Our Bodhi Tree (Ficus religiosa) or Bodhigara is growing in a different direction or I should say directions. Monday morning a local arborist and bonsai expert pruned, staked, and carefully wired our Sri Lankan ficus into what will hopefully become a more proper representative of its origins—the great Jaya Sri Maha Bodhi Tree in Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka. This was the second year that the tree survived a warmer winter, but it had become quite wild and unruly. Steve Lee, a rinpoche from our sister temple in Clovis, the Hua Zang Si Mission, told me that this specie grew like a weed in his native Cambodia and ours was living up to that sort of reputation. There were many sprouts and suckers growing in different directions and the stakes we had added for support were doing little to help.
The arborist had never worked with this type of tree before, but he did his research and found we were at the perfect time for pruning. It was just starting to put forth its new leaves and was ready to be reshaped. The leaves shown in the above photo are left over from last year, but if you look closely you can see new leaves emerging. I saved all the clippings from the pruning and will hopefully be able to have some more starts of this holy tree to share. We may still need to do more staking, but this is a most auspicious start. The over 2,300 year old gigantic mother tree in Asia is staked and supported as well. I think the tree will be ready for the pilgrims coming to visit this year.
CLICK for article and 2024 photo of our Bodhi Tree.
CLICK for May 11, 2014 article on Bodhi Tree Ceremony (Bodhigara) at the Holy Vajrasana Temple, Sanger, California.
CLICK for speech given by Gesang Suolang Rinpoche at the Bodhigara Dedication Ceremony held at the Holy Vajrasana Temple on May 11, 2014.
CLICK for Wikipedia article on original Bodi Tree in Bodh Gaya, India and other famous Bodhi Trees.
CLICK for Wikipedia article on Jaya Sri Maha Bodhi Tree in Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka with many photos.
Add comment