Thousands of Buddhist pilgrims gather daily in front of the Bodhi Tree in Bodh Gaya, Bihar, India Beneath the tree, or rather more precisely a sapling of a sapling of the tree, pilgrims gather to meditate, to chant, to prostrate and to witness. For many sincere Buddhists from the sub-continent of India, to Buddhist countries in the Far East and the rest of the world, the sight of The Tree touches a deep place of reverence and gratitude for the full awakening of the Buddha.
The Tree, a pipil tree, represents a symbolic reminder of the fulfilment of all human aspiration. Millions of Buddhists regard the events of 2600 years as the supreme achievement of a human being in the entire history of humanity. The 10,000 discourses (suttas) of the Buddha certainly confirm a remarkable awakening that inspired a long tradition of meditation, inquiry and a liberated way of life.
All is not well with The Tree, itself. The Bodh Gaya Temple Management Committee invited the Forest Research Institute in Dehradun, north India to inspect The Tree. Tree scientists from FRI reported the reasons for the poor condition of The Tree. Reasons include:
- ageing of the tree
- copper toxity due to repeated use of bordeaux paste to control disease
- hardening of soil from pilgrims feet
- heat due to heat striking the tree from the temple structure immediately behind the tree
- high intensity electric lights hinder the respiration process in the night
- lamps and candles
- leaves are scant and a very light green
- metallic props used for low branches injure bark and tissues
- stress
- temple structure prevents tree from growing into its fullness on that side.
- the bark is damaged as well as the roots.
- too much moisture in the soil causing suffocation of the roots due to destruction of irrigation in village.
- wrapping of trunk with cloth by pilgrims
FRI were invited to evaluate every six months the health of The Tree and provide technical advice to the Temple Management Committee. The condition of The Tree continues to be of real concern due to condition of the four major elements. Air pollution, water pollution, saturation and pressure on land and summer heat on the Maha Bodhi stupa. All four elements affect the health and vitality of The Tree. It will take a major clean up of Bodh Gaya –land, water and air – for The Tree to breathe properly again and return to its once majestic position.
In the meantime, The Tree needs further pruning, numbers of pilgrims into the grounds need to be regulated and to change the structure in front of the tree to provide soil and plants around the tree.
We are left wondering if unhealthy and stressed Tree now represents the gradual decline of Buddhism. The religion itself appears to slide more and more into archaic rituals, such as lengthy daily chanting, belief in sacred objects, such as amulets, and making merit for a future rebirth. It seems all far removed from the Buddha-Dharma. Thousands of monks chanting much of the day in front of The Tree take away the opportunity for the area to be a zone of peace.
More and more serious lovers of the Buddha’s teachings prefer elsewhere for practise.