The king had the power to cause rain and among some of the sacred objects he used to achieve this objective were trees that were considered sacred. The belief that certain trees could cause rain is commonplace among primitive cultures. Relics of tree worship are found even in modern Europe. Sir James George Frazer, in his monumental work, ‘The Golden Bough’ has amassed a wealth of information about trees that have rainmaking powers. (13.82)
The most sacred tree that Buddhists hold in veneration is the tree that botanists have identified as ‘ficus religiosa’. In Sanskrit and Pali, it is called the bodhi tree, because the founder of Buddhism, the Buddha, attained Enlightenment or bodhi at the foot of such a tree in Bodh Gaya (in the present North Indian state of Bihar). The Sinhalese call it the Bo tree.
The Buddhists believe that the bodhi tree is endowed with many magical powers which no other tree in the world possesses. It derives its magic from its associations with the life of the Buddha. In contagious magic, an object that has any physical link with a being is as powerful as the being himself.
The most sacred tree that Buddhists hold in veneration is the tree that botanists have identified as ‘ficus religiosa’. In Sanskrit and Pali, it is called the bodhi tree, because the founder of Buddhism, the Buddha, attained Enlightenment or bodhi at the foot of such a tree in Bodh Gaya (in the present North Indian state of Bihar). The Sinhalese call it the Bo tree.
The Buddhists believe that the bodhi tree is endowed with many magical powers which no other tree in the world possesses. It derives its magic from its associations with the life of the Buddha. In contagious magic, an object that has any physical link with a being is as powerful as the being himself.
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