Stories of Vietnam's special Bodhi trees

(VNF) – Marking yet another milestone in Sri Lanka - Viet Nam relations, a sapling of the Sacred Jaya Sri Maha Bodhi Tree of Anuradhapura was brought to Viet Nam on July 22. Do you know about the story behind this special gift?

The Vietnam Buddhist Sangha on July 22 held a ceremony at Tam Chuc Pagoda in Kim Bang district, Ha Nam to plant a sapling of Sri Lanka’s 2,250 year-old Jaya Sri Maha Bodhi. (hanam.tintuc.vn)

History of the sacred Bodhi tree

"In Sri Lanka, there grows to this day, a tree, the oldest historical tree in the world which we know certainly to have been planted as a cutting from the Bodhi tree in the year 245 B.C." said Herbert George Wells, the British famous novelist.

The aforementioned quote reflects the history of the Sacred Jaya Siri Maha Bodhi. Planted in Anuradhapura, the bodhi is reckoned as the oldest surviving historical tree in the world, and is said to be the southern branch of the Jaya Siri Maha Bodhi at Buddha Gaya in India under which Lord Buddha attained bodhi or 'Enlightment'.

It was brought to Sri Lanka by the Theri Sangamitta, daughter of Emperor Asoka and was planted in the Mahameghavana Park in Anuradhapura in 249 BC by King Devanampiyatissa.

The Buddhists believe that the bodhi tree is endowed with many magical powers which no other tree in the world possesses. It derives its magic from its associations with the life of the Buddha. In contagious magic, an object that has any physical link with a being is as powerful as the being himself.

The Sacred Jaya Siri Maha Bodhi in Anuradhapura (Sri Lanka) (source: Mother Nature Network)

The physical link that gives the bodhi tree its power is two-fold: firstly, the fact that the Buddha sat under this tree at the moment of his Enlightenment, and secondly the fact that he spent a whole week, the second week after his Enlightenment, gazing at this tree with motionless eyes.

In 2016, the sacred tree was listed among 13 must-see trees around the world by Mother Nature Network (the world's most visited online network for news related to the environment), together with Rainbow Eucalyptus (Hawaii), Tule Tree (Mexico), Fortingall Yew (Scotland).

Every year, Buddhists and tourists from all around the world flocked to Sri Lanka to pay hommage to the tree.

Famous Bodhi trees in Vietnam

In 1959, during his visit to Vietnam, Indian Prime Minister Razendia Prasat offered President Ho Chi Minh a bodhi tree, grafted from the holy Bodhi tree, where the Lord Buddha was said to have sat under in order to reach enlightenment. After nearly 60 year, the tree, considered a gift from India to Vietnam, is still alive and green.

Nowadays, you can comtemplate its heart-shaped leaves shadow the yard of Tran Quoc Pagoda, one of oldest pagodas in Hanoi.

The leaves of bodhi tree is considered a symbol of enlightment for Buddhists.

On the 100th day after the death of Kim Cuong Tu, one of the most respectable monks in Vietnam, Superior Buddhist Monk of Tran Quoc Pagoda Thich Thanh Nha decided to dry 100 leaves from the Bodhi tree to give away to pilgrims.

Many Indian leaders, such as the former President Pratibha Patil and Vice President Mohammad Hamid Ansari have visited the pagoda and taken pictures next to the tree.

The Bodhi tree in Tran Quoc Pagoda (source: VNE)

Recently, during the Vietnam-India People’s Friendship Festival in 2017, the Indian delegation, led by Devi Prasad Tripathi, General Secretary of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and Deputy President of the All-India Peace and Solidarity Organisation (AIPSO), paid a visit to Tran Quoc Pagoda and visited the bodhi tree.

Besides Hanoi, Bodhi trees are found in many parts of Vietnam, and some of them have been recognized as 'heritage trees'.

In Yang Lanh village, Krong Na commune, Buon Don district, in Dak Lak province (Central Highland), there is a nine-trunk bodhi tree belongs to the Moraceae, the mulberry family. It is 29 metres in height and 2.7 metres in diameter while its canopy covers nearly 30 square metres.

According to many village patriarchs, the tree was brought to the locality from Pakse capital city of Champasak province in southern Laos.

In 2014, the tree was honoured as the oldest tree in the Central Highlands by the Asian Record Organisation (ARO) and Viet Nam Book of Records (Vietking). In 2015, the tree was recognized as one of the heritage trees of Vietnam.

In the same year, a Bodhi tree in Dot Son Pagoda in Quan Bo village, Cap Tien commune, Tien Lang district, Hai Phong, was recognized as a heritage tree of Vietnam. The tree was brought to Vietnam by Indian monks during the Ly Dynasty, over 1,500 years ago.

The Bodhi tree in Dot Son Pagoda, Tien Lang, Hai Phong (source: VOV)

The Bodhi tree trunk diameter is 1.6 m. The tree has seven branches, with the average circumference of 2.2 m/branch. The tree canopy covers 280m2.

The Bodhi tree in Dot Son pagoda is considered the most sacred one in the region. It is visited by pilgrims and tourists every day. Indian monks and staff of the Embassy of India in Vietnam often visit the tree./.

( P.Y )