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tree from the foliage of which drops the hfe-givmg Soma s
sometime^ characterised as the Hindu Moon-Tree. Out of this
cosmogonic tree the immortals shaped the heaven and the earth.
It is the Tree of Intelligence, and grows m ^he third heaven, over
which it spreads its mighty branches ; beneath J a m a and th
Pitris dwell, and quaff the immortalising Soma with the gods. At
hs foot grow plants of all healing virtue, incorporations of t J
S o m r Two birds sit on its top, one of which ea s J g s , whilst
the other sTmply watches. Other birds press out the Soma juice
from its branches. This ambrosial tree, besides dropping the
precious Soma, bears fruit and seed of every kind known in e
world.
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The Sacred Tree of Buddha is in the complex theology of his
followers represented under different guises : it is cosmogonic, it
S n vZ ts wisdom, it produces the divine ambrosia or food of immortality,
it yields the refreshing and Ifie-mspiring ram, and it
affords an abiding-place for the souls of the blessed, . i ,
The supernatural and sacred Tree of Buddhs?, the cloud-tree,
the Tree of Knowledge, the Tree of Wisdom, the Ambrosiafiree,
is covered with divine flowers ; it glows and sparkles with the
brilliance of all manner of precious stones ; the root, the tru J , the
branches and the leaves are formed of gems of the most glorious
description. It grows in soil pure and delightfully even, to J i c h
the rich verdure of grass imparts the tints of a
receives the homage of the gods ; and the arm of Maya (the m o je r
of Buddha) when she stretches it forth to grasp the bough whic
b e S ^ towW s her, shines as the lightn ng illumines the s j
Beneath this sacred tree, the Tree of Knowledge Bud J a , at whose
birth a flash of light pierced through all the world, sat down with
S e firm resolve lo t to rise until he had attained the knowledge
which “ maketh free.” Then the Tempter, Mffia, advanced with
his demoniacal forces : encirc J g the Sacred hosts of dem^^^^^^
assailed Buddha with fiery darts, amid the whirl qi hurricanes,
d a rk n e i and the downpour of floods of water, to drive him from
the Tree. Buddha, however.
and at length the demons were compelled to fly. Buddha nad
cinauered and in defeating the Tempter Mara,, and obtaining
possession of his Tree of Knowledge, he had also obtamed possession
of deliverance. Prof. De Gubernatis, m explaining this
mvth charaaerises the tree as the cloud-tree : m the J u d s the
heavenly flame is stored, and it is guarded by the dark dem j s
In the Vedic hymns, the powers of light and darkness fight t ^
great battle for the clouds, and the ambrosia which they contain
Shis is the identical battle of Buddha with the hosts of J a r a In
the cloud-battle the ambrosia U m x tta ) J
won; the enlightenment and deliverance which Buddha wins are
also called an ambrosia; and the kingdom of knowledge is the
land of immortality.
There is a tradition current in Thibet that the Tree of Buddha
received the name of Tdrdyana, that is to say, The Way of Safety,
because it grew by the side of the river that separates the world
from heaven ; and that only by means of its overhanging branches
could mankind pass from the earthly to the immortal bank.
The material tree of Buddha is generally represented either
under the form of the Asvattha (the Ficus religiosa), or oi the
Udumbara (the Ficus glomerata), which appeared at the birth of
Buddha ; but in addition to these guises, we find it also associated
with the Asoka {jfonesia Asoka), the Palasa {Butea frondosa), the
Bhdnuphald [Musa sapientum), and sometimes with the Palmyra
Palm {Borassus flab eUifor mis).
Under one of these trees the ascetic, Gautama Buddha, one
momentous night, went through successively purer and purer
stages of abstraction of consciousness, until the sense of omniscient
illumination came over him, and he attained to the knowledge of
the sources of mortal suffering. That night which Buddha passed
under the Tree of Knowledge on the banks of the river Nairanjand,
is the sacred night of the Buddhist world. There is a Peepul-tree
[Ficus religiosa) at Buddha Gaya which is regarded as being this
particular tre e : it is very much decayed, and must have been
frequently renewed, as the present tree is standing on a terrace at
least thirty feet above the level of the surrounding country.
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The world-tree of the Iranians is the Haoma, which is thought
to be the same as the Gaokerena of the Zendavesta. This Haoma,
the sacred Vine of the Zoroastrians, produces the primal drink of
immortality after which it is named. It is the first of all trees,
planted in heaven by Ormuzd, in the fountain of life, near
another tree called the “ impassive ” or “ inviolable,” which bears
the seeds of every kind of vegetable life. Both these trees are
situated in a lake called Vouru Kasha, and are guarded by ten fish,
who keep a ceaseless watch upon a lizard sent by the evil power,
Ahriman, to destroy the sacred Haoma. The “ inviolable ” tree
is also known both as the eagle’s and the owl’s tree. Either one
or the other of these birds (probably the eagle) sits perched on its
top. The moment he rises from the tree, a thousand branches
shoot forth; when he settles again he breaks a thousand branches,
and causes their seed to fall. Another bird, that is his constant
companion, picks up these seeds and carries them to where Tistar
draws water, which he then rains down upon the earth with the
seeds it contains. These two trees—the Haoma and the eagle’s
or “ inviolable ”—would seem originally to have been one. Tne
lizard sent by Ahriman to destroy the Haoma is known to the