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also called an ambrosia; and the kingdom of knowledge is the 

 land of immortality. 



There is a tradition current in Thibet that the Tree of Buddha 

 received the name of Tdydyana, that is to say, The Way of Safety, 

 because it grew by the side of the river that separates the world 

 from heaven ; and that only by means of its overhanging branches 

 could mankind pass from the earthly to the immortal bank. 



The material tree of Buddha is generally represented either 

 under the form of the Asvattha (the Ficus religiosa), or of the 

 Udumbara (the Ficus glomerata), which appeared at the birth of 

 Buddha ; but in addition to these guises, we find it also associated 

 with the Asoka [Jonesia Asoka), the Palasa {Butea frondosa), the 

 Bhdnuphald {Mtisa sapientum), and sometimes with the Palmyra 

 Palm (Borassus flabelliformis). 



Under one of these trees the ascetic, Gautama Buddha, one 

 momentous night, went through successively purer and purer 

 stages of abstratftion of consciousness, until the sense of omniscient 

 illumination came over him, and he attained to the knowledge of 

 the sources of mortal suffering. That night which Buddha passed 

 under the Tree of Knowledge on the banks of the river Nairanjand, 

 is the sacred night of the Buddhist world. There is a Peepul-tree 

 [Ficus religiosa) at Buddha Gaya which is regarded as being this 

 particular tree : it is very much decayed, and must have been 

 frequently renewed, as the present tree is standing on a terrace at 

 least thirty feet above the level of the surrounding country. 



HRe (^raaiar^ ©^orf^-UTee. 



The world-tree of the Iranians is the Haoma, which is thought 

 to be the same as the Gaokevena of the Zendavesta. This Haoma, 

 the sacred Vine of the Zoroastrians, produces the primal drink of 

 immortality after which it is named. It is the first of all trees, 

 planted in heaven by Ormuzd, in the fountain of life, near 

 another tree called the " impassive " or " inviolable," which bears 

 the seeds of every kind of vegetable life. Both these trees are 

 situated in a lake called Vouru Kasha, and are guarded by ten fish, 

 who keep a ceaseless watch upon a lizard sent by the evil power, 

 Ahriman, to destroy the sacred Haoma. The " inviolable " tree 

 is also known both as the eagle's and the owl's tree. Either one 

 or the other of these birds (probably the eagle) sits perched on its 

 top. The moment he rises from the tree, a thousand branches 

 shoot forth ; when he settles again he breaks a thousand branches, 

 and causes their seed to fall. Another bird, that is his constant 

 companion, picks up these seeds and carries them to where Tistar 

 draws water, which he then rains down upon the earth with the 

 seeds it contains. These two trees — the Haoma and the eagle's 

 or " inviolable " — would seem originally to have been one. The 

 lizard sent by Ahriman to destroy the Haoma is known to the 



