Buddha's birth in the Sal Forest

The Bodhisatta was born Lumbini forest, outside the town of Kapilavatthu, in a country we now call Nepal. The native forest here is dominated by a tree called 'Sal', Shorea robusta (This is a tree very common in the Himalayan foothills. it was used to build houses and provided many other essential commodities to the local people. We have an illustration and will explore Sal Forest more on the next page).
The Buddha's Mother, the Queen Maya was travelling with a retinue of servants, to her parental home when she had to give birth

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The 7 year old Siddharta meditates
under the Jambolan tree

One day, in accordance with royal tradition, there was a royal plowing ceremony held in a field just outside Kapilavatthu. The King, who was to perform the ceremony himself, had Siddharta accompany him.
The boy sat watching the proceedings under a tree referred to in the Patåhamasambodhi as Jambupikkha, which is also known as the Jambolan tree.

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Week 1

During the first week the Buddha stayed under the Great Bodhi tree and so does include the enlightenment.
This is where, just before his enlightenment, he received the bowl of kheer from the shepardess Sujatta. One version of this event is that Sujatta had prepared the food to offer to the tree spirit. When the starving skeleton of the Bodhisattva was found, he was thought to be a physical manifestation of the tree spirit.

This is also the place where Buddha had to face a battle with Mara, a sort of Indian equivalent of the Christian devil. Mara is said to be the Lord of Death and desire (craving). Mara tempts people with the illusionary attractions of dualistic thinking: Good and evil, light and dark, success and failure, purity and defilement, life and death, 'me' as a separate entity from everything else, and so on.
Mara makes us forget that all these concepts are completely and utterly interdependent. He tells us we can choose for good, for the light, for success, for purity, for life, for our own ego. But of course we can never have the one without the other. No life without death, No good without evil.
Mara's ultimate challenge to Buddha was to claim (the throne of) enlightenment as his own achievement. But Buddha responded that it the result of the accumulated perfections of many previous lives and called on Mother Earth to witness the truth of this statement.

A Buddhist scripture called "The Pathamasambodhi" describes what happens next: "The great earth was incapable of remaining inactive ... It sprang up from the earth in the form of a young maiden..." and served as witness for the Bodhisatta. Thereupon, [the maiden] squeezed water from her hair. That water is referred to as daksinodaka, which is all the water that the Great Being had used to consecrate the vows made in his previous lives, which Mother Earth had kept in her hair. When she squeezed her hair, all that water flowed out.
 "It was a great flow that flooded all the land, like a great ocean.... The armies of Mara were powerless to stop it and were swept away and entirely carried off by the current. As for Girimekhala, Vassavadi Mara's elephant, it was swept off its feet and, unable to maintain its balance, was carried off to the ocean. ...Thus Mara was eventually defeated."

The place, at the foot of the Bodhi tree, where Buddha sat is known as the "Throne of Enlightenment."  The Buddhist emperor Asoka had a shrine called the Diamond throne  (Vajrasana) erected at this exact place, which is often called "The navel of the Earth".  A cutting of the progeny of the original Bodhi tree was planted nearby.  It seems reasonable to suppose that the title "Navel of the Earth" was derived from the actual tree, since this symbolism in connection with the tree is ancient and world-wide.

The Buddha's statement that his enlightenment was not just the achievement of the actual person he is now, but also of accumulated mindfulness of many different previous existences (which must have included a long evolutionary chain of all different creatures) is very significant. Again, this is an assertion which includes the whole of the Natural World, as opposed to the dualistic separatism of Mara.

In the 'light' of the above, we note that echo's of Mara continue to be heard in the word 'enlightenment'. Light and dark create and need each other as much as any other pair of opposites. Maybe there might have been better translations of the original word, which must have meant something like 'receiving (or being) supreme knowledge'???
Be that as it may, Buddha attained his enlightenment at dawn. The time when the majority of living creatures wakes up invigorated by resting in the nurturing dark.
It is said that the devas (Nature spirits) played music, danced and sang in his honor.
Their tribute may be seen as another sign of the Buddha at-one-ness or harmony with Nature.

Week 2

• 'delight' (including craving, endless desire)
• 'aversion or hatred' (incl. jealousy)
• lust

This particular Banyan tree (Ficus benghalensis) he sat under is also known as the "ajapalanigrodha" tree from 'ajapala' meaning 'a place for goatherds' and 'nigrodha' meaning 'banyan tree'. According to the legend, this banyan tree had long been a resort of goatherds, and goatherds in the local area had long used the shade of this banyan tree to graze their goats.

Other accounts of the 7 weeks say that Buddha stood in standing posture gazing motionless at the Bodhi tree in this second week and went to the Banyan tree later on.

Week 3

Again we meet with some differences in interpretation. Some hold that the Buddha sat meditating near Mucalinda lake/pond, whereas other think this event took place in week 6.
There was an incredible thunderstorm and a veritable deluge, lasting 7 days, coming down from the sky. However, the snake-king of the lake, called 'Muchalinda' came out of the lake and encircled Buddha's body several times and held his great head above him like an umbrella.

The illustrated history of the Buddha's life on www.budsir.org interprets the Mucalinda as a type of tree. Here follow two quotes which describe the tree:

• "The mucalinda is a tree that grows commonly in India, and figures in much Indian literature, such as the Jatakas and elsewhere. In the Vessantara Jataka the mucalinda is the tree to which the Bodhisatta resorted when he was banished to the forest." (1)

• "In Thailand we call the mucalinda the "jik" tree. This seems to be right, as the places in which the two trees tend to take root are similar: both tend to arise in damp places, such as on river banks, near ponds, along canals and lakes. Its wood is resilient, its flowers hang down, and are white and red in color. The leaves are about the same size as roseapple leaves. The tender leaves are astringent and are tasty used as a vegetable and dipped in chili sauce. The flavor is similar to the leaves of the roseapple tree. Usually the tree has rich foliage and offers good shade." (1)

The snake was said to have wrapped himself around Buddha seven times and in some pictures, it has seven heads. Snakes have not always had a popular press, but snakes or serpents are an ancient symbol of the life force that has much richness and depth (Read more about this elsewhere on The-Tree) Snakes which eat their own tail are an example and many people are also familiar with the healing symbol of two snakes wrapping themselves around a flowering wand 3½ turns.
Beneficent creatures that come from the bottom of lakes also often symbolise perfect attunement or intuition.
Mythical snakes have of course since ancient times been closely associated with trees. Not just as a tempting voice, like that of the  Snake in the Garden of Eden, but often as a partner with the Tree.
Both Tree and Serpent are beings whose qualities act as a map of the "shape of the world" and its energy-flows. (See Tree of Life meditation)

This tale shows again that Buddha is completely at one with the World/Life force. This is a state in which we do not suffer from fear even in the heaviest of weathers, commotions or emotional traumas.
The image of Buddha being protectively embraced by the snake is also said to indirectly teach the benefits of developing loving kindness and compassion.(1)

Week 4

The Buddha spent the fourth week in meditation under the Rajayatana or Ket tree reflecting on the Patthana or the Causal Law.
(Some sources say that he stayed under this tree in the seventh week).
While He sat here in deep contemplation the six rays of blue, yellow, red, white, orange and a combination of all these colours together emanated from His body. The Buddhist flag used in all Buddhist countries is designed on the basis of these colours.

Two caravan merchants from Burma, who were traveling through, heard about the Buddha and went to offer food, but the Buddha had no bowl to receive it in. However four deva kings (Nature spirits, who have the duty of protecting the world) each brought a bowl to offer to the Buddha. The Buddha received the four bowls and through a vow made them all into one. The kings are:

• King Dhataratha, who lives in the East, is the Lord of the gandhabbas (heavenly musicians).

• King Virulhaka, who lives in the South, is the Lord of the earth devas.

• King Virupaka, lives in the West,  is the Lord of the nagas.

• King Kuvera, lives in the North, is the Lord of the yakkhas.

The merchants became the very first followers of Buddha.

Rajayatana or Ket tree (Buchanania latifolia - Anacardiaceae or Cashew family) medium sized tree found in India, Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, Vietnam, Yunnan; fruit black, 1-seeded, kernels pear-shaped, 1 cm long, oily, edible, delicious with a combination of almond and pistachio flavours - known as "almondettes" occasionally imported into Europe, eaten raw or roasted or in sweetmeats, pounded and dried fruits made into bread in India, seed oil a substitute for almond or olive oil; bark and fruit yield a varnish; bark used in tanning; browsed; gum used in traditional medicine against leprosy; also used to treat burns, cholera, dysuria, fever, gingivitis, phthisis; wood for fuel; trees grown for erosion control . Kernel 51.8% oil, 12.1% protein, 21.6% starch, 5% sugars. (Facts from UN - FAO)

Week 5

Buddha returns to the Banyan Tree (Ficus benghalensis).
"He reflected on the truth (dhamma) that he had been enlightened to. Realizing how subtle and profound it was, he felt disinclined to teach, wondering whether there would be anyone who could understand his teaching. Thus, part of him was inclined to contentment [merely with his own enlightenment], to not bothering to teach others." (1)

Lord Sahampati was gravely concerned about those thoughts, and declared out loud three times, "Now the world is lost." The Pathamasambodhi writes: "That sound resounded throughout the ten thousand world systems. Lord Sahampati, together with a retinue of devas, approached the Buddha and formally made a request to him to teach the Dhamma." 
This "is an allegorical teaching. Translated into a factual statement, we might interpret Sahampati Brahma as being the Buddha's own compassion. Even though the Buddha was inclined not to teach the Dhamma, another part of him, which was stronger, decided to teach."
One of the most important statements the Buddha then made was that only by one's deeds one becomes a perfect Brahmana, and not by birth. This was a radical assertion to make since the cultures of India and Nepal have rigid caste systems.

Week 6 and 7

From the sixth to the eighth weeks after the enlightenment the Buddha spent his time going back and forth between the Great Bodhi tree and the goatherds' banyan tree. 
Some accounts report that he sat in the 6th week under the Muchalinda Tree (see week 3) and in the 7th under the Rajayata or  Ket Tree (see week4).

The Buddha began to reflect what would be the best way to go about teaching Dhamma or Dharma (the truth) and decided to start with his former companions, the five ascetics. 

On the fourteenth day of the waxing moon of the eighth lunar month, in the eighth week after the enlightenment, the Buddha took leave of the area of the enlightenment to make his way to the Deer Park, nowadays known as Sarnath, in the vicinity of Varanasi. 
Here he found the five companions with whom he wandered in the forest for several years and here he also delivered his first teachings.
For the next 45 years the Buddha walked and taught in the region of the Ganges/Ganga river and its tributaries and the Himalayan foothills.
Of course Buddha lived in a time and place when forests and trees were still very abundant. Nevertheless it is truly remarkably how often specific trees and forests are mentioned in various Scriptures. 

It appears very much as if these trees and places are seen as entities in their own right, with a spirit which deserves recognition. In addition to all that is mentioned already above, we can also note the following:

• The first Buddhist monastery was a grove of Bamboo trees donated by a regional king.

• The new community also made a regular habit of holding retreats in forests, for example Palilaya Forest (see illustration above).

• We could also wonder just how often the trees with their fruits and nuts provided a meal for Buddha and those of his follower monks, who were his traveling companions?

• When the Buddha knew that the end of his life was near, he asked his helper Ananda to prepare a bed for him between two Sal trees (Shorea robusta) with his head turned towards the North and this is where he died. The two trees were said to be in full blossom when he died.