BODHI FIG / PIPAL (Ficus Religiosa)
Buddhist believe that 2500 years ago, Siddhartha Gautama Buddha, entered the state of nirvana ‘ bodhi’ in the shade of a fig tree in Maghada. This species of fig, the pipal, is known as the bodhi tree or tree of enlightenment; in Latin, Ficus Religiosa. Hindus believe that the Pipal tree is the abode of Gods. Planted wherever there are temples or wayside resting places, it is easy to recognize because of its heart shaped leaves with their distinctively elongated drip tip. It is a tree native to central and eastern India, but since it has the ability to grow either on its own trunk or as a strangling fig, it has spread widely throughout South East Asia. It is also commonly found even on the cornices and drains of city buildings. When grown as a planted tree, the trunk is about 4 to 6 meter high, breaking up into a many branched and rather untidy crown. There is a Bodhi Fig which had been designated as a Singapore Heritage Tree at the PINNACLES HDB Flat at Tanjong Pagar.
Do you know ... on Pulau Ubin, a Bodhi Fig tree stands besides an abandoned Buddhist retreat center, awaiting plans for its transplantation to a temple in Geylang. It was planted by devotees, who about 30 years ago, on a pilgrimage to Anuradhapura in Sri Lanka, brought back a cutting of a Bodhi tree reputed to have grown from branch of the tree in Gaya, India, under which Buddha was believed to have contemplated.
Do you know ... on Pulau Ubin, a Bodhi Fig tree stands besides an abandoned Buddhist retreat center, awaiting plans for its transplantation to a temple in Geylang. It was planted by devotees, who about 30 years ago, on a pilgrimage to Anuradhapura in Sri Lanka, brought back a cutting of a Bodhi tree reputed to have grown from branch of the tree in Gaya, India, under which Buddha was believed to have contemplated.