human bends with the years' struggle, and his skin and his inner organs degenerate with time. Even with all the money we can spend on cosmetics we still cannot reverse the decaying cycle. Hence the demise approaches slowly but surely. Although a tree has its many enemies like parasites, abuses from animals and humans, but it is more resilient and thus enjoys a longer life. So, as long as our scientists cannot come up with an answer to mortality or a discovery of fountain of youth, I might as well as be a tree and lie for a longer time.