Bodhi Tree image courtesey of Deepa Reddy - 

A Buddhist Spiritual Practice Based
on the Buddha's Night of Liberation

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This site introduces an advanced Buddhist spiritual practice called the Bodhi-Tree meditation. The Bodhi-Tree (or wisdom-tree) is a set of four distinct Buddhist meditations. Each meditation is based on an insight that the historical Buddha experienced as he sat under the Bodhi-Tree more than twenty-four centuries ago. According to Buddhist tradition, the hours before the Buddha's enlightenment were divided into four watches or periods of the night. During each watch, the Buddha experienced a specific set of insights or revelations. During the last watch, as the morning star appeared on the horizon at dawn, the Buddha entered Nirvana. Many modern Buddhist lineages have not emphasized the importance of these stages as the pattern that the Buddha followed to reach liberation. However, his stages of liberation are an example for all who seek liberation, and in the past, there have been important teachings based on these stages that have been lost. The Four Watches of the Night A brief summary of the insights of the Buddha during the four watches of the night follows. These insights will be correlated with the different practices of the Bodhi-Tree meditation as we proceed with the explanation of the practice.

The First Watch - The recollection of human past lives, and knowledge of the cycle of death and rebirth

The Second Watch - The recognition that the cycle of rebirth affects all sentient beings in all worlds, and that the law of karma determines the quality and type of rebirth, and its suffering

The Third Watch - The recognition of the cycle of causality that leads to death and rebirth, and the means of liberation from this cycle

The Fourth Watch - The recognition of the state of enlightenment, and the great awakening of the Buddha

The Symbolism of the Bodhi-Tree The Bodhi-Tree or wisdom-tree is a sacred symbol in Buddhism for a number of reasons.

It represents the place of the Buddha's enlightenment, and is therefore sacred geographically.

It is ancient. Some would say it is the mythical World Tree. Thus, it is sacred temporally.

It represents growth towards liberation. Therefore, it is sacred developmentally.

It was said to rain blossoms, and is thus sacred aesthetically.

In all these cases, the Bodhi-Tree's symbolism gives access to the Dharmakaya, which is the most transcendent aspect of Buddhism. However, this access is not based on simple awareness. The access to the Dharmakaya comes via the Sambhogakaya, the pathways through the intermediate worlds of Tantric Buddhism, which have been mostly lost and forgotten.
In order to better understand the Bodhi-Tree meditation, we will next discuss its symbolism in greater detail. END=NAM MO SAKYAMUNI BUDDHA.( 3 TIMES ).WORLD VIETNAMESE BUDDHIST ORDER=VIETNAMESE BUDDHIST NUN=GOLDEN LOTUS MONASTERY=AUSTRALIA,SYDNEY.17/10/2013.THICH CHAN TANH.THE MIND OF ENLIGHTMENT.