THE SACRED SYMBOLISM
OF TREES
IN BUDDHIST DHARMA
Ozmo Piedmont
The Buddha and his teachings have
always been closely associated to nature, with high spiritual significance
being particularly linked to trees. Tree
symbolism has effectively conveyed Buddhist Dharma throughout the years, and is
particularly relevant to our present time of ecological concern. The Buddha’s association with nature
reflects his rejection of the security, structure, and safety of the home life,
which was in turn a rejection of the society of his day plagued by urban
turmoil, wars, stress, economic growth accompanied by aggression and
competition. Portraying the Buddha
historically as being close to nature, it highlights his seeking of a deeper
Truth based on harmony, simplicity, beauty, compassion, and peace. At the same time, the symbolism of trees
throughout the life and story of Buddha has conveyed a sense of refuge,
protection, healing, beauty and peace, all qualities that convey the basic
teachings of Dharma toward the attainment of Nirvana. What more effective image than the Buddha
calmly seated in the cool shade of the a tree to illustrate the peace,
tranquility and cool repose of one free from desire and craving, when the fires
of passion have been extinguished, and one is in harmony with the world and
with oneself (Armstrong, 2001).
In
fact, every major event in the Buddha’s life was somehow associated with trees:
birth, enlightenment, first teachings, and death. In certain accounts, the Buddha’s mother gave
birth to him under the ashoka tree. The
word “ashoka” means the sorrowless, hence the sorrowless tree. Perhaps this conveys that though Buddha’s
mother died due to childbirth, it is sorrowless since she brought a spiritually
great being into the world that would heal sorrow and suffering (Trees and
Buddhism, 2012). The tree’s bright
orange-yellow flowers that turn red before wilting display the transformation
one goes through in spiritual practice as one evolves in their opening to their
true self and finally shining brightly before the body finally fades away, such
as when the Buddha attained Paranirvana at his body’s passing, where lights,
earthquakes and sal tree flowers opened out of season, and poured over him as
his body faded away (Armstrong, 2001).
The sal tree may
also have been what the Buddha was born under by other scriptural
accounts. Sal trees are a hardwood found
in northern India ,
and are used as an astringent and as incense.
Their oil is also used for fuel for lamps. This symbolism may relate to the fact that
the Buddha’s teaching was a healing for the world, a cleansing for the wounds
of suffering. Likewise, his teaching is
sweet and attractive, the promise of spiritual practice and the attainment of
Nirvana. Finally, as lamp oil, there is
the association that the Buddha is a light to world, a lamp guiding us to
Nirvana, liberation, and the cure to suffering (Trees and Buddhism, 2012).
As a young boy,
his first deep spiritual experience was under the shade of a rose apple
tree. Here the Buddha entered into
trance while watching the repetitive motions of a farmer plowing his
fields. Back and forth the plow went,
unearthing small ant colonies and uprooting weeds and plants. Spontaneously the boy felt compassion for
these creatures and plants as they were killed and upset in the normal activity
of life. At the same time, sitting in
the cool shade of the rose apple tree, the boy Shakyamuni, later to become
Buddha, felt a sense of joy and peace even in the face of these life events. This became a foundational experience that
was to bear fruit later in the Buddha’s life as he analyzed the causes and
conditions of suffering and sought a way to transcend them through spiritual
practice and meditative contemplation (Armstrong, 2001).
The
Buddha’s first sermons inaugurating his missionary career took place in a grove
of trees (Silva, 2005-2012).
Nevertheless, the most sacred of all trees in Buddhism is the Bodhi
Tree, under which the Buddha attained Enlightenment. The Bodhi Tree has deep spiritual
significance for Buddhist practitioners.
Being the place of his enlightenment, the Bodhi Tree has geographical
sacredness. It can be viewed as an
archetype of the world tree. Its roots
go deep into the waters of infinity. Its
branches and leaves blow in the winds of the void. It is lit by the clear light of wisdom. It is a refuge from the tigers and dragons of
desire. Its leaves are green with the
spring and its regenerative powers. Its
fruit represents the knowledge of Dharma and the wisdom it brings in
understanding past lives, unity, and immortality. This world tree unites all worlds. The Bodhi Tree is a symbolic representation
of our growth to liberation. It is one’s
journey to infinity, just like a tiny seed that opens itself to grow and free
the mind. The tree takes root in the
ground of matter and the material and ego self.
But the seed grows beyond these confines, freeing itself from the
ground, the physical body, and the ego.
Its limbs grow toward the Eternal and its roots stand firmly upon the
ground. (The Bodhi Tree Meditation, 2012)
The
leaf of the Bodhi Tree is also a deeply significant symbol of the Buddha’s
Enlightenment. Tree worship was common
in the time of the Buddha. Tree worship
is called “dendrology”. It has been a
strong belief in India
that spirits and gods inhabit particularly large and gnarled trees. Certain
trees are called wishing trees, “rucarukkha”,
since the gods that inhabit them can answer prayers (Dhammika, 2010, 2011). Trees provide shelter and protection, just as
the Dharma is our refuge. The young girl
Sujata gave the Buddha rice milk thinking he was a tree god inhabiting the
tree. Trees and all of nature can be thought of as one unified life force, as
we are all a part of the Dharmakaya, the most sacred Truth of Buddhism. Trees are so important to Buddhists, that
there are vinaya rules prohibiting monks from damaging any living
vegetation. Although the Buddha attained
enlightenment under the Bodhi Tree, and continued sitting there for seven days
thereafter, he then went to sit under the Ajapala banyan tree for another seven
days. Then he went to sit under the
Mucalina tree for an additional seven days.
Finally, he returned to the Bodhi Tree for a remaining seven days. This
momentous and transformative period of the Buddha’s life is marked continually
by the sacred image of trees. In fact, in the Kalingabodhi Jataka story, the
Buddha indicates that the Bodhi Tree could be utilized as an object of
veneration, homage, and respect for devotees in the Buddha’s absence. (Bodhi
Leaf, 2012)
Forests
composed of trees carry much symbolic significance in the life of the
Buddha. He stayed in many forests and
referred to the large and woody trees as vanaspati, meaning “forest lords” (Dhammika,
2010, 2011). The Buddha encouraged his
followers to seek lodgings at the foot of trees and in woodland groves. But at the same time, the Buddha related how
the forest could be a very frightening place, revealing that early on, he too
had been terrified by the sounds of animals creeping and twigs breaking in the
forest. In addition, the forest
contained many poisonous fruits and was difficult to walk through.
Yet, in spite of
these threats, the Buddha used tree symbolism constantly as a way to
demonstrate positive qualities in individuals, comparing the kindness of a
person to the cool and welcoming shade of a banyan tree, or encouraging a
disciple to be indiscriminate in his treatment of others, since trees give
shade to all, whether they be enemies, thieves, murderers or oneself. He warned that hurting a tree was like
hurting one’s best friend and that we must treat trees with respect and
gratitude if we want them to continue to bear fruit. As public service, he also encouraged the
planting of trees along hot roads to provide shade for travelers. (Dhammika,
2010, 2011)
Trees as part of
nature also revealed many profound teachings of the Buddhist Dharma. In this respect, Buddhism is understood to be
very ecologically motivated. It
encourages respect for all life. There
are monastic precepts prohibiting the disturbance of the earth. In Mahayana sutras, such as the
Tathagatagarbha Sutra and the Srimaladevisimhanada Sutra, Buddha Nature is
compared to a seed covered by a rough husk.
This seed awakens within each of us, in spite of the tough husk that
encases it. Buddhist scripture also
portrays nature as guarding, maintaining, or offering Dharma. Nature becomes personified as serpent kings,
princesses, and earth goddesses. One must go into the solitude of nature to
meditate and contemplate Truth and to sense the relatedness of all things. The chaos and flow of nature challenges the
rigidity and attachment of the ego.
Nature teaches us to go beyond the duality of clean and dirt, wet and
dry, convenient and inconvenient.
Through nature we learn the spiritual meaning of renunciation and the
abandonment of unnecessary possessions. (EcoDharma, 2012)
In the Pali
Canon, nature is seen as the world that has not been organized and constructed
by humans. The natural way is to see the
way things really are and to understand that all in nature flows and changes
and disintegrates, anicca. The Buddha
expressed kindness to all living things: e.g. prohibiting travel during rainy
season so as not to kill worms and insects; not drinking unstrained water so as
not to kill the creatures in it; not harming insects warning against burning
them by firing a clay hut; showing kindness to the taming of animals with kind
words; the Buddha taming an infuriated elephant through kind words; and the
throwing of dishwater into a pool so that the fish could feed, which in turn
would bring great merit to the doer. (Silva, 2005-2012)
Through all
this, the image of nature illustrates the values put forth by the Buddha’s
Dharma. Buddhism values simplicity,
moderation, frugality and contentment.
Through the symbolism of nature and trees, one is instructed to order
one’s life on the natural principles of self-control, discharge of duties, and
conduct informed by wisdom and self awareness.
The Buddha encouraged his followers to utilize nature as a bee would in
making honey. When collecting the pollen
from each flower, the bee neither pollutes its beauty, nor depletes its
fragrance. It then manufactures the
sweet honey out of pollen. Likewise, we
should work and find happiness in the world, without harming it. (Silva, 2005-2012)
In the last
years of the Buddha’s life, he shunned the cities and returned to nature (Armstrong,
2001). Here he found solace and harmony
for his ageing body. Although he
experienced the maladies of age, betrayal, abandonment, loss, and disease in
this last phase of his life, he maintained his peace of mind and inner
harmony. That which came from the
earth, returned to the earth. And that
which was eternal had been fully realized by way of nature. Nature was the return to wholeness, a natural
revelation of Truth and peace and harmony.
Trees provided support, refuge, protection, and comfort. All of life is sacred and our respect of all
life in nature reveals our own true Buddha Nature. And this Buddha Nature begins to reveal
itself like a seed within the darkness of our ignorance. Later, it grows and becomes strong and
secure, reaching for the limitless sky and supported by our roots of
Dharma. Nature becomes our ally in this
journey of Self discovery.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Armstrong, Karen. (2001). Buddha. Penguin LIVES Series.
A View on Buddhism.
General Buddhist Symbols.
Accessed May 25, 2012 .
http://viewonbuddhism.org/general_symbols_buddhism.html
“Bodhi Leaf”.
Art and Culture: Symbols.
Accessed May 25, 2012
Dhammika, Shravasti. (2010, 2011) “The Buddha and Trees I, II, and
III.”
Accessed May 25, 2012 .
EcoDharma. “Is
Buddhism Anti-Nature?” Written
for a seminar at Madhyamaloka on
the topic of Buddhism and
Nature.
Accessed May 25, 2012 .
Guide
to Buddhism A to Z. “Trees”.
Accessed May 25, 2012 .
http://buddhisma2z.com/content.php?id=425
Silva, Lily de. (2005-2012). “The Buddhist Attitude Toward
Nature.” Accessed
“The Bodhi Tree Meditation: A Buddhist Spiritual Practice
Based on the Buddha's Night
of Liberation”
Accessed May 25, 2012
http://www.wisdom-tree.com/index.html
Trees and Buddhism.
Accessed
May 25, 2012 .
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