Bodhi tree

The Bodhi Tree ("tree of awakening" or "tree of enlightenment"), also called the Bo tree, was a large sacred fig tree (<a href="/facts/Ficus_religiosa/NHhb4l26">Ficus religiosa</a>) located in <a href="/facts/Bodh_Gaya/940DyT3t">Bodh Gaya</a>, Bihar, India. Siddhartha Gautama, the spiritual teacher who became known as <a href="/facts/The_Buddha/8UchTM1s">the Buddha</a>, is said to have attained enlightenment, or <a href="/facts/Buddhahood/QC2ErM2j">buddhahood</a>, circa 500 BCE, under that tree. In religious <a href="/facts/Iconography/YUcIQLN7">iconography</a>, the Bodhi tree is recognizable by its heart-shaped leaves, which are usually prominently displayed.

The original tree under which Siddhartha Gautama sat is no longer living, but the term "bodhi tree" is also applied to existing <a href="/facts/Ficus_religiosa/NHhb4l26">sacred fig trees</a>. The foremost example is the <a href="/facts/Mahabodhi_Temple/ApsGxxdE">Mahabodhi tree</a> growing at the <a href="/facts/Mahabodhi_Temple/ApsGxxdE">Mahabodhi Temple</a> in Bodh Gaya, which is often cited as a direct descendant of the original tree. This tree, planted around 250 BCE, is a frequent destination for <a href="/facts/Pilgrim/FaLWfgSc">pilgrims</a>, being the most important of the four main <a href="/facts/Buddhist_pilgrimage/9z1SFh8a">Buddhist pilgrimage</a> sites. The tree's leaves can be bought by pilgrims as mementos.
Other holy bodhi trees with great significance in the history of Buddhism are the <a href="/facts/Jetavana/o7BoECzU">Anandabodhi tree</a> at Jetavana near <a href="/facts/Sravasti/Q7U4dBsM">Sravasti</a>, Uttar Pradesh, in northern India, and the <a href="/facts/Jaya_Sri_Maha_Bodhi_tree/dIK685b3">Jaya Sri Maha Bodhi tree</a> in Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka.

Bodhi tree open-in-new

Bodhi tree