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Tree Spirits Investigation II - Secret
Shrines
(Part 9 of 12) |
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Tree Worship from Buddhism view
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Bodhi Leaf
Bodhi trees, and single Bodhi leaves, are a symbol, reminding
us of the Buddha's enlightenment.
Trees are a common symbol for nature and for centuries they have
provided shelter for man and animal alike. Tree worship was
a common practice in India at the time of the Buddha. This
can be seen in the story of Sujata - offering milk-rice to the
Bodhisatta seated under a banyan tree on the eve of his
enlightenment in the belief that he was the deity living in that
tree. Trees, in fact all vegetation, are respected as 'one-facultied
life' and there is a vinaya rule giving them protection. The
story is of a monk who was cutting down a tree and damaged the arm
of the tree spirit's child. She asked the monk not to
destroy her home - to no avail. The spirit complained to the
Buddha and as lay people heard the story they too 'were offended
and annoyed' so the rule was created for monks forbidding 'the
damaging of any living vegetation.'
That the Buddha was sitting under a tree at the time of his
enlightenment has come to give trees even more significance and
most specifically the Asiatic fig, now known to Buddhists as the
Bodhi Tree [bodhi = being awake, enlightened, supreme knowledge]
and universally, botanically known as ficus religiosa (Latin).
Bodhi trees are commonly found growing in Buddhist centres all
over the world.
The scriptural account of the Buddha's enlightenment gives further
significance to trees. We read that after enlightenment the
Buddha sat cross-legged for seven days at the foot of the Bo-tree
experiencing the bliss of emancipation and radiating gratitude to
the tree. At the end of seven days he left the the Bo-tree
and drew near to the Ajapala (the Goat-herd's) banyan-tree and
likewise sat cross-legged for seven days. On leaving the
foot of the Ajapala banyan-tree he drew near to where the
Mucalinda tree was and, having drawn near, he again sat
cross-legged for seven days. [this is the prelude to the story of
Mucalinda, the seven headed naga (serpent-king)]. (various
renditions of the Buddha's life story can be found)
The first scriptural reference to the Bodhi tree being established
as an object of Buddhist worship is in the Kalingabodhi Jataka.
The layman Anathapindika (donor of the Jetavana monastery where
the Buddha was living at the time) asked if there was a place or
object of reverence where devotees could pay their respects and
offer homage when the Buddha was away. The Buddha said that
the Bodhi tree was such a thing and a seed of the original tree
was brought. A bodhi tree (the original?) can still be seen
on the site of the old monastery at modern Sahet Hahet (Savatthi)
in India.
BODH GAYA
The earliest records on the tree at Bodh Gaya are in the 'Kalingabodhi
Jataka', which gives a vivid description of the tree and the
surrounding area prior to the enlightenment, and the 'Asokavadana',
which relates the story of King Asoka's (3rd century B.C)
conversion to Buddhism. His subsequent worship under the
sacred tree apparently angered his queen to the point where she
ordered the tree to be felled. Ashoka then piled up earth around
the stump and poured milk on its roots. The tree
miraculously revived and grew to a height of 37 metres. He then
surrounded the tree with a stone wall some three meters high for
its protection. Ashoka's daughter Sangamitta, a Buddhist
nun, took a shoot of the tree to Sri Lanka where King
Devanampiyatissa planted it at the Mahavihara monastery in
Anuradhapura about 245 BC. It still flourishes today and is
the oldest continually documented tree in the world.
In 600AD, King Sesanka, a zealous Shivaite, again destroyed the
tree at Bodh Gaya. The event was recorded by Hiuen T'sang,
along with the planting of a new Bodhi tree sapling by King
Purnavarma in 620AD. At this time, during the annual
celebration of Vesak, thousands of people from all over India
would gather to anoint the roots of the holy tree with perfumed
water and scented milk, and to offer flowers and music.
Hiuen T'sang wrote "The tree stands inside a fort like structure
surrounded on the south, west and north by a brick wall. It
has pointed leaves of a bright green colour. Having opened a
door, one could see a large trench in the shape of a basin.
Devotees worship with curd, milk and perfumes such as sandalwood,
camphor and so on."
Much later the English archeologist Cunningham records, "In 1862 I
found this tree very much decayed; one large stem to the westward
with three branches was still green, but the other branches were
barkless and rotten. 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 the young
scion of the parent tree were already in existence to take its
place." The present Bodhi tree is most probably the fourth
descendant of that original tree to be planted at this site.
The bodhi tree plays a very important role for Buddhists of all
traditions, being a reminder and an inspiration, a symbol of
peace, of Buddhas' enlightenment and of the ultimate potential
that lies within us all.
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