LAHORE: A Bodhi tree, considered sacred in Buddhism, planted by the Punjab Horticulture Authority (PHA) at the National Bank Park here, has reached full foliage, according to the Director General Ahmad Usman Javaid.

Buddhists hold the fig tree, known locally as the `Buddha tree`, as sacred. According to the Buddhist traditions, Siddhartha Gautama meditated beneath a Bodhi tree for seven weeks without food and water before attaining Nirvana and becoming the Buddha, which means the `Awakened One`.

Mauryan Emperor Ashoka, a patron of Buddhism, is also believed to have meditated under the tree.

The original tree, associated with the Buddha, that was located in Bodh Gaya, in India`s state of Bihar, no longer exists.

The tree standing in its place at the Mahabodhi Temple, the world`s most sacred Buddhist pilgrimage site, is believed to be its direct descendant.

According to the PHA, a branch of the Mahabodhi tree was taken to Sri Lanka in 236 BC by Ashoka`s children. Its descendant, the Jaya Sri Maha Bodhi,still stands there.

A sapling of the tree in Sri Lanka was presented to the former president, Ayub Khan, during his visit to the country in December 1963.

Later, former prime minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, who was then foreign minister, had planted the sapling at the Taxila Museum in January 1964. It is considered the closest authentic living link to the Buddha.

The Buddhists revere all religious relics, including the Buddha`s bodily remains, and extend the same veneration to the Bodhi tree.

Mr Javaid observed that as a living plant, the tree is seen as a living link to the Buddha and his enlightenment. `Buddhists treat the tree as an individual in its own right and approach it with piety,` he said.

The PHA looks after Bodhi trees in three parks in Lahore: Lawrence Garden, National Bank Park, and Racecourse Park. The species typically blooms in late summer and autumn, from September to November in Pakistan, after shedding part of its canopy. It thrives in full, direct sun.

`The Buddha tree is more than an ornamental plant. It carries history, and we wanted Lahore`s green spaces to carry it too,` MrJavaid said. He added that Pakistan`s rich Buddhist heritage, from Taxila to Gandhara, belongs to everyone.

He said the PHA would continue to care for the trees and hoped families and students would visit the parks to learn more.

In a related development, the Bahawalpur Horticulture Agency marked Pilkan Day by planting saplings of the indigenous tree that grows in Cholistan desert, Rohi.

Known locally as Pilu or Paki,Pilkan is traditionally associated with the Rohi.

The tree and the desert landscape form part of the cultural heritage associated with renowned Sufi poet Khwaja Ghulam Farid, whose poetry drew extensively on the landscape, flora and culture of the Rohi region.

BHA Managing Director Nayyar Mustafa, along with members of the local peace committee, planted Pilkan saplings to mark the occasion.