After the cemetery, I went on to the Toa Payoh God Tree Shrine.

Picture: Full-view of the Toa Payoh God Tree Shrine

Surrounded by buildings and shophouses, the tree stood out from a distance. The shrine was placed in front of the tree, with the statue of the Goddess of Mercy housed inside. There were other Buddhist and Taoist devotees who lit up joss sticks and were praying to the Goddess and the tree. I paid my respects as well.

I approached one of the men sitting in the shrine, who introduced himself as Mr. TN. He was one of the two religious personnel who assists in the daily operations and prayers in the shrine, and he agreed to an interview. He mentioned that he does not get paid for taking care of the shrine nor leading the daily prayers, neither does he want any monetary benefit. He does so purely out of his devotion to the God Tree.

When asked about the history of the tree, he mentioned how when the government wanted to redevelop the area in the past, they could remove all the trees except this God Tree. Bulldozers and other machinery that charged towards the tree ended up magically malfunctioning, and there was no way anyone could bring the tree down. Since then, the tree gained popularity was worshipped for its powers as the God Tree. Mr. TN also shared with me his personal experiences, whereupon praying to the God Tree, his loved ones who were critically ill in the hospital had quickly recovered. In addition, a key point Mr. TN stressed over and over again was the effect of karmic consequences. He urged for me to continue doing good deeds, and good will return me.

Picture: Mr. TN and I after the interview

When I asked him how religion relates to nature, he mentioned how it is a sin to cut down trees or destroy any other form of wildlife, as God is living in everything. “If you harm other lives, it is equal to you harming God”, he said. He also included that it is sinful to inflict damage on other natural entities, such as polluting the ocean. He urged me to adopt the vegetarian diet more often, as it is considered a good deed to not eat animals. He added that doing so would return good karma in life.

Hence, from my interview with Mr. TN, I better understood how Buddhists and Taoists regard nature as a form of God. Therefore, I understood how their religion influences them to carry immense respect and care for the environment.

My next stop was the Monkey God Tree at Jurong West. Click here to continue to the page.