Appendix A The Forest as a Sanctuary for Re-creation

One impulse from a vernal wood

May teach you more of man,

Of moral evil and of good,

Than all the sages can.

William Wordsworth (1770–1850)¹

One of the Buddha’s favorite places to sit was at the base of a tree. In that era of large forests, one could live a relatively simple life as a monk or nun, be an active member of a sangha, and still find places in the forest wilderness where one could retreat to meditate in solitude.² Nowadays, people who commune with Nature outdoors keep rediscovering that trees and other natural scenery possess inherent healing properties. [ZB: 664–667; MS: 53–60]

Wordsworth’s affinities for the fresh foliage of springtime were appreciated centuries earlier in China. An old Ch’an story describes an event when Lin-chi was a younger monk.³ He is out in the forest, planting young pine trees, when he is confronted by his formidable master, Huang-po (d. 850). The master asks, “Why are you planting so many pine trees way out here on the mountain?” Lin-chi replies, “First, to improve the natural setting that leads up to the main temple gate. Second, to leave a landmark to benefit future generations.” He then stamps his hoe on the ground vigorously, exhaling loudly. At this point, Huang-Po, impressed, predicts, “Under you, my lineage will flourish throughout the world.”

This came to pass. Lin-chi (J. Rinzai) (d. 866) and his followers went on to found the Rinzai school of Zen. In homage to him, the planting of pine trees continues as an annual tradition in some Rinzai centers. The ceremony is called Saisho. Its Kanji character stands for “Planting the Pine.” In the climate of China, early Ch’an would flourish among monks who could grow their own food. Most were farming the fields (nong chan) not residing in the forest.⁴ Any kind of gardening work/play is recommended. It is an excellent way to stay in touch with the earth. It also reinforces a simple reality: all growing things go through natural developmental cycles.

Taking Nature Walks among the Trees

D. T. Suzuki wrote a long book chapter extolling the “Japanese Love of Nature.”⁵ With regard to Nature, it becomes of interest to note how he would later describe an alternate state experience to Albert Stunkard.⁶ It happened one day while Suzuki was taking a walk between tall rows of old cryptomeria trees (C. japonica). Someone (perhaps a monk) had planted these magnificent evergreen conifers in earlier centuries. Their tall columns now lined the avenue that led up to the Mountain Gate of the Rinzai Zen temple of Engaku-ji.⁷ “As I walked up the steps,” said Suzuki, “I became aware that I was the same as the trees at which I was looking. It was not that I had ceased to be myself, but I had become the trees as well.” [ZBR: 335–357]

By 1982 the Japanese Ministry of Agriculture, Forest and Fisheries had come to a decision: it needed a new term to describe the forest recreational activities that it was making available to all Nature-lovers. The term it coined, Shinrin-yoku, refers to the actual practice of “taking in all the atmosphere of the forest.” Currently, at least four dozen official Forest Therapy trails exist to encourage the urban population of Japan to engage in this therapeutic practice of hiking in the forest.

This practice means total immersion in a forest. Indeed, it is now commonly spoken of as forest bathing.⁸ A series of scientific reports have since documented the beneficial effects associated with this immersion. These have chiefly been inspired by the senior author, Yoshifumi Miyazaki of Chiba University. In a recent review, readers can discover the evidence collected from 420 subjects at 35 different forest park sites throughout Japan.⁹ The “forest bathers” showed the expected improvements over their urban control group in such Self-reported improvements as mood and feelings of well-being. At rest, they also showed a 5.8 percent decrease in heart rates, a 12.4 percent decrease in salivary cortisol levels, and decreased urinary levels of catecholamine. A subgroup of middle-aged hikers also showed a substantial acute increase (56%) in natural killer cells (NK) followed by a more prolonged increase (23%). Natural killer cells are one index of heightened immune function against cancer.¹⁰

Emerson was aware that he felt nourished when he took the long view that led far out to the distant horizon. Moreover, his essay entitled “Nature” contained the following metaphor about immersion: “We go out daily and nightly to feed the eyes on the horizon, and require so much scope, just as we need water for our bath.”¹¹

In a 2008 study, Berman and colleagues reported that normal students improved their attentive performance scores after they walked outdoors through the tree-lined Ann Arbor Arboretum. [MS: 60, 206–207] Berman and others recently conducted a similar study of 19 patients who were diagnosed with a moderately severe depressive disorder.¹² Before these patients actually started out—either on their 50-minute nature walk or on their control walk through the city streets of Ann Arbor—they were asked to take on an added psychological task. This task was to ruminate on a prior personal experience, an emotional event that was very negative and was still unresolved. Despite this burden, the 2.8-mile nature walk through the Arboretum generated a substantial increase in their mood, and their memory span also increased.

The dynamic, mood-enhancing restorative attributes of green space have now been documented using five-channel mobile EEG recordings.¹³ The results on the 25-minute walk through green space in Edinburgh differed from the two other walks that went through urban shopping and busy commercial streets.

Our inherent affinities with trees and Nature keep inviting us to rejoin them, become immersed, and be restored.