The Buddha's Fig Tree And The Search For Resilience
A new film connects the Buddha's sacred fig tree to ecological, spiritual and societal resilience in a warming world.
What links the Buddha and climate change? Here at Planet Ficus, the answer is of course fig trees. A new documentary now in production explores that connection, and I was honoured to be invited to contribute.
US-based filmmaker Marc Wennberg is producing a feature-length documentary called Beneath the Bodhi Tree. The film explores the life of the Buddha through the lens of trees — particularly the sacred fig (Ficus religiosa), beneath which he attained enlightenment. But this is more than a spiritual story: it is also a meditation on ecological and societal healing in a time of climate change.
Alongside Buddhist teachers and pilgrims, the film weaves in the perspectives of scientists, conservationists and writers. Earlier this year, I joined the cast when Marc interviewed me about the ecological and cultural importance of Ficus religiosa and other fig trees. You can see part of that interview in the sample reel below, which also features Anam Thubten Rinpoche, David George Haskell and Roshi Joan Halifax.
Marc describes the film as his “love letter to this tender and interconnected Earth”. He is now raising funds to support a production trip to Southeast Asia. If you would like to help, you can contribute through the donor link (tax-deductible in the United States) or contact Marc directly here, where you can also read more about the project.
There are some more clips from my interview below:
Thank you for reading. I’m grateful you’re here under the canopy of Planet Ficus. Each story is a reminder that we are all connected — to each other, to other species and to the trees themselves. If you know someone who would enjoy these connections, please pass this newsletter along or invite them to subscribe.
