In my last two posts on Islamabad (here and here) I talked about the woods and the forest trails that I love so much and take to them whenever I can.
In those woods, at the foot of the Margallas, until a few years ago, there was a very large and very old tree — some believed it to be hundreds of years old. Its gnarled branches sprawled over a very large area around the tree. Next to the tree was a small concrete kiosk with a concrete bench.
It was a pipal tree (botanical name: ficus religiosa). Pakistani residents of Islamabad were mostly unaware of the presence of this tree and those who knew about it were generally indifferent to it. But the tree attracted many expatriate residents, mostly from South East or East Asian diplomatic missions based in Islamabad. They would come, sit on the bench and contemplate and admire the tree.
It was said to be a bodhi tree.
What is a bodhi tree and how it came to be in Islamabad?
As many of us would remember from our history books, that is, if one graduated from high school before the 70s (for afterwards they stopped teaching history of pre-Muslim era of the subcontinent in schools), prince Siddhartha Gautuma meditated under an old pipal tree in a village named Gaya near Patna, Bihar some 2500 years ago. Ultimately he achieved nirvana or was ‘awakened.’
Consequently the tree under which he sat was named Bodhi, meaning “awakening.” Sidhartha Gautuma became Buddha (the awakened) and the village where all this happened came to be known as Bodh Gaya, which name it still carries, and the Bhodi tree that grows there today is believed to be a direct offspring of the original Bhodi tree. In the centuries after the Buddha, the Bodhi tree became a symbol of the Buddha’s presence and an object of devotion for Buddhists.
A little more history before I get to the pipal tree in the woods of Islamabad.
King Ashoka (died 232 BC), the third Maurian king, converted to Buddhism and became a great advocate of the religion and actively propagated Buddhism throughout his empire. The Mauran Empire included, other than the present Northern India, the Gandhara region, which included the area around present day Islamabad, the Peshawar valley and parts of Afghanistan and Iran. Taxila (then Taxshashila), Peshawar (then Parshpura) and Charsaddah (then Pushklavati) were important cities of Gandhara. It was at this time that Taxila reached the peak of its development and became the center of Buddhism. Chandra Gupta Mauria and Asoka spent time at Taxila and so did their famous political adviser, Chanakya, who taught at Taxila.
King Asoka’s daughter, Sanghamitra, who became a Buddhist nun, is said to have taken a cutting of the Bohdi tree from Bhod Gaya to Sri Lanka and planted it at Anaradapura, the ancient capital of the island, where it still grows. Many temples throughout the Buddhist world have bodhi trees growing in them, which are or are believed to be offspring of the one from Anaradapura.Now, back to Islamabad.The very old pipal tree that grew in the woods of Islamabad was also believed to be an offspring of the Bodhi tree in Gaya, possibly planted centuries ago by a devotee alongside a temple that might have existed then. Taxila, as you would know, is only a few miles from Islamabad as the crow flies and is full of Buddhist monuments - stupas, statues and remains of monasteries.
In the 1980s Ziaul Haq ruled Pakistan. In his zeal to “Islamize” the country he encouraged and helped build madrassas all over the country, mostly with Saudi money. One such madrassa was built in the woods of Islamabad, not too far from the bodhi tree. Over the years the madrassa expanded, as most madrassas do, violating the building codes and encroaching upon state land, to become one of the largest madrassas in Islamabad. Today it occupies 5-6 acres of prime real estate in Islamabad and has a sprawling building complex and a very large playing field - larger than any school or college in Islamabad might have.
The madrassa houses a couple of thousand students ranging in age from 6 to 26 or even older. One sees them during breaks in their classes when they swarm into their playground and, as if the playground were not large enough, overrun the nearby children’s park, driving the children and women out. It is quite annoying for the residents - and a bizarre sight - to see young bearded men swinging and sliding like crazy on the swings and slides meant for young children of the residential area. Other contributions of these madrassa students to the community are: defaced street signs and walls with posters soliciting sacrificial animal skins, and vandalized letterboxes.
Fortunately, because of its very large girth, the bodhi tree did not burn down completely even though it was badly damaged. It still stood with half of its branches still intact. The city administration tried to preserve what was left of the tree. They even posted guards at the site for sometime after the incident to protect the tree from any further attacks. When I saw it last, a few years ago, it was still green and seemed as if it was struggling to recover from the wounds inflicted on it.
Last week, having returned to Islamabad after two years, I decided to look up the tree, as if you would look up an old friend, and see how it was doing. I was shocked to see that there was no tree there!
Only a few logs of the decapitated tree were lying around like dead bodies. The concrete kiosk next to it was partially demolished, the bench was gone, and the remaining walls covered with graffiti. Through the woods I could also see the madrassa — some construction work going on it. Still expanding, I guess.
Jabir Khan,
The post does not say anywhere that Buddha visited or sat under this tree in Islamabad. It only says that the particular tree was believed to be an offspring of the original Bodhi tree, like so many Bodhi trees all over the Buddhist world. And that it had religious significance for the people who visited it.
Regarding who burned the tree, there is overwhelming circumstantial evidence as well as eye witness account that points the finger at the madrassa students nearby.
Uzma wrote:
The violence and hostage-taking in Islamabad by female Madrassa students is another result of the take over of the Capital by these Madrassas. The legacy of Zia ul Haq lives long and deep.
اب اس سارے واقعÛâ€℠¢ Ú©ÛŒ جڑ Ù¾Ú©Ú‘Ù†Û†™ Ú©ÛŒ کوشش Ú©ÛŒ جائے توسرا انتظاÙà ¢â‚¬Â¦Ãƒâ€ºÃ…’ÛÂ? تک جاملتà ˜Â§ ÛÂ?Û’Ûâ€? Ù…ØÂÂÙ„Û’ والوں کا دعویٰ ÛÂ?Û’ Ú©ÛÂ? ÙˆÛÂ? کئ بار آنٹی شمیم Ú©Û’ Ú†Ú©Ù„Û’ Ú©ÛŒ شکایت ØÂÂکام کوکرچکے ÛÂ?یں مگر کوئی شنوائƺÅ’ Ù†ÛÂ?یں ÛÂ?وئیÛâ€? اس کیساتھ ÛŒÛÂ? بھی Ú©ÛÂ?ا گیا ÛÂ?Û’ Ú©ÛÂ? ایک دÙÂ?عÛÂ? کانسٹÛ ŒØ¨Ù„ آنٹيشمیم Ú©Û’ Ú†Ú©Ù„Û’ پر گیا تھا اور آنٹی شمیم Ù†Û’ اسے تھپڑ رسید کردیا تھاÛâ€?
But the other extreme is populated by Yahyah Khan’s legacy. Kindly conisider that as well. What to do between these two extremes???
Prophecy
And here is the PROOF that Abraham (AS) indeed existed.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cave_of_the_Patriarch s
Lets see your ‘proofs’ of Budhaa and his visitation of this tree and this tree being burned by Islamists.
I will not answer to you until you show proofs. Come on………….. Show up with the proofs.
Prophecy
For that matter can you prove Budhaa existed? Do you have any ‘proof’ it was visited by Budhaa.
As your ‘faith’ tells you Budhaa existed and this alleged tree was visited by Budhaa, my faith tells me Abraham (AS) indeed exited.
And as your ‘faith’ tells you it was definitely burned by Islamists (for that you have zero evidence). I do not want to stoop to this level but I think it was burned down by liberal extremists to blame Islam!!!
As it seems to be the fashion now a days.
The violence and hostage-taking in Islamabad by female Madrassa students is another result of the take over of the Capital by these Madrassas. The legacy of Zia ul Haq lives long and deep.
well, i don’t understand what kind of person will ask for a proof of ‘who actually burned the tree’ when this person takes the parable of Abraham as facts…how low people can go…just for sake of arguments? well seriously guys are all of us look so stupid to them that they are using such ‘Arguments’? or they are really so shameless?…if we really have to get a proof then first lets talk about Abraham …was there any such person…what historical evidence do we have for his existence…and specially about his acts referenced here…
Adnan & Jabir: a match made in heaven (or should I say Paradise!). It’s great that you found each other. Victimhood and denial can breathe easy now.
I think all Muslims should condemn the act of destruction of the tree, no matter who did it.