The Bodhi tree

The Bodhi tree is the tree under which Siddhartha Gautama sat when he realised awakening and became the Buddha. Bodhi means "awakening", in both Pali and Sanskrit. The tree stood at what is now Bodh Gaya, in the Indian state of Bihar, and it is the most honoured tree in Buddhism.

The kind of tree

The Bodhi tree is a sacred fig, known to botanists as Ficus religiosa. It has broad, heart-shaped leaves with a long, tapering tip. In India it is also called the pipal or peepal tree. Its leaves are a common motif in Buddhist art and are sometimes kept as reminders of the Buddha's awakening.

The night of awakening

According to tradition, after years of searching, Siddhartha sat beneath the tree and resolved not to rise until he had understood the end of suffering. Through the night, he passed through deepening stages of meditation and insight. By dawn he had awakened.

The early texts say that he remained near the tree for some time afterwards, reflecting on what he had realised, including the chain of dependent origination. Only then did he set out to teach.

The tree at Bodh Gaya today

The tree now growing at the Mahabodhi Temple in Bodh Gaya is understood to be a descendant of the original. The temple complex is a UNESCO World Heritage site and the most important place of pilgrimage for Buddhists from around the world.

The tree in Sri Lanka

Sri Lankan tradition holds that Saṅghamittā, a nun and the daughter of Emperor Ashoka, brought a cutting of the Bodhi tree to Sri Lanka in the third century BCE. It was planted at Anuradhapura, where the Jaya Sri Maha Bodhi still grows. It is often described as one of the oldest trees in the world planted by people with a known date. Many Bodhi trees elsewhere are grown from its cuttings.

Why Buddhists honour it

A Bodhi tree is not worshipped as a god. It is honoured as a reminder of the Buddha and of the possibility of awakening. Many temples grow one in their grounds. People walk around it, light lamps, pour water at its roots, and tie cloth or flags to its branches.

The Bodhi tree is also remembered at festivals. Vesak marks the Buddha's birth, awakening and death, and in some Mahayana traditions Bodhi Day marks the awakening in particular.