The Ethics of Bonsai Growing
Introduction
Who does not enjoy the colourful bloom of a Bougainvillea? The multitude of colours parades the beauty of nature and makes everyone feel good for the moment. But have you ever seen a Bougainvillea other than in a pot? Very rarely; may be in some public park or in the wild.
Bougainvillea, or any other plant for that matter, grows to its full size when planted on the ground, but its growth gets restricted when planted in a pot. Does it mean that growing a plant in a pot is cruelty to the plant? No plant lover will say so.
Bonsai art is growing plants in pots and creating small size replicas of mature trees. Creating bonsais involves modifying the natural shapes and forms of plants while they are growing. This is thought of by many as a cruel practice and against nature. They say that the trees are subjected to unnatural techniques to achieve the desired shapes.
A friend of mine, who is critical of bonsai growing and its ethics, explained the bonsai growing technique to me in simple terms. Cut off the tap roots and starve the plants of nutrients and water and the plant growth gets stunted. I agreed with him 100%: if this is how bonsais are made, it certainly is cruelty to plants and should be stopped.
However, this is absolutely incorrect. It appears that there are gross misconceptions as to how the bonsais are created. The reservations on the ethics of bonsai growing seem to stem more out of the lack of knowledge (or half-knowledge) of the methods of creating bonsais.
This writeup attempts to examine the question “Is bonsai making an act of cruelty to plants and against nature?” from three different perspectives:
(1) Do plants feel pain or have feelings?
(2) Misconceptions about bonsai growing
(3) Bonsai as a Zen art
Do plants feel pain or have feelings?
Whether plants have conscious mental states and feelings such as pain, fear and other emotions has been a subject under study for a long time. In the 1970s, a book entitled The Secret Life of Plants which put forward a hypothesis that plants have feelings became a best seller. While the book was dismissed as fiction by many scientists, it brought to fore the curiosity and concern of humans to know whether plants have feelings and whether they experience pain.
As per our current understanding of the anatomy and physiology of pain, humans and animals experience pain through a complex physiological process that involve pain receptors (nociceptors) that generate pain messages, neurological structures such as neurons, synapses and finally brain, that transmit and handle these messages leading to pain perception.
There is no evidence currently that plants have pain receptors, central nervous system or brain. Conscious mental states are phenomenal experiences centred around the brain. Therefore, plants do not feel pain or fear when being damaged, at least in the way humans understand it. Research is going on in the field, and it may happen that scientists would come out with findings in the future that the plants are sentient in their own way.
While plants have no brain and conscious mental states, they respond to external stimuli and surrounding environmental factors, such as light, gravity, temperature and water, as well as physical touch in some cases. Directional bending of a plant towards or away from a light source is a ready example. Based on changes in light, moisture or temperature, plants decide to enter dormancy when winter arrives, or when to sprout new growth or drop leaves, among other things.
Twining of tendrils in climbing and vining plants is an example of plants’ response to physical touch. Change of pressure within the stems of these plants, when they come across resistance, causes this response. Other examples are Mimosa pudica (Touch Me Not, Sensitive Plant, Thottavaadi, Lajwanti, Chui Mui) and Venus Fly Trap. In the case of Mimosa pudica plant, the touch triggers a defensive response causing wilt, and subsequent recovery. This happens due to a reaction in the potassium ions within the plant’s cells, which affects the water movement in the vascular structure. Venus Fly Trap displays an aggressive response as a means of survival, wherein it uses stimulus detection mechanism and subsequent physical movements to catch prey.
But does it mean these and other plants have conscious mental states or feelings, or they can feel pain or fear? These responses are driven by the plant chemical auxin which causes changing water pressure within the cell walls. Phototropism, the directional bending of a plant toward or away from a light source, is a response to blue wavelengths of light. Plants’ behaviours are the plants’ responses to environmental stimuli, and not due to conscious mental states.
For the sake of those who are still unconvinced, if we assume that plants do have feelings and can feel pain, we may ask, which part feels it – trunk, leaves, roots? Or does each part feel the feelings, the fear and the pain? If so, are we hurting plants’ emotions when we pluck their flowers and fruits? Humans die when brain dies and all neurologic functions cease. When which part dies can we say the plant is dead? Do the leaves die or are still alive when they are separated from the mother plant? If not, eating ‘live’ foods that cry out of pain at every bite could be a squeamish scenario for salad lovers and may not be that appetizing.
Misconceptions about bonsai growing
1. Bonsai creation restricts the growth of plants by growing them in small pots, and so is cruelty.
Varieties of foliage, flowering and fruiting plants are grown in pots in home gardens. If well-tended, they grow merrily in good health, give out flowers and fruits, and live for a long time. If these plants are grown in ground, they will grow to much larger sizes. So, is restricting their sizes cruelty to plants?
Bonsai is only an extension of potted plants culture. The sole difference is that the pot sizes are comparatively smaller. But then does it make bonsai growing cruel and growing of all other plants in pots, whether small or large, not cruel? Only people who have never planted in pots will have this misconception in mind. If the gardening in pots is ethical and acceptable, so is bonsai growing too, if both are weighed on the same scale.
2. Bonsai plants are pruned and not allowed to grow, which is cruelty.
Pruning is a common and mandatory activity in gardening and traditional farming for the healthy growth of plants. The branches and foliage are pruned to allow maximum sunlight penetration. All plants, whether ornamental, flowering or fruiting plants, give out foliage, flowers or fruits profusely only when they are regularly pruned. Take the example of Bougainvillea again. Does Bougainvillea bloom without pruning? Do grapevines give out grape fruits without close pruning? The pruning tasks and methodologies are similar in both gardening and bonsais. Then, can bonsai be singled out for cruelty?
3. Heavy root pruning is the reason for the stunted growth of the bonsais.
Root pruning is another essential activity for any potted plant. After a few years of growth in the pot, the root mass of the plant becomes thick and heavy, part of it dries up and clogs the pots. The plant becomes sick, as soil cannot retain water and nutrients. After every few years, all potted plants have to be repotted with new potting medium after pruning the dried-up roots.
The reasons and methodology for root pruning in bonsai are similar. It is a myth to think that heavy root pruning is a technique used by bonsai growers to dwarf the plants. It is not. In fact, while pruning the roots, care is always taken to keep a balance between the roots and the components above the ground, namely branching and foliage. Otherwise, the tree will become unhealthy and eventually die.
Another misconception is that the tap roots of bonsais are removed, which is the reason why the growth is stunted. This is absolutely incorrect. The propagation method in most cases for bonsais is from cuttings, not from seeds. Plants grown from cuttings do not have tap roots. Tap root cutting is not at all a technique that contributes to the small sizes of the bonsais.
4. Bonsai trees are starved of nutrients and water, in order for it to stay small.
The misconception is that the bonsai growth is stunted as they are denied food and water! In fact, it is the opposite. Bonsai plants are given the best of nutrients and sufficient water. Bonsai growing is not about stunting the growth of plants; it is creating the replica of a mature tree in a pot. The replica of a 100 year old tree is to be created in a much shorter time, say 10 years. So best of nutrients and optimal water are given to the plants, so as to accelerate their growth. As the plant grows faster, its height and other features are restricted/modified to give it an aged look. If the bonsais are not supplied with nutrients and water, it is likely that they would die eventually. It has been observed that bonsais of many plant species outlive their counterparts in nature. This is because they are given the best environment for growth and sustenance.
5. Wiring the branches is cruelty to the trees.
It is a common agricultural practice to bind climbing and vining plants onto trellis and modify their trunk/branch shapes. In bonsai, trunk and branches are bound by wires to give them specific shapes. Wires are kept generally for one growth season (few months) and removed before they cut into the bark and scar the trunk and branches.
Humans use braces to shape the teeth, and there is a discomfort associated with it. At the extreme, we may say wiring practice in bonsai causes discomfort to the plants, but it certainly cannot be termed as cruelty.
6. Bonsai art goes against nature.
In nature, there are trees that live in adverse environments and constantly fight for survival. Resources are not plenty, and nature is not forbearing. Trees have to compete for sunlight and food, and struggle against nature’s elements such as flood, storm, blizzard and so on. Or they could be struck by lightning or diseases. All these adversities leave their marks on the trees, and their shapes and sizes get affected. Some trees get miniaturised. If one observes our environment closely, we can see such trees near rivers, on rocks, on cliff sides and so on.
Bonsai is an art that recreates the trees that have been miniaturised (‘bonsaied’) by nature in these adverse habitats. While creating such shapes, are bonsai practitioners crueller than nature? No. Bonsai practitioners try to create such structures in pots with all love and respect to environment, and fully compliant with nature and ethics.
Bonsai as a Zen art
Japanese Zen Buddhism is the syncretism of three great religions viz. Buddhism, Taoism and Confucianism. The central doctrines of all these religions are: (1) love for all living things, and (2) living in harmony with nature.
Zen arts, that grew around the philosophy of Zen Buddhism, were the vehicles that Zen masters conceived to spread the message of Zen to masses. Bonsai is one such Zen art, whose aesthetic norms are based on Wabi-sabi, a doctrine derived from Zen Buddhism. In order to discern the ethics of bonsai growing from this perspective, we need to trace the roots and the tenets of Zen philosophy.
Buddhism, which fundamentally is a pacifist religion, originated in India around 6th century BCE. Buddhist scripture condemns violence in every form. Ahimsa, a term meaning ‘not to injure’, is a primary virtue in Buddhism. The basic code of ethics and the minimal standard of morality for those who follow Buddhism is the Panchsheel (Five Precepts). Panchsheel’s foremost precept is “Panatipata veramani sikkhapadam samadiyami”, which means one should refrain from killing or harming any living creature (physically, mentally and emotionally) and ‘cultivate limitless compassion and goodwill to all living things’.
Mahāyāna school of Buddhism, wherein Dhyān or Dhyāna (meditation) is an important path for achieving self-discovery and enlightenment, spread to China around first century CE. Mahāyāna Buddhism was influenced by two great religions, Taoism and Confucianism, and this led to the evolution of ‘Chan Buddhism’ by absorbing elements from these religions. Chan is the Chinese pronunciation of the Sanskrit word Dhyān.
Taoism, attributed to philosopher Lao Tzu, is a religion that originated in China around 500 BCE. Taoism teaches that humans and animals should live in a state of harmony with the Tao, or the universe, and the energy therein.
Confucianism is the philosophy that consolidates the teachings of the Chinese philosopher Confucius (551–479 BCE). Confucianism advocates a harmonious relationship between humans and nature, and emphasizes harmony with all elements of the natural world.
Chan Buddhism, the synthesis of cardinal principles of Buddhism, Taoism and Confucianism, spread to Japan around 600 CE, and came to be called ‘Zen Buddhism’ in the Japanese language. Zen is whereby a human being identifies himself with everything in nature, and ceases to exist by relinquishing his/her individual self. Zen religion champions a way of life that is based on ‘harmony’ with the natural order of things and not in conflict with it.
In Zen Buddhism, the notion of ‘harmony’ or ‘oneness’ is an all-pervading concept. For example, ‘Harmony within the self’ is ‘Oneness of body and mind’, ‘Harmony with dharma’ is ‘Oneness of person and law of life’, and ‘Harmony with nature’ is ‘Oneness of individual and environment’.
Conclusion
As per current scientific understanding, we have no reason to believe that plants are capable of suffering or can feel pain. Also, the notion that bonsai growing methods are acts of cruelty to plants is a pure misconception. Moreover, bonsai being bound deeply in Zen fundamentals, it simply cannot be an art that is cruel to any living thing, or be in disharmony with nature or environment.