So what kind of tree is a Bodhi?

Author: * Ningyo Minamoto - 6 Posts on this thread out of 640 Posts sitewide.
Date: Apr 19, 2004 - 07:54

The Bodhi or Bo or Peepul tree (Ficus religiosa), is a type of fig species (Family Moraceae). The most famous Bodhi tree for Buddhists is the one under which Gautama Buddha attained enlightenment and is located about 60 miles from Patna in the Indian state of Bihar.
Together with the Mahabodhi Temple at Bodh Gaya this tree is a frequent destination for pilgrims. According to the site BuddhaNet, King Asoka's daughter, the nun Sanghamitta, took a cutting of the tree to Sri Lanka where it still grows in the island's ancient capital of Anaradapura. The original at Bodh Gaya was destroyed by King Puspyamitra during his persecution of Buddhism in the 2nd century BC and the tree planted to replace it, probably an offspring, was destroyed by King Sassanka at the beginning of the 7th century AD. The tree that grows at Bodh Gaya today was planted in 1881 by a British archaeologist after the previous one had died of old age a few years before. Many temples throughout the Buddhist world have Bodhi trees growing in them which are or are believed to be offspring of the one from Anaradapura and their worship forms an important part of popular Buddhist piety.