Beliefs and Practices Towards the Bodhi Tree in Lanna Society

Abstract

This research aims to 1. study the beliefs and practices towards the Bodhi tree in Thailand and 2. study the beliefs and practices towards the Bodhi tree in Lanna society. This is a documentary research.
The research results found that the Bodhi tree in Thailand was planted in the Dvaravati period, around 1432 B.E., when Phra Mahathera Lai Lai brought the tree from Sri Lanka. During the Sukhothai and Rattanakosin periods, the Bodhi tree was brought from Bodh Gaya, India, and planted and propagated throughout the country. In Lanna society, the Bodhi tree is called the “Sri tree” or the “Sari tree”. Lanna people consider it to be a representative of the Buddha. Cutting or destroying it is strictly prohibited. Those who cut it are punished as if committing a heinous sin. The Bodhi tree has an influence on Lanna people in traditions, such as offering a Bodhi tree support pole and pouring fresh milk on the Bodhi tree. The story of the Bodhi tree has been recorded in many Buddhist scriptures and stone inscriptions. Most of them mention the benefits, importance, and prohibitions of the Bodhi tree. As for the influence on Lanna art, Lanna people like to carve Bodhi tree branches into Buddha statues.