BODHI TREE

The Bodhi tree above can be found at the foot of Gunung Layang-layang where the Jade Emperor Temple is.  I remember the tree was there when I first started going to the temple way back in the 1980s.  So it is quite a mature tree.  Some Hindu worshippers have even built a shrine at the base of the tree.  Besides the temple, there is also a Buddhist monastry nearby,

Now why is this tree so special.  

Read on ...

The Bodhi Tree, also known as Bo (from the [Tamil language|அரச மரம்]Sinhalese Bo) and 'peepal tree' in Nepal and Bhutan, was a large and very old Sacred Fig tree (Ficus religiosa) located in Bodh Gaya, India, under which Siddhartha Gautama, the spiritual teacher later known as Gautama Buddha, is said to have achieved enlightenment, or Bodhi. In religious iconography, the Bodhi tree is recognizable by its heart-shaped leaves, which are usually prominently displayed. Bodhi trees are planted in close proximity to every Buddhist monastery.

The term "Bodhi Tree" is also widely applied to currently existing trees, particularly the Sacred Fig growing at the Mahabodhi Temple in Bodh Gaya, which is a direct descendant planted in 288 BC from 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.

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