One of the most important religious symbols in Vietnam, the Bodhi tree, grafted from the holy Bodhi tree, where the Lord Buddha was said to have sat under in order to reach enlightenment, has been given as a gift from India.
During his visit to Vietnam, Indian Prime Minister Razendia Prasat offered President Ho Chi Minh a bodhi tree as a gift on March 31, 1959. The tree is still alive and green, and its heart-shaped leaves shadow the yard of Tran Quoc Pagoda, one of oldest pagodas in Hanoi.
Each year, thousands of pilgrims come with hope that they will receive leaf of the tree.
On various visits, many Indian leaders, such as the former President Pratibha Patil and Vice President Mohammad Hamid Ansari have visited the pagoda and taken pictures next to the tree.
Former President Pratibha Patil under the Bodhi tree in Tran Quoc Pagoda
Vice President Mohammad Hamid Ansari
Recently, during the Vietnam-India People’s Friendship Festival, the Indian delegation, led by Devi Prasad Tripathi, General Secretary of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and Deputy President of the All-India Peace and Solidarity Organisation (AIPSO), paid a visit to Tran Quoc Pagoda.
On the 100th day after the death of Kim Cuong Tu, one of the most respectable monks in Vietnam, Superior Buddhist Monk of Tran Quoc Pagoda Thich Thanh Nha decided to dry 100 leaves from the Bodhi tree to give away to pilgrims.
The Bodhi leaf
Each leaf will be given along with Tran Quoc Pagoda's certificate and stamp.