Bodhi tree symbolizes Vietnam-India friendship
(VOVWORLD) - The Vietnam Buddhist Sangha and the Indian Embassy in Vietnam have marked the 60th anniversary of a Bodhi tree, a gift by the-then Indian President Rajendra Prasad given to President Ho Chi Minh. A ceremony marking the occasion was held on Sunday in Hanoi’s Tran Quoc pagoda, where the Bodhi tree is grown.
 Bodhi tree grown in Tran Quoc pagoda is a gift by the-then Indian President Rajendra Prasad given to President Ho Chi Minh (Photo: dangcongsan.vn) |
60 years ago, during an official visit to Vietnam, President Rajendra Prasad brought a Bodhi tree propagated from a large and ancient sacred fig tree in a place where the Buddha attained enlightment and presented it to President Ho Chi Minh. Since then whenever they visited Vietnam, the Indian high-ranking leaders called at Tran Quoc pagoda to worship and contemplate the Bodhi tree as a symbol of bilateral friendship.
More than 300 Bodhi trees propagated from the Tran Quoc pagoda’s tree have been cultivated all over Vietnam, especially in Truong Sa (Spratly) islands and national cemeteries and historical relic sites.