The Oldest Tree with a Written History
‘Jaya Sri Maha Bodhi’ in Sri Lanka
‘Tree-ring’ counting and radiocarbon dating are the two common methods of estimating the age of trees. As per these measures the oldest living tree in the world is ‘Great Basin bristlecone pine’, located in the higher mountains of California. The tree’s estimated age is over 4,851 years and apart from this many other living trees in the world have survived many centuries.
The age of the trees was mostly discovered through scientific determinations. However, in Sri Lanka the tree called ‘Jaya Sri Maha Bodhi ’ has written evidence for over two millennia. The tree was planted in 249 BC by King ‘Devanampiya Tissa’ and that is approximately 2300 years ago. As per the carbon dating the tree’s estimated age is around 2,305 years. The history of ‘Jaya Sri Maha Bodhi’ is associated with the Lord Buddha’s enlightenment which dated back to 2,564 years from today.
The three important events of Lord Buddha’s life, birth, enlightenment, and death happened under trees. At the same time, he insisted on the importance of the trees throughout his teachings. Once he preached, if a man who sits under a tree for shelter, and then breaks a branch of the same tree, should be considered as an ingratitude, ungrateful person. Lord Buddha taught to show gratitude even to the trees.
