The Sacred Green Teachings Poster
Our Sacred Green Teachings poster is derived from the classic Golden Rule found in major faith traditions.
Selected from many of the world’s great religious texts and spiritual teachings, the Sacred Green Teachings were chosen to demonstrate that each religion and spiritual philosophy has a long-standing tradition of ecological stewardship. Most are familiar with the Christian Golden Rule: "Do to others as you would have them do to you." In Hinduism it is expressed; "Do not do to others what would cause pain to you." In Islam, "Not one of you truly believes until you wish for others what you wish for yourself," and so it goes in the various faith traditions. We have looked to the same sacred teachings to reveal similar expressions of care and concern, only in choosing our quotes we have extended the plea for compassion to include all of our neighbours: human beings, animals, birds, trees… Each Sacred Green Teaching was also chosen to acknowledge the natural world as an essential phenomenon through which we may better come to know the divine and our oneness with it.
The Sacred Green Teachings poster is approximately 22" x 28".
More about Sacred Green Teachings
The natural world is an essential phenomenon through which we may better come to know the divine. We have used a tree as our central image, to represent creation as a whole and symbolic of the entire Earth, its various peoples, cultures, creatures and ecosystems. You will notice that there is only one tree but many different species of leaves. This is intended to express the old adage ‘unity in diversity.’ Each leaf represents a different faith tradition, and each species is significant to the faith it represents. To Hindus, for example, the banyan tree represents fertility, love, and life, and it is believed to be home to holy trinity of Hindu gods (Brahma, Vishnu, Shiva). Buddha found enlightenment while meditating under the bodhi tree, and bodhi trees are found next to Buddhist temples throughout Asia. In addition to their many practical gifts, trees have long been sacred to people. Forests served as humanity’s first places of worship, and still evoke a sense of the divine. From the massive cathedral groves of redwoods, to the knarled olive trees of the middle east, to the signature fat-trunked baobab of Africa, trees evoke something in us that reminds us of our connection to the natural world, as well as the divine.
