LAHORE  –  A Bodhi tree, sacred to Buddhism, planted by the Punjab Horticulture Authority (PHA) at National Bank Park of Lahore has reached full foliage, Director General Ahmad Usman Javaid said Sunday.  Buddhists regard the tree, known locally as the “Buddha tree”, as sacred. According to tradition, Siddhartha Gautama meditated beneath it for seven weeks without food or water before becoming the Buddha, the “Awakened One”. Mauryan Emperor Ashoka, a patron of Buddhism, is also believed to have meditated there. The original tree in Bodh Gaya, in India’s eastern state of Bihar, no longer exists. The tree standing in its place at the Mahabodhi Temple, the world’s most sacred Buddhist pilgrimage site, is believed to be its direct descendant. According to Buddhist sources, a branch of the Mahabodhi tree was taken to Sri Lanka in 236 BC by Ashoka’s children. Its descendant, the Jaya Sri Maha Bodhi, still stands there. A scion of the tree was presented to President Ayub Khan during his visit to Sri Lanka in Dec. 1963. Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, the then foreign minister, planted the sapling at Taxila Museum in Jan. 1964. It is considered the closest authentic link to the living Buddha. Buddhists revere all religious relics, including the Buddha’s bodily remains, and extend the same veneration to the Bodhi tree. Javaid observed that as a living plant, the tree is seen as a living link to the Buddha and his enlightenment. “Buddhists treat the tree as an individual in its own right and approach it with piety,” he said. PHA looks after Bodhi trees in three parks in Lahore: Lawrence Garden, National Bank Park, and Racecourse Park.

The species typically blooms in late summer and autumn, from September to November in Pakistan, after shedding part of its canopy. It thrives in full, direct sun. “The Buddha tree is more than an ornamental plant. It carries history, and we wanted Lahore’s green spaces to carry it too,” Mr Javaid said. He added that Pakistan’s rich Buddhist heritage, from Taxila to Gandhara, belongs to everyone. He said PHA would continue to care for the trees and hoped families and students would visit to learn more. In a related development, the Bahawalpur horticulture agency marked Pilkan Day by planting saplings of the indigenous tree.  Known locally as Pilu or Paki, Pilkan is traditionally associated with the Rohi, or Cholistan, region. The tree and the desert landscape form part of the cultural and natural heritage associated with renowned Sufi poet Khwaja Ghulam Farid, whose poetry drew extensively on the landscape, flora and culture of the Rohi region. Bahawalpur Horticulture Agency Managing Director Nayyar Mustafa, along with members of the local peace committee, planted Pilkan saplings to mark the occasion.