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TheBodhi Tree (Sanskrit and Pāli:Bodhi meaning "awakening" or "enlightenment"[1]) is the specificBo tree (from theSinhalabo, derived frombodhi[1])—a sacred fig (Ficus religiosa)[1][2]—located within the BuddhistMahabodhi Temple, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, in Bodh Gaya, Bihar, India.[3] According to Buddhist tradition, it was under a Bo tree located at this site thatSiddhartha Gautama, the spiritual teacher who later became known asGautama Buddha, or simply the Buddha, attainedenlightenment, orBuddhahood, around the 5th century BCE.[4] In Buddhist art and iconography, the Bodhi Tree is commonly depicted with its characteristic heart-shaped leaves, a feature ofFicus religiosa that has come to symbolize wisdom and spiritual awakening.[1][2]
The original tree no longer survives, but its descendants have been venerated for more than two millennia. Over the centuries, the tree and its successors have undergone many episodes of destruction and renewal. Notable recorded incidents include its felling during the reign ofEmperor Aśoka (c. 268–232 BCE), its destruction by QueenTissarakkhā around 254 BCE, its damage or destruction during the persecution of Buddhism underKing Puṣyamitra Śuṅga in the 2nd century BCE, and its later cutting down byKing Śaśāṅka of Gauda around 600 CE. Yet each time, it was replanted from surviving saplings.[5][6][7][8][9]
Asapling from the original Bodhi Tree was sent to Sri Lanka by Emperor Aśoka, with his daughterSanghamittā Therī, in 288 BCE, and planted atAnuradhapura, where it survives today as theJaya Sri Maha Bodhi—regarded as the oldest living human-planted tree with a known date.[10][11][8] The current Bodhi Tree at Bodh Gaya, planted in 1881 by British archaeologistAlexander Cunningham from a cutting of the Sri Lankan tree, continues to be one of the most revered pilgrimage sites in Buddhism.[9]
The Bodhi Tree at theMahabodhi Temple—revered as theSri Maha Bodhi—marks the sacred site whereGautama Buddha is said to have attained enlightenment (bodhi) while meditating beneath its branches. According toBuddhist texts, around 528 BCE, Gautama seated himself beneath aFicus religiosa at Uruvela (present-dayBodh Gaya, India). Resolving not to rise until he had realized the ultimate truth, he entered a state of profound meditation. After that night, he attainedSambodhi (full enlightenment), thereby becoming the Buddha—the "Awakened One".[13]
The spot was used as a shrine even during the Buddha's lifetime. EmperorAshoka, a devoted patron of Buddhism, visited Bodh Gaya about two centuries later and built a stonebalustrade and temple complex around the sacred tree, establishing the Mahabodhi Temple that stands there today.[14] His queen,Tissarakkhā, was jealous of the tree, and three years after she became queen (in the nineteenth year of Ashoka's reign), she ordered it to be killed.[15] Every time the tree was destroyed, however, a new one was planted in the same place,[16] and a monastery was constructed at theEnlightenment Throne of the Buddha.[17] The monastery was calledBodhimanda Vihara (bodhimaṇḍa refers to a "seat of awakening", whilevihāra is a Buddhist temple).
In 1862, the British archaeologistAlexander Cunningham wrote of the site as the first entry in the first volume published by theArchaeological 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 presentPipal 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 byDr. Buchanan (Hamilton), who describes it as in all probability not exceeding 100 years of age.[18]
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.[19][20]
Since 2007, theForest Research Institute of India has assisted in the upkeep of the Mahabodhi tree.[21][22][23] Various measures have been taken to protect the health of the tree,[24][25][26] and cloning was considered in 2008.[27]
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It is said that in the ancient Buddhist texts,[29] 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 ofJetavana 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 byAnathapindika, with great pomp and ceremony. A sapling immediately sprouted forth, fiftycubits 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 ofAnanda, came to be known as the Ananda Bodhi.
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King Ashoka's daughterSanghamittā Theri brought a piece of the tree with her toCeylon, where it continues to grow in the island's ancient capital ofAnuradhapura.[19] It is namedJaya Sri Maha Bodhi.[30][31] According to theMahāvaṃsa, Jaya Sri Maha Bodhi was planted in 288 BCE, making it the oldest verified specimen of anyangiosperm. 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 ofDevanampiya Tissa. The Buddha, on his deathbed, had resolved five things, one being that the branch to be taken to Ceylon should detach itself.[14] From Bodh Gayā, the branch was taken toPātaliputta and thence toTāmalittī, where it was placed on a ship and taken across the sea. It finally arrived at Anuradhapura, staying on the way atTivakka.
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 inHonolulu, by the Nuʻuanu stream. On her death, she left her house and its grounds to the people of Honolulu, and it became theFoster Botanical Garden.[32]
In 1950,Jinarajadasa took three saplings of the Sri Maha Bodhi to plant two inChennai, India: one near the Buddhist temple at theTheosophical Society and the other at the riverside ofAdyar Creek. The third sapling was planted near a meditation center in Sri Lanka.[33][34]
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 ofTrấn Quốc Pagoda in Hanoi.[35]
In 2012, the Bangladeshi philanthropist Brahmanda Pratap Barua took a sapling of the Bodhi Tree from Bodh Gaya, toThousand 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.[36]
In 1989, the government of India presented the temple ofNihon-ji with a sapling from the Bodhi Tree as a gesture of world peace.[citation needed]
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A Bodhi tree was planted at theDeekshabhoomi 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 toNavayana Buddhism, as it is the place where the Indian political leaderB. R. Ambedkar converted to Buddhism, along with 600,000 followers, on 14 October 1956, during theDhammachakra Pravartan Din festival.
A sapling of the Bodhi Tree from Anuradhapura was planted on 15 May 2011 at Wisdom Park inNew Manila, Quezon City, Philippines, byD. M. Jayaratne, Prime Minister of Sri Lanka, and Mariano S. Yupitun, founder of Universal Wisdom Foundation Inc.[citation needed]
A sapling of the Jaya Sri Maha Bodhi tree was sent in 2022 to theGreat Stupa of Universal Compassion, the largest stupa in the Western world, nearBendigo in central Victoria, Australia.[37]
A sapling of the Bodhi tree from Anuradhapura was planted in April 2008 at Kurilpa Point, the site of theQueensland Art Gallery and Gallery of Modern Art, by the artistLee Mingwei, as the centerpiece to his "Bhodi Tree Project".[38]
There are two descendants of the Bodhi Tree in Brazil: one in the Busshinji temple, the head temple ofSōtō in Latin America, inSão Paulo, and another in the Sōtō temple Daissenji, inFlorianópolis.[39]
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.[40]
Following is a list of the various Mahabodhi trees under which all of the Buddhas known toTheravada Buddhism attainedbuddhahood:[41]
| Buddha (Pāli name) | Bodhirukka (tree of enlightenment; Pāli name) | binomial name |
|---|---|---|
| Taṇhaṅkara | rukkaththana | |
| Medhaṅkara | kaela | |
| Saraṇaṅkara | pulila | |
| Dīpaṃkara | pipphali | Ficus obtusifolia |
| Koṇḍañña | salakalyanīka | Oroxylum indicum |
| Maṅgala | nāga | Mesua ferrea |
| Sumana | nāga | Mesua ferrea |
| Revata | nāga | Mesua ferrea |
| Sobhita | nāga | Mesua ferrea |
| Anomadassi | ajjuna | Terminalia arjuna |
| Paduma | mahāsona | Oroxylum indicum |
| Nārada | mahāsona | Oroxylum indicum |
| Padumuttara | salala | Pinus roxburghii |
| Sumedha | mahanīpa | Neolamarckia cadamba |
| Sujāta | mahavelu | Bambusa bambos |
| Piyadassi | kakudha | Crateva religiosa |
| Atthadassi | campaka | Magnolia champaca |
| Dhammadassī | bimbijala | Pavetta indica |
| Siddhattha | kanikara | Pterospermum acerifolium |
| Tissa | asana | Terminalia elliptica |
| Phussa | amakala | Phyllanthus emblica |
| Vipassī | pāṭalī | Stereospermum chelonoides |
| Sikhī | puṇḍarīka | Mangifera indica |
| Vessabhū | sāla | Shorea robusta |
| Kakusandha | sirīsa | Albizia lebbeck |
| Koṇāgamana | uḍumbara | Ficus racemosa |
| Kassapa | nigrodha | Ficus benghalensis |
| Gautama Buddha (present Buddha) | assattha | Ficus religiosa |
| Metteyya (future Buddha)[42] | nāga | Mesua ferrea |
On 8 December,Bodhi Day celebrates Buddha's enlightenment underneath the Bodhi Tree. Those who follow theDharma greet each other by saying, "Budu saranai!", which translates to "may the peace of the Buddha be yours".[43] 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) andkheer, the Buddha's first meal ending his six-yearasceticism.[44]
The Bodhi tree is the main part of theBihar state emblem. DuringBritish rule, the State Reorganisation Act of 1935 adopted the Bodhi Tree as the state emblem, following a recommendation to that effect being forwarded to theRoyal Society.[45][46]
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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).
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