Sri Maha Bodhi

It was under the Bodhi Tree at Bodh-Gaya in 528 B.C. that the Lord Buddha attained
enlightenment. The Bodhi tree at Anuradhapura was grown from a cutting of the original tree
and it is the oldest historical tree in the world. The Bodhi Tree Garden is the moist scared place
in Sri Lanka.

Mahinda asked his sister Sanghamitta to bring a branch of the Bodhi Tree at Bodh-Gaya to Sri
Lanka. It is forbidden for a Buddhist to cut or harm any part of the Bodhi Tree. Sanghamitta and
eleven nuns (who were to start the Female order) brought the branch to Sri Lanka, accompanied
by guardians appointed by King Tissa who watered the tree daily from gold and silver vessels.
The Tree itself is protected by golden railings and is surrounded by other Bodhi Trees which
must have grown from its roots. Most of the Bodhi Trees in Sri Lanka and some in Burma and
Thailand have been grown from its seeds. The survival of the original Bodhi-Tree at Anuradhapura
symbolises the way that the teachings and faith of the Buddha have survived through the ages
in Sri Lanka. Today at the full moon of Poson (May-June) a million worshippers come to
celebrate at the Tree in commemoration of the Enlightenment. It was under the Bodhi Tree at Bodh-Gaya in 528 B.C. that the Lord Buddha attained

enlightenment. The Bodhi tree at Anuradhapura was grown from a cutting of the original tree
and it is the oldest historical tree in the world. The Bodhi Tree Garden is the moist scared place
in Sri Lanka.

Mahinda asked his sister Sanghamitta to bring a branch of the Bodhi Tree at Bodh-Gaya to Sri
Lanka. It is forbidden for a Buddhist to cut or harm any part of the Bodhi Tree. Sanghamitta and
eleven nuns (who were to start the Female order) brought the branch to Sri Lanka, accompanied
by guardians appointed by King Tissa who watered the tree daily from gold and silver vessels.
The Tree itself is protected by golden railings and is surrounded by other Bodhi Trees which
must have grown from its roots. Most of the Bodhi Trees in Sri Lanka and some in Burma and
Thailand have been grown from its seeds. The survival of the original Bodhi-Tree at Anuradhapura
symbolises the way that the teachings and faith of the Buddha have survived through the ages
in Sri Lanka. Today at the full moon of Poson (May-June) a million worshippers come to
celebrate at the Tree in commemoration of the Enlightenment.