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Why is the bodhi tree important in Buddhism?

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Charles Sprague Pearce: Religion — Nature worship Detail of *Religion*, mural in lunette from the Family and Education series by Charles Sprague Pearce, 1897; in the Library of Congress, Thomas Jefferson Building, Washington, D.C.

The Bodhi tree is significant in Buddhism because it is the specific sacred fig (Ficus religiosa) under which Siddhartha Gautama sat when he attained Bodhi, or final Enlightenment. This transformative experience marked his transition into the Buddha, or "Awakened One," and represents the ultimate spiritual ideal in the Buddhist tradition.12

The original site of this event at Bodh Gaya, India, is marked by the Mahabodhi Temple, which houses a descendant of the original tree and serves as a major destination for pilgrimage. Another historically significant tree exists in Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka, which is said to have grown from a cutting sent by King Ashoka in the 3rd century BCE. Due to this deep association with the Buddha’s awakening, various sacred figs worldwide are revered as descendants of the original tree.1