Sri Maha Bodhi – The Sacred Bodhi Tree (01) 

It was under a Bodhi tree at Bodhi-Gaya(India) in 528 B.C. that the Buddha attained enlightenment. The Bodhi tree in Anuradahapura was grown from a cutting of the original tree and is the oldest historical tree in the world. The Bodhi tree is the most sacred place for the Buddhists of Sri Lanka. Mahinda asked his sister Sangamitta to bring a branch of the Bodhi tree. The Bodhi tree is more than 2,200 years old. The tree itself is protected by golden railings, and is surrounded by the other Bodhi trees, which may have grown from its roots. Most of the Bodhi trees in Sri Lanka, and some in Burma (Myanmar) and Thailand have been grown from it’s seeds. Today at the full moon of Poson (May-June), a million worshipers visit to celebrate at the Tree, in commemoration of the Enlightenment.