Cosmic Tree

The tree has always been associated with wisdom and immortality.  Hindu scripture describes a celestial tree having its roots in heaven and its branches in the underworld that unites and connects beings of all kinds.   This is a reversal of our usual experience of trees.   However, consider the teaching of the Jewish mystical tradition, Kabbalah.  Master Mosheh KHayyim Luzzatto, in the 18th-century classic The Way of God, explains that the higher realms are actually roots that manifest spiritual influence through branches and leaves that permeate the lower realms. 

The Norse thought of the three worlds of existence as levels of a great ash tree, Yggdrasil. The figures of their writing system, the runes which Odin retrieved from the underworld, are each named for a kind of tree.  

Variety

Most readers know that the Enlightenment of the Buddha occurred under a tree.  In fact one tradition holds that it was the tree itself that inspired him to spread the dharma instead of remaining as a pratyeka buddha, eternally resting in meditative absorption.   In fact, when we read Ashvaghosha's account closely, we find that several kinds of tree are associated with Buddha's attainment.  

The tree is one of the most potent of symbols, as we also know from Genesis' Tree of Life in the Garden of Eden.  And if you read Judeo-Christian scripture closely, you will find more than one kind of tree there too, for it is the prohibited Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil that harbors the snake, and it is distinct from the Tree of Life.  

Grove

The Sanskrit word chaitya, which many take to be a synonym for stupa, actually means sacred grove.  For example, at Dharmapuri in Tamil Nadu, India, is a grove sacred to Hanuman, the monkey god.

Green Tara, the Buddhist protector, appears in association with an acacia grove.  A Buddhist goddess of the grove near Lumbini appears at least as early as the first century. She is mentioned in part 17 of Ashvaghosha's Acts of the Buddha.

A renowned 12-volume work on mythology, religion and magic, the ultimate tree book, Sir James Frazer's The Golden Bough (1922), was initiated by his interest in the glade [a space in a grove of trees] of Nemi that was a sanctuary sacred to Diana.  There no fugitive could be hunted down, nor any animal killed.  

In the Nemean grove, Opheltes, a sacred child was commemorated whose characteristic pointing gesture is evocative of that of the infant Buddha.  When the child was irresponsibly but perhaps un-avoidedly laid to rest on a bed of wild celery, he was killed by a serpent.

In the Roman Forum, " . . . the sacred fig-tree of Romulus was worshipped down to the days of the empire, and the withering of its trunk was enough to spread consternation through the city."

The Banyan and the Pipul associated with the life of the Buddha are actually types of fig tree. And didn't Adam and Eve sew their aprons from fig leaves?

Pole

About 3 thousand years ago, the Canaanites worshipped their deity in the form of a sacred pole or ashera, named for the goddess Ashera, who was a naga or serpent. 

Sacred trees and also poles, the essence of a tree, are thought of as axles about which the sacred universe revolves.  The beribboned May pole of Britain is the focus of vestiges of that belief, as is the Buddha's place of enlightenment.  

A Buddhist stupa or chorten has a sacred pole at its core.  See the sokshing or life-force pole at the centre of the Great Stupa that was dedicated Aug. 2001 in Colorado.  You may be able to read the inscriptions [see image of red tablet].

"The 25-foot tree rests on a mandala in the stupa.  Cut from straight cedar six years earlier, the tree was carved in the shape of an obelisk, a half-dorje carved at the bottom, and a stupa carved at the top. Many relics were embedded into the tree."

Tree Worship

The worship of, or at least the veneration of, the tree is a custom found all over the world.  Sometimes, it is an offshoot of respect for life and the fertility of the earth. Sometimes it is related to the view that a special tree marks a sacred centre.  

In environments where there are few trees, the individual tree is viewed as a kind of ladder that links the realms of heaven, earth and also, in many cultures, a mysterious underworld.  Often, the tree is thought to be the abode of a deity.  In India, this type of  spirit is known as a yaksha or yakshasi.   In Ashvaghosha's account of the events in the life of the Buddha, he mentions that a female deity in the woods supported the Buddha's determination in his quest for Awakening.

There is good evidence to suggest that before the custom originated of building temples, sacred groves fulfilled this function.  Eventually, the special area was enclosed by a fence of wood and then later, stone.  

In Sanskrit, the word for tree is vriksha.  Indian scripture mentions specific ones, such as the Kalpa vriksha and the Chaitya vriksha.  In some of these cases, it may be that a tree was planted as a marker or we might say, as a memorial, to a special individual or to a momentous event.  Even when the reason for the planting of such a tree is lost to local memory, tree worship can continue as an element of village or neighbourhood life. Sthalavriksha is the term for sacred tree. 

Scriptures such as puranas that are legendary accounts, are not necessarily very old -- a number of them date from the 18th through 19th centuries. (Although  an account may be ancient before it is actually written down.)  In any event, it is known that there was a sthala purana (tree lore) movement about two hundred years ago that sought to record the mythology of India's sacred trees and to relate the characteristics of a particular tree to the river, spring or other energy source (teertha) of its sacred place. 

In South India, there are a number of tree shrines.  Notable ones include the mango (ekamra) tree at Kanchi, a black plum (jambu) at Jumbukeswaram near Tiruchirappalli, the Indian plum (panai) at Tirupanaiyur and the "blinding' tree (tillai) at Chidambaram.  Shrubs, too, can be considered sacred: the jasmine (mullai) at Tirumullaivayil and a gooseberry (nelli) at Tirunellikka. 

Besides gods who are widely-revered, such as Shakti, Shiva, Murugan and Vishnu, Indian sacred trees are often associated with local deities or village guardians.  One of these is Arkamma, named after the erukku plant, and Panaiveriyamman who is the goddess named for the Palmyra palm or panai, but who is also called Taalavaasini, a name that extends the association to all palms.  

The presence of a particularly bountiful tree may have given rise to the idea that a deity is present who offers her blessings in the form of the fruit, as in the case of the tamarind tree where Puliyidaivalaiyamman is worshipped, or the kadamba tree that is associated with a deity called Kadambariyamman.

According to C. P. R. Environmental Education Centre, the sacred trees or sthalavrikshas of Tamilnadu often constitute a single genetic resource for the conservation of a species.  As a consequence, in July 1993, the Government of India's Ministry of Environment and Forests decided to help fund a research project on these sthalavrikshas.  About 300 temples and trees were studied and photographed.  The findings are to appear in a publication entitled Sacred Trees of Tamilnadu, which will give details concerning the sixty different species or varieties of tree in the precincts of South Indian temples.  To be included are facts of botanical, pharmacological, environmental, and religious or mythical importance. 

It is not clear whether solitary trees such as those that serve as village shrines are included in this study.

~ From cpreec.org/sactree.htm which is no longer available on line.

Nyagrodha or Banyan

The tree under which the Buddha sought Enlightenment is classified as Ficus religiosa or sacred fig-tree.  The heart-shaped leaf is revered and used as a charm.  Research has demonstrated that the fruit contain serotonin, so it may have once been used as an entheogen [a neologism coined in 1979<god-within].

One of Shakyamuni Buddha's former lives was as a bird and in the Jataka of The Four Friends, the bird says: "I must be older than any of you. When I was born I ate the fruit of a tree south of this spring.  The seed of the nyagrodha passed through my body as waste, so I planted it." 

The nyagrodha (Ficus bengalensis) a.k.a. banyan is one of the truly massive trees of north India.  When mature, its branches  are so stout that the largest birds can perch on them without their breaking yet they are believed to be vulnerable to the tiny tailorbird who can peck its life away.  Its bark is the colour and texture of an elephant's hide, and its base forms caves and channels where it is possible to take shelter from the rain.  It is a tree that grows up like most others of its kind, but also down as aerial roots which emerge from the branches descend to implant themselves in the soil.  Therefore one tree can form a grove all by itself.

Ayurvedic medicine recommends the use of a concoction made with its astringent milky sap to arrest miscarriages.  Therefore, the tree is associated with healing, protection, sensitivity, reliability and generosity.

In Lam Tsuen, Hong Kong, people tie wishes inscribed on paper strips to oranges and then fling them into the branches so that the tree is decorated and draped in red and gold.

The Hindu scripture, Chhandogya Upanishad (ca. 800 - 500 BCE) begins with a parable about the nyagrodha that is much misunderstood.  It is regularly misapplied to support the existence of God or of a universal soul [Skt: atman] when in fact it does no such thing -- no pun intended.  

A father says to his son that for a Brahmin 12 years of book-learning is not enough to attain wisdom.  The father sends him, now 24 years old, to fetch a fruit from the nyagrodha tree.  He asks him to break it open and tell what he sees there. 

There were the tiny seeds. 

He then asks his son to crush a seed and tell what he saw. " Nothing" replied the boy.

Yes, there is nothing there but yet inside the tiny seed resides the power to produce a giant nyagrodha tree with all its massive branches.

Cause and Effect

The Buddha used the banyan in a parable reminiscent of the "widow's mite" (New Testament):

The Buddha asked the brahmin, "Have you or have you not ever seen anything in this world which only rarely occurs and which is only seldom seen?"

The brahmin replied, "I have indeed seen such a thing;  once I was traveling on the road with other brahmins when I saw a single nyagrodha tree that cast a shadow large enough to shade a caravan of five hundred wagons - a more besides.  Now that was a phenomenon which only occurs rarely and which is [even more] rarely encountered."

The Buddha asked, "Is the seed of that tree large or small?"

He replied, "It is only a third the size of a mustard seed."

The Buddha asked, "But who could believe you when you say that there is a tree of such great size but which has a seed so extremely small?"

The brahmin replied, "It is so, World-Honored One.  I have seen it with my own eyes; it is no falsehood."

The Buddha said, "So too it is that I have seen that this elderly woman by making a faithful offering thereby gains such a grand resultant retribution.  It is just like the tree where the cause is minor but the effect is great and it is the a result of the magnificent field of merit of a tathagata (Thus- Come- One.)

The brahmin's mind opened [to this idea;] he understood and prostrated himself fully.  He repented of his error [He had said that the merit of a small action by a lowly individual is not worth very much] saying, "My thoughts have been uncivil and thus I have stupidly failed to believe in the Buddha."

~derived from  Kalvinka.org

Vata Savitri Vrata

In India, a Hindu vrata [fast] is observed on the full moon night in Jyeshtha, in honour of mythical princess Savitri, who like Isis of Egypt and Greek queen Alcestis, brought her husband back from death. By fasting, wives hope to prolong their husbands' lives.  They pray to the vat (banyan) because it was under this tree that the husband of devoted Savitri, Satyavan, came back to life. 

"In the centre of the garden, in a green tree-guard like heavy a cage, a sturdy tree grew, silver branches covered in buds and a few new heart-shaped leaves. It looked foreign to me beneath the old elms and beeches, as if it were used to breathing a different kind of air. This, said the discreet plaque, was a Bodhi tree and the Peace Garden had been planted by Victorian [a south Australian state] school children in 1992 to commemorate the Dalai Lama's visit to Melbourne.

The Internet threw up hundreds of links, many telling the story of the original Bodhi tree that grew on the banks of a Ganges tributary. Legend has it that the Buddha became enlightened under its branches, in the shade of its heart-shaped leaves. I could find no botanical information - except that in the yard of a bookstore in Melrose Avenue, Hollywood, is a Bodhi tree three storeys high.

It had been a long and painful saga, the people at Parks and Gardens told me.  The Melbourne Bodhi tree had been propagated from the last of four seeds blessed by the Dalai Lama who came here to spread his message of peace and to alert the world to the fate of Tibet under the Chinese.  The first little tree planted in 1992 was stamped on and killed. The second and third trees were also killed -- one quite deliberately. The other, said Parks and Gardens, was possibly squashed by a vigorously courting couple.

The last of the special seeds, raised for nine years in a nursery, was then planted out in a strong protective tree guard. And for a while all was well.

It was raining and still almost dark the morning I found it. The Peace Garden was like the scene of a murder. The tree guard had been wrenched from its moorings and flung aside. The branches with their new growth were tossed to the ground. The trunk had been broken or cut with something sharp almost at ground level. Deep footprints beside the tree showed where someone had stood to get purchase to chop and slash.

The people who manage the gardens quite correctly refuse to sheet home the blame to anti-Tibetan groups in Melbourne. There is no evidence, after all, just a series of small crushed trees blessed by the Dalai Lama in a simple garden ringed with camellias and planted by school children. We'll never know except that some people feared and hated what the Bodhi tree stood for enough to try to kill it.

The stump is being cared for in a nursery and will survive, I am told.  And it's the Melbourne City Council that one day must decide whether to return the Bodhi tree to the Peace Garden or to quietly plant it out in a less provocative place."

[This item appeared at the end of 2001 when forest fires, many set by arsonists, raged around Sydney, Australia.  That Parliament (Feb. 2002) also silenced the Dalai Lama, who had been invited to speak on peaceful matters.

Pipul

In Hinduism, the banyan is considered female and the peepul or ashwatha, another kind of fig tree, is male.  Many ancient Indian villages have a pipul in their center, where people can gather in the shade and also make offerings. 

In Puri, state of Orissa, the original image of Jagannath [< juggernaut] was found at the foot of a fig tree, in the form of an Indranila or Blue Jewel. Its blinding brightness, had prompted the deity, Dharma, to request it be hidden in the earth.

As we have seen, the peepul [also, pipul] tree under which Buddha Shakyamuni sought enlightenment, is a fig (ficus religiosa after that event) and like the banyan or nyadgrodha, it is a representative of the World Tree as axis mundi or turning point of the world.  It is venerated by Hindus and Buddhists. 

The one that is standing today in an enclosure in Bodhgaya, Bihar, India is regarded as the same one by many people.  Legend has it though, that King Ashoka  (3rd c. CE) cut that one down and burnt it, but that it grew back.  He was so overcome that he would not return home, and so his queen arrived to do the same.   Again it re-grew.

Described as a 'banyan' in a Times of India article, read how a daughter of the Tree escaped hurricane damage in Dec. 2000, as it has for 23 centuries.

There are different traditions regarding Shakyamuni's great meditation:  He sat for seven weeks or he sat for seven days there, then 7 under the goatherd's tree, then 7 in Rajayatana, then returned for a final week to Bodh Gaya.  

A cutting from the bodhi or bo tree was planted in Shri Lanka.

Do the leaves of this tree which also symbolize compassion/love appear in many emblems, reversed and painted red ?

If you would like to have a reminder of the bodhi tree (Ficus religiosa) in your garden but you live in a northern climate, the  linden (Tilia cordata) has been used in northern Japan for this purpose at least since 800 CE.  It has similar somewhat larger 'heart'-shaped leaves and seeds suitable for stringing.

Mango

Once, the Buddha agreed to a request of King Bimbisara's to perform miracles at the Full Moon at a well-known spot in Shravasti [Pali: Savatti] under a mango tree, with a week's advance notice.  The king's crier went out into the countryside on his official elephant to announce the event.  

In order to ensure no one would turn up, the opponents of Buddhism arranged to have all the mango trees felled.  Not one was left standing and so no one could know where to assemble.  But before the appointed hour, so they say, the king's gardener offered a fine specimen of a mango to Buddha.  He enjoyed eating the fruit, and then requested that the gardener  plant it right there. From that mango pit immediately grew a fine tree 100 cubits [c. 20" x 100] tall and visible for miles.  It matured as it grew, and the fruit ripened and were enjoyed by all.

Nagarjuna taught that: 

Human beings can be likened to the fruit of the mango: Unripe but ripe looking, ripe but unripe looking, unripe and also unripe looking, and ripe and also ripe looking.

There is a famous Indian trick that has been reported down through the centuries by travelers from many different lands in which a fakir of other magician causes a mango tree to grow from a seed before the very eyes of the audience.  No doubt it was inspired by the miracle performed at Shravasti by the Buddha.

Everything about mangoes.

The boteh motif that is an element of paisley designs is a representation of a mango.

Ashoka Tree

Named perhaps, because of the legend of a tree that would not die, the ashok [Sanskrit for anti-suffering] tree is a symbol of longevity.  It sometimes appears emerging from the vase of amrita (nectar of immortality) that is held in the lap of longevity deities like Amitayus, where it can resemble a cluster of grapes. 

The Ashok is a small evergreen (Saraca indica) whose branches droop over each other in layers unless it is trimmed back.  It grows in the central and eastern Himalayas as well as on the west coast of India.  Its bright orange flowers bloom in abundance in the spring.  Since Lord Rama's bride, Sita is said to have sat under this kind of tree while she was being held captive by Ravana, it is also called the Sita Ashok, and is not considered auspicious around Hindu homes -- especially those with daughters --- for that reason.

However, it is also sacred to Kama Deva, the God of Love, and its brilliant flowers provide delicately perfumed temple decorations.

Kalidasa's poetry includes: "Young women's hearts bleed at the sight of ashok tree branches laden with flowers, blood red from stems to petals."  So it is no wonder that Mahamaya, Gautama Buddha's mother on her way to her mother's at Ramagama, the capital of Koliya, stopped to rest at the Lumbini garden.  There, admiring an ashok tree in full bloom, she felt the pangs of birth and steadied herself by taking hold of a branch.

On Marpa Lotsawa's (1012-1097) return trip to India in search of his guru, Naropa, that master proved elusive, indeed.  People would say that he had "left," or else the guru seemed to appear in all sorts of disguises.  This activity Marpa later considered to be a test of his comprehension of the nature of reality.   In later life, he reported that he knew his guru was near when he approached an ashok tree and had a vision of Nairatmya, consort of the many-armed deity Hevajra.  She was as if reflected in a mirror, with ribbons of  mantras swirling at her heart. 

Extraordinary 

In the 19th century, Huc and Gabet, two French Catholic (Lazarist) priests went as missionaries from the Mission at Peking (now, Beijing) to Lhasa.  In their Journal (Hazlitt's translation (London: 1856) Huc describes the "Tree of Ten Thousand Images" which they saw at the Gelugpa monastery of Kum Bum.   Tibetan legend says that when the blood from the birthing of Tsong Khapa fell to the earth, a tree sprang from it which bore a distinct Tibetan letter or phrase on every leaf. 

There were upon each of the leaves well-formed Thibetan [sic] characters, all of a green colour, some darker, some lighter than the leaf itself. Our first impression was a suspicion of fraud on the part of the Lamas, but, after a minute-examination of every detail, we could not discover the least deception. The characters all appeared to us portions of the leaf itself, equally with its veins and nerves; the position was not the same in all; in one leaf they would be at the top of the leaf, in another in the middle, in a third at the base, or at the side, the younger leaves represented the characters only in a partial state of formation. The bark of the tree and its branches, which resemble that of a plane-tree, are also covered with these characters. When you remove a piece of old bark, the young bark under it exhibits the individual outlines of characters in a germinating state, and what is very singular, these new characters are not unfrequently different from those which they replace.

The tree of the Ten thousand Images seemed to us of great age. Its trunk, which three men could scarcely embrace with outstretched arms, is not more than eight feet high; the branches, instead of shooting up, spread out in the shape of a plume of feathers and are extremely bushy; few of them are dead. The leaves are always green, and the wood, which is of a reddish tint, has an exquisite odour something like cinnamon. The Lamas informed us that in summer towards the eighth moon, the tree produces huge red flowers of an extremely beautiful character.

The Abbé Huc himself puts the evidence with much more ardor. "These letters," he says, "are of their kind, of such a perfection that the type-foundries of Didot contain nothing to excel them."

There is another remarkable tree -- a juniper -- that appears to have emerged from a rock at the tomb of Karmapa Rolpei Dorje which is said to smell distinctly of the hair of the meditator who had sat there for many years.

Sal

Shakyamuni meditated in a forest of sallow-wood trees (shorea robusta.)  It is also known as the salwa, sakhu, shal, kandar and the sakwa.   It is famous for being the kind of tree under which the Buddha lay down to die.  It is said that the white sal florets that bloom in bunches in the springtime fell and covered him.  It is a slow growing hardwood that reaches heights of 100 feet or more, producing an extremely dense timber that is very resistant to rot.  It has large oval shiny leaves.

It is the source of an opaline white resin used as incense, as a caulking for boats, and a fuel for lamps.  In times of famine, people have been known to grind its fruit for flour, and use its sap to mix with ghee.  It is, therefore, a fine and apt symbol for the Dharma.  

In the Indian state of Orissa, the Santhals celebrate the three-day Baha festival that focuses on the Sal.  Their sarna or holy place is a sacred grove of these trees.  They have no other temples nor idols, but maintain a joyous, harmonious relation with the natural world as symbolized by the sala tree.

Santal

Sandalwood and its rather masculine-smelling oil were exported from India from earliest times.  The Latin term for it is santalum album, which is where we get the English term. Its Sanskrit name is chandana.  Today, it is mainly found in the south-western Indian state of Karnataka.

The thick, golden, aromatic oil was extracted by especially constructed presses and was sold to the Romans at least until the 3rd century CE.  Its long-lasting scent seems to be stronger at night than in the daytime, and it is thought that to preserve the scent, the object of which it is made, or in which it has been soaked, should  be kept enclosed or covered.

It is classified according to its inner colour: white shrikanda, yellow pitha-chandana and red (rakta [blood]-chandana.) A shrikanda grew where a drop of Tsongkhapa's mother's blood was absorbed by the earth while she was giving birth.  The tree was believed to produce 100,000 leaves with mantras and images on them, and the third Dalai Lama, Sonam Gyatso, later had it moved to Kumbum (Chin. Ta'er) Monastery

The 6th Dalai Lama, who was born in the spring of 1683, is known as Tsangyang Gyatso ("Ocean of Melodious Songs.")  He gave back his getsul (celibate monk) vows to pursue a life of sensory pleasure, and is especially admired for having composed some timeless love songs.  Unfortunately, he was a pawn in Central Asian politics and foretold his own death.   He is, despite his exceptional lifestyle for a Gelugpa lama, still considered an extraordinary incarnation known for miraculous deeds, including the leaving of footprints and inscriptions in stone, which may still be seen in Tawang (in Mon territory, northeast India) where he grew up. 

Before leaving that place to follow his heart, Tsangyang Gyatso planted a trio of sandalwood trees close to each other.  He prophesied that the three trees would grow identical to each other by the day he returned again to Tawang.  In 1959, local people noticed to their amazement that the three sandalwood trees had become equal to each other in size and shape.   Then somehow the trees caught fire, which was a source of anxiety and dismay, for the legend had been kept alive.  Then they learned of the Chinese invasion of their land and, following a week's procession of travelers, foreign journalists and security personnel, they once again received the Dalai Lama in Tawang -- this time in the person of Tenzin Gyatso, the Fourteenth Dalai Lama, who was on his way to exile in India. 

Ginko or Maidenhair Tree

Tall and gracefully willow-like, it is a tree with a prehistoric ancestry; it is the only surviving species of a group of plants that lived millions of years ago.  The leaves of the male are fan shaped, while those of the female are bifurcated (hence, ginko biloba) and resemble a duck's foot.   The leaves turn pink in the autumn.  The scent of the female of the species is so unpleasant that it is banned from many western cities, but in the eastern part of the world the greenish nut is prized as a food. 

Because of its longevity -- one in Japan is estimated at 800 years old -- and its usefulness in treating various maladies, it was planted to the north of many Buddhist temples as a symbol of immortality.  In fact one ginko truly embodied longevity and regeneration as it was the first tree to grow back in Hiroshima after the 1945 atomic bombing.

The Salisburia adiantfolia, or ginko is also known as Silver Apricot or Tree of Life and it produces an extract that has the capacity of dilating the tiny blood vessels in the brain hence improving cerebral circulation.  For this reason, ginko biloba is used as a memory-enhancer.

Karnikara or Golden Shower

The Cassia, Golden Shower (also known as a Pudding-pine) with its long drooping pods and large racemes or clusters of star-shaped yellow flowers often features in Indian literature including the Buddha-karita

Almost every part of the Golden Shower tree is useful:  The leafy shoots that tip the branches are cut and steamed as a fresh vegetable. The leaves steeped in water provide a laxative tea, or ground into a paste sooth skin irritations, and four grams of the sticky black seeds boiled in salt water is supposed to relieve "heart congestion" when drunk before bedtime.  The macerated bark is said to be a good leather cleaner. 

This tall, gorgeous hardwood is also used in construction, and it is so durable that it furnishes the spokes of wheels and handles for plows.  People often planted a karnikara for each child born to the family as an investment for their future, but also as a kind of sympathetic magic -- a guarantee that the child would grow tall and strong.

Neem or Margosa

The neem (Skt.: mahanimba) tree, or margosa (Azadirachta indica) is famous for its healing qualities. It is said that when the amrita (elixir of immortality) was being carried to heaven by Garuda, a few drops were spilt on the gracefully drooping branches of a neem. Therefore, people consider the neem tree to be a cure-all, and merely touching it or walking around it is considered beneficial.  The olive-shaped fruit has well-known antiseptic properties, and is also famous for providing beads for use in Catholic rosaries. Twigs from the neem are used as toothbrushes.  

The bark contains an alkaloid and can be used as an insecticide for protecting rose bushes and also for the elimination of head and body lice.  It should also be noted that ingestion of neem compounds can be harmful or even fatal, especially for infants. (See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Azadirachta_indica#Safety_issues).

Bel Tree

Women have been known occasionally to marry trees, either to avert an astrologically bad match, or to retain certain liberties that maidens do not have, or to avoid the consequences of eventual widowhood.  

Bel marriage is a way of avoiding the social sanctions that are imposed in traditional Hindu society whenever a woman's husband dies.  In this way, she can also be free to leave her (human) mate, or to divorce him, and then she can also remarry as she chooses.   In Nepal, Newars who comprise the predominant cultural group of the Kathmandu Valley, ritually marry pre-pubescent daughters to a fruit of the Bel (Aegle marmelos.)  It stands for Lord Vishnu, also called Narayan.  

The word Bel may derive from the Semitic word, baal, which means lord and also, husband

Betel

This is a slender, aromatic creeper called areca that has alternate, heart-shaped, smooth, glossy leaves.  In South Asia, the leaf is folded into an envelope to wrap paan (a mixture of chopped betel nut with a choice of other condiments) that is used as a stimulant.  The astringent packet is macerated in the mouth, most commonly after a meal, in order to sweeten the breath and to aid digestion.  Some juice is swallowed but the remains are expectorated so that woody bits and blood red splashes stain the sidewalks of public places.  

The areca flower is used in a South Indian cult of the goddess, Siri (CBC Radio, "Tapestry," March 16, 2003) who was born in the centre of the blossom. Women strike themselves with the long stemmed flowers as part of a ritual involving "spirit possession" during which they can freely express their suffering before the men.  It has been noted that when the bits of this plant matter fall into the temple tank (ritual pool) where they wash themselves, fish are found floating dead on the surface the next day.  

One of the substances found in the white areca flower is an alkaloid that seems to have some positive effect on the symptoms of schizophrenics. 

Bilva

This tree bears the oak-apple that features as a medicinal plant.  In India, it is associated with the cult of Shiva, so there are often Shiva-linga beneath them:

Karpur

Karpur is the Indian word from which we get "camphor."  It is the name given to some  varieties of cinnamon tree.  One group of varieties provides bark and leaves that can be used as a spice or flavouring; another (Cinnamomus camphorus and C. parthenoxylon) yields the strongly scented opaque crystalline substance that keeps insects away from fabric and furniture.  For camphor, a fatty substance is extracted from the wood and leaves, which is further distilled, separated and pressed to yield the cake of white crystals. 

Plantain

The plantain, a kind of banana tree,  is a symbol of illusion in Sanskrit literature.  It may look like a tree but it is merely a clump of leaves. As Sylvain Levy points out (The Indian Historical Quarterly, vol.VI, no.4, 613) 1930.) the Buddha on different occasions (Majjh. I, 233; Sam. IV, 167) uses the metaphor of a man who went with his axe in search of good wood who only cut the trunk of a plantain tree. 

The trunk of the plantain is also a symbol of delicate physical beauty, and in Indian erotic poetry a woman's thighs may be compared to twin trunks of banana trees. 

Also in the jatakas that contain accounts of shipwreck, a  man tossed on the waves is compared with the trunk of a plantain tree, as Levy says "a poor little thing, weak and small, lost on the vast surface of the ocean." 

Queen-of-the-Night 

In India, night-blooming jasmine (Cestrum nocturnum) is called Raat rani.  It appears an unremarkable spindly shrub, but as evening falls, the greenish yellow flowers that weigh down its stems begin to open into stars. As night descends and lamps are lit, the flowers exude their distinctive, heady scent that wafts on the evening breeze for long distances.  These tiny white blossoms are sold in garlands for offerings and they also dress the hair of the women of northeast India, trailing down a braid or wound around a bun.

Udumbara

The name is used in Buddhist scripture to refer to a mythical tree that is said to bloom only once every 3,000 years, or an exceedingly rare flower.  However there is an actual adumbara or udumbara tree, which is the ficus racemosa, a wild fig tree found in the Himalayan foothills.  Some sources give ficus glomerata as the name of the species.  In English, it is called the cluster-fig tree.

Ostensibly the blossom of this tree is not easy to detect.  

Udumbara is also used for a configuration of the eggs laid by the lacewing insect that is  used for divinatory purposes.

Trees as Offerings

In the Tibetan sang ritual, wood is burned for its scent, but the fire and the smoke are also part of the offering. Five traditional aromatic trees are used for this, and each is associated with a class of unseen beings: the juniper (lha), rhododendron (nyen), tamarisk (lu), margosa (tsen) and pine (deu.)

Treeth 

 

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enclosure:  This pipul is a descendant of the tree under which the Buddha taught his former companions.  To visit the banyan that is the purported "enlightenment" tree, one has to go out into the countryside.

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