See pipal.
[Partial translation of Sinhalese bo-gaha, tree of wisdom (because it was the tree under which the Buddha was enlightened) : bo, wisdom (from Pali bodhi , from Sanskrit bodhiḥ, enlightenment) + gaha, tree.]
bo tree
Dictionary:
bo tree (bō)  |
n.
See pipal.
See pipal.
| Britannica Concise Encyclopedia: bodhi tree |
For more information on bodhi tree, visit Britannica.com.
| Buddhism Dictionary: Bodhi Tree |
Literally the ‘tree of awakening’, also known as the Bo Tree, it is the tree under which Siddhārtha Gautama is believed to have gained enlightenment (bodhi) after meditating under it for 49 days. In Pāli it is known as the bodhirukkha, in Sanskrit as the bodhivṛkṣa, and it is known to botanists as ficus religiosa. Given its close association with the occasion of his attaining Buddhahood, the tree has great symbolic significance and according to legend is the centre of the world and the spot at which all Buddhas past and future gain enlightenment. In the twelfth year of his reign, Aśoka's daughter Saṇghamittā took a branch of the Bodhi Tree to Sri Lanka. When the original Bodhi Tree was destroyed in the 7th century it was replaced with another one from the shoot exported to Sri Lanka by King Aśoka in the third century bce. This was planted in the Mahābodhi temple where it flourishes today. Each Buddha is associated with a particular Bodhi Tree, but since the earliest accounts of the Buddha's enlightenment fail to mention a tree, it is possible that the cult of the Bodhi Tree is a more recent addition. It has become customary to plant a Bodhi Tree, if possible a cutting, in every monastery (vihāra) to indicate the presence of the Dharma. In early Buddhist art the figure of the Buddha was not portrayed, and the image of the tree, along with other symbols, was used to represent him.
| Asian Mythology: Bodhi Tree |
The Bodhi or Bo Tree is the sacred tree, the tree of Wisdom or Enlightenment (bodhi) under which the Buddha sat to gain Enlightenment (see Gautama Buddha) in Bodhgaya, Bihar.
| Columbia Encyclopedia: bo tree |
bo tree or pipal (pē'pəl), fig tree (Ficus religiosa) of India held sacred by the Buddhists, who believe that Gautama received enlightenment under a bo tree at Bodh Gaya. A slip of this tree was planted at Anuradhapura to become one of the oldest known trees. The bo tree attains great size and age; the leaves, which hang from long, flexible petioles, rustle in the slightest breeze. Pipal is also spelled peepul or pipul. The bo tree is classified in the division Magnoliophyta, class Magnoliopsida, order Urticales, family Moraceae.
| Wikipedia: Bodhi Tree |
The Bodhi Tree, also known as Bo (from the Sinhalese Bo), was a large and very old Sacred Fig tree (Ficus religiosa) located in Bodh Gaya (about 100 km (62 mi) from Patna in the Indian state of Bihar), under which Siddhartha Gautama, the spiritual teacher and founder of Buddhism later known as Gautama Buddha, achieved enlightenment, or Bodhi. In religious iconography, the Bodhi tree is recognizable by its heart-shaped leaves, which are usually prominently displayed. It takes 100 - 3,000 years for a bodhi tree to fully grow.[citation needed]
The term "Bodhi tree" is also widely applied to currently existing trees, particularly the Sacred Fig growing at the Mahabodhi Temple, which is allegedly a direct descendant of the original specimen. This tree is a frequent destination for pilgrims, being the most important of the four main Buddhist pilgrimage sites. Other holy Bodhi trees which have a great significance in the history of Buddhism are the Anandabodhi tree in Sravasti and the Bodhi tree in Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka. Both are believed to have been propagated from the original Bodhi tree.
Contents |
In Buddhist chronology
The Bodhi tree at the Mahabodhi Temple is called the Sri Maha Bodhi. According to Buddhist texts the Buddha, after his Enlightenment, spent a whole week in front of the tree, standing with unblinking eyes, gazing at it with gratitude. A shrine was later erected on the spot where he stood, and was called the Animisalocana cetiya.[citation needed]
The spot was used as a shrine even in the lifetime of the Buddha. King Asoka was most diligent in paying homage to the Bodhi tree, and held a festival every year in its honour in the month of Kattika.[2] His queen, Tissarakkhā was jealous of the Tree, and three years after she became queen (i.e., in the nineteenth year of Asoka's reign), she caused the tree to be killed by means of mandu thorns.[3] The tree, however, grew again, and a great monastery was attached to the Bodhimanda called the Bodhimanda Vihara. Among those present at the foundation of the Mahā Thūpa are mentioned thirty thousand monks from the Bodhimanda Vihara, led by Cittagutta.[4]
To Jetavana, Sravasti
Buddhist tradition recounts that while the Buddha was yet alive, in order that people might make their offerings in the name of the Buddha when he was away on pilgrimage, he sanctioned the planting of a seed from the Bodhi tree in Bodhgaya 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, rapt in meditation. This tree, because it was planted under the direction of Ananda, came to be known as the Ananda Bodhi.[5]
To Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka
According to the Mahavamsa, the Sri Maha Bodhi in Sri Lanka was planted in 288 BC, making it the oldest verified specimen of any angiosperm. In this year (the twelfth year of King Asoka's reign) the right branch of the Bodhi tree was brought by Sanghamittā to Anurādhapura and placed by Devānāmpiyatissa in the Mahāmeghavana. The Buddha, on his death bed, had resolved five things, one being that the branch which should be taken to Ceylon should detach itself.[6] From Gayā, the branch was taken to Pātaliputta, thence to Tāmalittī, where it was placed in a ship and taken to Jambukola, across the sea; finally it arrived at Anuradhapura, staying on the way at Tivakka. Those who assisted the king at the ceremony of the planting of the Tree were the nobles of Kājaragāma and of Candanagāma and of Tivakka.
The trees of Previous Buddhas
According to the Mahavamsa,[7] branches from the Bodhi trees of all the Buddhas born during this kalpa were planted in Ceylon on the spot where the sacred Bodhi tree stands today in Anurādhapura. The branch of Kakusandha's tree was brought by a nun called Rucānandā, Konagamana's by Kantakānandā (or Kanakadattā), and Kassapa's by Sudhammā.
See also
External links
 |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Ficus religiosa |
- The Bodhi Tree Network - Listing of branches/saplings of the Bodhi Tree around the world, cultivation tips of Bo tree, and how to share Bodhi trees.
- The Bodhi-Tree Meditation - a Buddhist practice based on the Buddha's night of liberation
References
- ^ Bodhi Tree British Library.
- ^ Mahavamsa, chap. 17, 17. http://lakdiva.org/mahavamsa/chap017.html
- ^ Mahavamsa, chap. 20, 4f. http://lakdiva.org/mahavamsa/chap020.html
- ^ Mahavamsa, chap. 29, 41. http://lakdiva.org/mahavamsa/chap029.html
- ^ J.iv.228ff
- ^ Mahavamsa. chap. 17, 46f. http://lakdiva.org/mahavamsa/chap017.html
- ^ For example, chap 15. http://lakdiva.org/mahavamsa/chap015.html
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 | Dictionary. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. Read more |
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| Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. © 2006 Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. All rights reserved. Read more |
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| Buddhism Dictionary. A Dictionary of Buddhism. Copyright © 2003, 2004 by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. Read more |
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| Asian Mythology. A Dictionary of Asian Mythology. Copyright © 2001, 2002 by David Leeming. All rights reserved. Read more |
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