bodhi tree
{{short description|Sacred fig tree in Bodh Gaya, Bihar, India}}
{{For|the tree species more generally|Ficus religiosa}}
{{coord|24|41|45.29|N|84|59|29.29|E|display=title}}
{{More citations needed|date=January 2025}}
{{Use Indian English|date=December 2022}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2025}}
The Bodhi Tree ("tree of awakening" or "tree of enlightenment"{{cite book|last=Gethin|first=Rupert|author-link=Rupert Gethin|title=The Foundations of Buddhism|url=https://archive.org/details/foundationsofbud00rupe|url-access=registration|page=[https://archive.org/details/foundationsofbud00rupe/page/22 22]|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=1998|isbn=978-0-19-289223-2}}), also called the Bo tree,{{Cite web|title=Buddhism Fast Facts|url=https://www.cnn.com/2013/11/11/world/buddhism-fast-facts/index.html|access-date=14 October 2019|website=CNN|date=11 November 2013 }} was a large sacred fig tree (Ficus religiosa)Simon Gardner, Pindar Sidisunthorn and Lai Ee May 2011. Heritage Trees of Penang. Penang: Areca Books. {{ISBN|978-967-57190-6-6}} located in Bodh Gaya, Bihar, India. Siddhartha Gautama, the spiritual teacher who became known as the Buddha, is said to have attained enlightenment, or buddhahood, circa 500 BCE, under that tree.{{cite book|title=India through the ages|url=https://archive.org/details/indiathroughages00mada|last=Gopal|first=Madan|year= 1990| page= [https://archive.org/details/indiathroughages00mada/page/176 176]|editor=K.S. Gautam|publisher=Publication Division, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of India}} In religious iconography, the Bodhi tree is recognizable by its heart-shaped leaves, which are usually prominently displayed.For more on the topic see also the chapter "Buddha, Buddhism, and the bodhi tree" in Belief, Bounty, and Beauty by Albertina Nugteren. {{doi|10.1163/9789047415619_004}}
File:Bodhgaya 3639641913 f4c5f73689 t.jpg in Bodh Gaya]]
File:Bodhgaya 3640455476 ece9eaf386 t.jpg, or Vajrashila, at the spot where the Buddha is said to have sat under the Bodhi Tree in Bodh Gaya]]
File:Bodhi Tree Distant View - panoramio.jpg]]
The original tree under which Siddhartha Gautama sat is no longer living, but the term "bodhi tree" is also applied to existing sacred fig trees.{{Cite web|title=Ficus religiosa – Plant Finder|url=http://www.missouribotanicalgarden.org/PlantFinder/PlantFinderDetails.aspx?kempercode=d409|access-date=8 December 2020|website=missouribotanicalgarden.org}} The foremost example is the Mahabodhi tree growing at the Mahabodhi Temple in Bodh Gaya, which is often cited as a direct descendant of the original tree. This tree, planted around 250 BCE, is a frequent destination for pilgrims, being the most important of the four main Buddhist pilgrimage sites.{{Cite web|title=Botanic Notables: The Bodhi Tree – Garden Design|url=https://www.gardendesign.com/plants/notables/bodhi-tree.html|access-date=8 December 2020|website=GardenDesign.com}} The tree's leaves can be bought by pilgrims as mementos.
Other holy bodhi trees with great significance in the history of Buddhism are the Anandabodhi tree at Jetavana near Sravasti, Uttar Pradesh, in northern India, and the Jaya Sri Maha Bodhi tree in Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka.
Origin and descendants
=Bodh Gaya=
File:A small temple beneath the Bodhi tree, Bodh Gaya, c. 1810.jpg, Bodh Gaya[http://www.bl.uk/onlinegallery/onlineex/apac/addorimss/a/019addor0003269u00000000.html A small Hindu temple beneath a banyan tree, Bodhgaya] British Library.]]
File:Pipal tree temple of Bodh Gaya depicted in Sanchi Stupa 1 Eastern Gateway.jpg at Bodh Gaya around the Bodhi Tree. Sculpture of the Satavahana period at Sanchi, 1st century CE.]]
{{main|Mahabodhi Temple}}
The Bodhi Tree at the Mahabodhi Temple is called Sri Maha Bodhi. Gautama Buddha is said to have attained enlightenment (bodhi) while meditating underneath a Ficus religiosa. According to Buddhist texts, the Buddha meditated without moving from his seat for seven weeks (49 days) under this tree. A shrine called Animisalocana cetiya was later erected on the spot where he sat.{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=x8ObMQ1GGsUC&dq=%22Animisalocana+cetiya%22&pg=PA320|title=Dictionary of Pali Proper Names|first=G. P.|last=Malalasekera|date=14 September 2003|publisher=Asian Educational Services|isbn=978-81-206-1823-7 |via=Google Books}}
The spot was used as a shrine even in the Buddha's lifetime. Emperor Ashoka paid homage to the Bodhi Tree and held a festival every year in its honour in the month of Kattika.{{cite web|publisher=Mahavamsa, chap. 17, 17.|url= http://lakdiva.org/mahavamsa/chap017.html|title= CHAPTER XVII_The Arrival Of The Relics
}} His queen, Tissarakkhā, was jealous of the tree, and three years after she became queen (i.e., in the nineteenth year of Ashoka's reign), she cursed it to be killed by means of thorns.{{cite web|publisher= Mahavamsa, chap. 20, 4f.|url= http://lakdiva.org/mahavamsa/chap020.html|title=CHAPTER XX_The Nibbana of the Thera}} The tree, however, grew again, and a monastery was attached to the Bodhimaṇḍa, called Bodhimanda Vihara.{{cite web|publisher=Mahavamsa, chap. 29, 41.|url= http://lakdiva.org/mahavamsa/chap029.html|title=Chapter XXIX: The Beginning of the Great Thupa}} Every time the tree was destroyed, a new one was planted in the same place.{{cite book|first1=Melton|last1= J. Gordon|first2= Baumann|last2=Martin|year=2010|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=v2yiyLLOj88C|title=Religions of the World: A Comprehensive Encyclopedia of Beliefs and Practices|edition=Second|publisher=ABC-CLIO, Santa Barbara|isbn=978-1-59884-204-3|page=358}}
File:Bodhi Tree Marking - panoramio.jpg
In 1862, the British archaeologist Alexander Cunningham wrote of the site as the first entry in the first volume published by the Archaeological Survey of India:
The celebrated Bodhi tree still exists, but is very much decayed; one large stem, with three branches to the westward, is still green, but the other branches are barkless and rotten. The green branch perhaps belongs to some younger tree, as there are numerous stems of apparently different trees clustered together. The tree must have been renewed frequently, as the present Pipal is standing on a terrace at least 30 feet above the level of the surrounding country. It was in full vigour in 1811, when seen by Dr. Buchanan (Hamilton), who describes it as in all probability not exceeding 100 years of age.[https://archive.org/details/cu31924008747788 Archaeological Survey of India], Volume 1, Four Reports Made During the Years 1862-63-64-66
However, the tree decayed further, and in 1876, what remained of it was destroyed in a storm. Cunningham wrote that the young scion of the parent tree was already in existence to take its place.{{cite web|url=http://www.buddhanet.net/e-learning/dharmadata/fdd23.htm |title=Buddhist Studies: Bodhi Tree |publisher=Buddhanet.net |access-date=1 August 2013}}[https://archive.org/stream/cu31924008747788#page/n45/mode/1up Mahâbodhi, or the great Buddhist temple under the Bodhi tree at Buddha-Gaya], Alexander Cunningham, 1892: "I next saw the Tree in 1871, and again in 1875, when it had become completely decayed, and shortly afterwards, in 1876, the only remaining portion of the Tree fell over the west wall during a storm, and the Old Pipal Tree was gone. Many seeds, however, had been collected, and young scions of the parent tree were already in existence to take its place."
Since 2007, the Forest Research Institute of India has assisted in the upkeep of the Mahabodhi tree.{{Cite web |last=Kazmi |first=S M A |date=7 August 2007 |title=Forest institute suggests methods to save Bodhi tree – Indian Express |url=http://archive.indianexpress.com/news/forest-institute-suggests-methods-to-save-bodhi-tree/209013/ |access-date=7 April 2022 |website=The Indian Express Archives}}{{dead link||date=January 2025}}{{Cite web |last=Qadir |first=Abdul |date=31 August 2017 |title=Two Forest Research Institute scientists examine Bodhi tree, collect sample |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/gaya/two-fri-scientists-examine-bodhi-tree-collect-sample/articleshow/60297030.cms |access-date=7 April 2022 |website=The Times of India}}{{Cite web |last=Sahay |first=Anand Mohan |date=25 October 2007 |title=Branch of bodhi tree was cut 3 years ago: Report |url=https://www.rediff.com/news/2007/oct/25bodhi.htm |access-date=7 April 2022 |website=rediff.com}} Various measures have been taken to protect the tree's health of the tree,{{Cite web |last=Kalam |first=Farhana |date=8 November 2018 |title=Steps taken to protect sacred Bodhi tree |url=https://www.telegraphindia.com/bihar/steps-taken-to-protect-sacred-bodhi-tree/cid/1674397 |website=Telegraph India}}{{Cite web |last=Kalam |first=Farhana |date=1 December 2018 |title=Pruning to help Bodhi tree shed weight |url=https://www.telegraphindia.com/bihar/pruning-to-help-bodhi-tree-shed-weight/cid/1677300 |website=Telegraph India}}{{Cite web |last=Khan |first=Zeyad Masroor |date=4 May 2018 |title=The Bodhi Tree the Buddha Sat Under is Dead. Meet the scientist who keeps its sacred descendant alive. |url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/9kgdxz/the-bodhi-tree-the-buddha-sat-under-is-dead |website=Vice}} and cloning was considered in 2008.{{Cite news |last=Bedi |first=Rahul |date=9 April 2008 |title=Scientists turn to cloning in attempt to save Buddhism's holiest tree for posterity |url=https://www.irishtimes.com/news/scientists-turn-to-cloning-in-attempt-to-save-buddhism-s-holiest-tree-for-posterity-1.911257 |access-date=7 April 2022 |newspaper=The Irish Times}}
=Jetavana, Uttar Pradesh=
{{More citations needed|section|date=January 2025}}
File:Adoration_of_the_Diamond_Throne_and_the_Bodhi_Tree_Bharhut_relief.jpg and Diamond throne in Bodh Gaya, built circa 250 BCE. The inscription between the chaitya arches reads: "Bhagavato Sakamunino/ bodho", meaning "the building round the Bodhi tree of the Holy Sakamuni".{{cite book |last1=Luders |first1=Heinrich |title=Corpus Inscriptionum Indicarum Vol.2 Pt.2 Bharhut Inscriptions |date=1963 |page=95 |url=https://archive.org/stream/in.ernet.dli.2015.107897/2015.107897.Corpus-Inscriptionum-Indicarum-Vol2-Pt2-Bharhut-Inscriptions#page/n145}} Bharhut frieze (circa 100 BCE).]]
It is said that in the ancient Buddhist texts,{{cite web | url=http://www.buddhisma2z.com/content.php?id=45 | title=Guide to Buddhism A to Z }} in order for people to make offerings in the name of the Buddha when he was away on pilgrimage, the Buddha sanctioned the planting of a seed from the Bodhi tree in Bodh Gaya in front of the gateway of Jetavana Monastery, near Sravasti. For this purpose, Moggallana took a fruit from the tree as it dropped from its stalk, before it reached the ground. It was planted in a golden jar by Anathapindika, with great pomp and ceremony. A sapling immediately sprouted forth, fifty cubits high, and in order to consecrate it, the Buddha spent one night under it in meditation. This tree, because it was planted under the direction of Ananda, came to be known as the Ananda Bodhi.
=Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka=
{{More citations needed|section|date=January 2025}}
King Ashoka's daughter Sanghamittā Theri brought a piece of the tree with her to Ceylon, where it continues to grow in the island's ancient capital of Anuradhapura. It is named Jaya Sri Maha Bodhi.{{cite web|url=http://srimahabodhi.org/rain-maker2.htm |title=Rain-makers: The Sacred Bodhi Tree Part 2 |publisher=Srimahabodhi.org |date=24 April 2003 |access-date=1 August 2013}}{{cite web|author=K.H.J. Wijayadasa |url=http://srimahabodhi.org/index.htm |title=Śrī Maha Bodhi |publisher=Srimahabodhi.org |access-date=1 August 2013}} According to the Mahāvaṃsa, Jaya Sri Maha Bodhi was planted in 288 BCE, making it the oldest verified specimen of any angiosperm. In this year (the twelfth year of King Ashoka's reign), the right branch of the Bodhi Tree was brought by Sanghamittā to Anurādhapura and placed by the left foot of Devanampiya Tissa. The Buddha, on his deathbed, had resolved five things, one being that the branch to be taken to Ceylon should detach itself. From Bodh Gayā, the branch was taken to Pātaliputta and thence to Tāmalittī, where it was placed on a ship and taken across the sea. It finally arrived at Anuradhapura, staying on the way at Tivakka.
=Honolulu, Hawaii=
In 1913, Anagarika Dharmapala took a sapling of Jaya Sri Maha Bodhi to Hawaii, where he presented it to his benefactor, Mary E. Foster, who had funded much Buddhist missionary work. She planted it in the grounds of her house in Honolulu, by the Nuʻuanu stream. On her death, she left her house and its grounds to the people of Honolulu, and it became the Foster Botanical Garden.[https://www.waikikioutdoorcircle.org/uploads/3/7/9/7/37971713/derussy_walk_v4f.pdf Waikiki's "Central Park" – Fort DeRussy Armed Forces Reserve] waikikioutdoorcircle.org
=Chennai, India=
File:Bodhi tree in Theosophical Society.jpg]]
In 1950, Jinarajadasa took three saplings of the Sri Maha Bodhi to plant two in Chennai, India: one near the Buddhist temple at the Theosophical Society and the other at the riverside of Adyar Creek. The third sapling was planted near a meditation center in Sri Lanka.{{cite web|last1=Madhavan|first1=Chitra|title=Buddhist shrine in Adyar|url=http://madrasmusings.com/Vol%2023%20No%206/buddhist-shrine-in-adyar.html|website=Madras Musings|access-date=14 November 2015|ref=(ARCHIVE) VOL. XXIII NO. 6, 1–15 July 2013}}{{Cite news |last=Krishnan |first=D. |date=3 April 2017 |title=Under the Bodhi tree |work=The Hindu |url=https://www.thehindu.com/society/chennai-and-the-bodhi-tree/article17771583.ece |issn=0971-751X |url-access=subscription}}
=Trấn Quốc, Hanoi, Vietnam=
In 1959, to mark a visit to Vietnam by the first president of India, Rajendra Prasad, a cutting of the original tree in Bodh Gaya was gifted, and it presently stands on the grounds of Trấn Quốc Pagoda in Hanoi.{{Cite web |title=Statement by the President of India, Shri Pranab Mukherjee to the media on board the special aircraft on his way back from his state visit to the socialist republic of Vietnam |url=https://pib.gov.in/newsite/PrintRelease.aspx?relid=109775 |access-date=22 December 2022 |website=pib.gov.in}}
=Thousand Oaks, California=
In 2012, the Bangladeshi philanthropist Brahmanda Pratap Barua took a sapling of the Bodhi Tree from Bodh Gaya, to Thousand Oaks, California, where he presented it to his benefactor, Anagarika Glenn Hughes, who had funded much Buddhist work and teaches Buddhism in the United States.See "Navel in Buddha" on Academia.edu https://www.academia.edu/43042460/Navel_in_Buddha. Text is quoted verbatim. Multiple internet sites show the same text, but only this one appears to be a more reliable source.
=Nihon-ji, Japan=
In 1989, the government of India presented the temple of Nihon-ji with a sapling from the Bodhi Tree as a gesture of world peace.{{citation needed|date=March 2021}}
=Deekshabhoomi, Nagpur, India=
{{Unreferenced section|date=January 2025}}
A Bodhi tree was planted at the Deekshabhoomi Buddhist monument in Nagpur, India, from three branches of the Bodhi Tree at Anuradhapura in Sri Lanka. Bhadant Anand Kausalyayan brought the branches from Sri Lanka as a memorial of Buddha's enlightenment. The site is holy to Navayana Buddhism, as it is the place where the Indian political leader B. R. Ambedkar converted to Buddhism, along with 600,000 followers, on 14 October 1956, during the Dhammachakra Pravartan Din festival.
=Quezon City, Philippines=
A sapling of the Bodhi Tree from Anuradhapura was planted on 15 May 2011 at Wisdom Park in New Manila, Quezon City, Philippines, by D. M. Jayaratne, Prime Minister of Sri Lanka, and Mariano S. Yupitun, founder of Universal Wisdom Foundation Inc.{{Citation needed|date=January 2025}}
=Bendigo, Victoria, Australia=
A sapling of the Jaya Sri Maha Bodhi tree was sent in 2022 to the Great Stupa of Universal Compassion, the largest stupa in the Western world, near Bendigo in central Victoria, Australia.{{Cite web |last=Lam |first=Raymond |date=31 August 2021 |title=Sacred Bodhi Sapling in Australian Quarantine to Be Released in May 2022 |url=https://www.buddhistdoor.net/news/sacred-bodhi-sapling-in-australian-quarantine-to-be-released-in-may-2022/ |website=Buddhistdoor Global}}
=Brisbane, Queensland, Australia=
A sapling of the Bodhi tree from Anuradhapura was planted in April 2008 at Kurilpa Point, the site of the Queensland Art Gallery and Gallery of Modern Art, by the artist Lee Mingwei, as the centerpiece to his "Bhodi Tree Project".{{cite web|title=Lee Mingwei 'Bodhi Tree Project' |url=https://www.qagoma.qld.gov.au/stories/lee-mingwei-bodhi-tree-project-queensland-australia |website=qagoma.qld.gov.au |date=4 December 2022 |access-date=9 January 2025}}
=Brazil=
There are two descendants of the Bodhi Tree in Brazil: one in the Busshinji temple, the head temple of Sōtō in Latin America, in São Paulo, and another in the Sōtō temple Daissenji, in Florianópolis.{{cite web|title=As Raízes Culturais da Comemoração do Despertar (Rohatsu) |url=https://www.budismohoje.org.br/as-raizes-culturais-da-comemoracao-do-despertar-rohatsu/ |website=budismohoje.org.br |date=4 December 2021 |access-date=9 January 2025 |language=pt |trans-title=The Cultural Roots of the Awakening Celebration (Rohatsu)}}
=South Korea=
A sapling from the Mahabodhi tree in Bodh Gaya was given to South Korea in 2022 as a symbol of friendship between the two countries. It was planned to eventually be planted at a Buddhist temple.{{Cite news |date=8 March 2022 |agency=Indo-Asian News Service |title=India's gift to South Korea: A sacred Bodhi Tree sapling |url=https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/indias-gift-to-south-korea-a-sacred-bodhi-tree-sapling-553262 |work=NDTV}}
=Mahabodhi trees of other Buddhas=
Following is a list of the various Mahabodhi trees under which all of the Buddhas known to Theravada Buddhism attained buddhahood:{{cite book|editor-last=Sayadaw|editor-first=Mingun|editor-link=Mingun Sayadaw|title=The Great Chronicle of Buddhas|volume=1, Part 2|chapter=Appendix: List of the Mahabodhi Trees of 24 Buddhas|pages=316–317, 322|publisher=Ti=Ni Press|location=Yangon, Myanmar|year=1992|url=}}
| class="wikitable sortable" |
| Buddha (Pāli name)
! Bodhirukka (tree of enlightenment; Pāli name) |
|---|
| Taṇhaṅkara
|rukkaththana | |
| Medhaṅkara
|kaela | |
| Saraṇaṅkara
|pulila | |
| Dīpaṃkara
|pipphali |
| Koṇḍañña
|salakalyanīka |
| Maṅgala
|nāga |
| Sumana
|nāga |
| Revata
|nāga |
| Sobhita
|nāga |
| Anomadassi
|ajjuna |
| Paduma
|mahāsona |
| Nārada
|mahāsona |
| Padumuttara
|salala |
| Sumedha
|mahanīpa |
| Sujāta
|mahavelu |
| Piyadassi
|kakudha |
| Atthadassi
|campaka |
| Dhammadassī
|bimbijala |
| Siddhattha
|kanikara |
| Tissa
|asana |
| Phussa
|amakala |
| Vipassī
|pāṭalī |
| Sikhī
|puṇḍarīka |
| Vessabhū
|sāla |
| Kakusandha
|sirīsa |
| Koṇāgamana
|uḍumbara |
| Kassapa
|nigrodha |
| Gautama Buddha (present Buddha) |
| Metteyya (future Buddha){{cite web|url=https://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/dn/dn.26.0.than.html|title=Cakkavatti Sutta: The wheel-turning Emperor|website=accesstoinsight.org}}
|nāga |
Bodhi Day
On 8 December, Bodhi Day celebrates Buddha's enlightenment underneath the Bodhi Tree. Those who follow the Dharma greet each other by saying, "Budu saranai!", which translates to "may the peace of the Buddha be yours".{{cite web |title=University of Hawaii |url=http://westproxy.lib.hawaii.edu:2051/hottopics/lnacademic/?verb=sr&csi=235865&sr=BYLINE(David)%2Bw%2F3%2BSelf)%2BAND%2BHLEAD(Dates+for+assembly)%2BAND%2BDATE%2BIS%2B2005-12-2}}{{dead link|date=January 2019}} It is generally seen as a religious holiday, much like Christmas in the Christian West, in which special meals are served, especially cookies shaped like hearts (referencing the heart-shaped leaves of the Bodhi) and kheer, the Buddha's first meal ending his six-year asceticism.{{cite book |last1=Prasoon |first1=Shrikant |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Us9wbjmvXfgC&pg=PT32 |title=Knowing Buddha: [life and teachings] |date=2007 |publisher=Hindoology Books |isbn=978-81-223-0963-8 |location=[Delhi]}}
Bodhi Tree and Bihar emblem
The Bodhi tree is the main part of the Bihar state emblem. During British rule, the State Reorganisation Act of 1935 adopted the Bodhi Tree as the state emblem, following a recommendation to that effect being forwarded to the Royal Society.{{Cite web |title=All the State Emblems and Their Meaning – NLC Bharat |url=https://www.nlcbharat.org/emblems/ |access-date=4 February 2024 |website=National Legislators Conference}}{{Cite web |date=22 March 2010 |title=Bihar digging into history to discover roots of its emblem |url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/patna/bihar-digging-into-history-to-discover-roots-of-its-emblem/story-6cjRG9Ba4pI9W79TlG5yII.html |access-date=4 February 2024 |website=Hindustan Times}}
''Bodhi puja''
{{Unreferenced section|date=January 2025}}
Bodhi puja, meaning "veneration of the Bodhi tree", is a ritual to worship the Bodhi Tree and the deity residing in it (Pali: rukkhadevata; Sanskrit: vrikshadevata).
Gallery
The Bodhi Tree.jpg|A Bodhi tree leaf with a raindrop
028 Bodhi Tree and Meditators (9222132890).jpg|Meditators at the Mahabodhi tree, Bodh Gaya
Maha Bodhi tree.jpg|Mahabodhi tree, Bodh Gaya
Sacred Tree of Bouddha - Jami al-Tawarikh - Folio 36 Verso.png|"The sacred tree of Buddha". A photo from the Jami' al-tawarikh by Rasheed al-Din Al-Hamazani, Folio 47 Recto. Collection of the Royal Asian Society in London. Rab-i-Rashidi 1314.
Stamp of India - 1997 - Colnect 163602 - Bodhi Tree.jpeg|Indian stamp, 1997 – Colnect 163602 – Bodhi Tree
A small temple beneath the Bodhi tree, Bodh Gaya, c. 1810.jpg|A small temple beneath the Bodhi Tree, Bodh Gaya, {{circa|1810}}
102 Bodhi Tree, 15c, Ayutthaya (35122816611).jpg|Bodhi tree photograph from the Bangkok National Museum, Thailand
Jaya Sri Maha Bodhi - Anuradhapura 2.jpg|Jaya Sri Maha Bodhi, Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka
See also
References
{{reflist}}
Further reading
{{commonscat}}
{{Buddhism topics}}
{{Gautama Buddha}}
{{Worship in Hinduism}}
{{Tourist sites in Bihar}}
{{Tourism in India}}
Category:Individual trees in India