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Bodhi Tree, the Tree of Enlightenment
Questions from the audience:
My uncle had many pieces of land. One day he had wanted to flatten land, so he cut the Bodhi tree down and had only the stump. But the Bodhi tree had not died and put forth leaves again. He decided to burn the Bodhi tree. Later, he was sick and passed away by leukemia. His neighbors gossip that my uncle passed away because he burned the Bodhi tree.
Is every Bodhi tree sacred evenly? If someone has an unavoidable necessity to cut the Bodhi tree, what should he do? Why will someone get a lot of merit when he worshiped to the Lord Buddha via the Bodhi tree? If he worshiped the Lord Buddha via the other trees which are the tree of enlightenment of other Lord Buddhas, will he get merit?
Answers:
Your uncle was sick of leukemia because in the previous lifetime he had been a tax officer who collected tax and sent it to the king but he embezzled some tax. This bad retribution caused him to be sick of leukemia.
Your uncle was reborn as a spirit. He has watched over his houses and land because before passing away he had been concerned about his properties. When he had got the dedicated merit, he has been better. But he is still concerned his properties and his bad retribution from burning the Bodhi tree have caused him to watch over the land where the Bodhi tree is located.
If you have to flatten your area where the Bodhi tree is located, you should to trim the branches of the Bodhi tree, dig and carry it to locate in another suitable land. Certainly, you should not burn it.
The Lord Buddha had enlightened under a tree, that tree is called the Bodhi tree. So, all kinds of trees of enlightenment are called the Bodhi trees. When someone sees the Bodhi tree, he will believe in the Lord Buddha and Dhamma which will be the way of merit and intellect for him.
By Khunkru Maiyai
July 8th, 2005
By Khunkru Maiyai
July 8th, 2005
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