The Sacred Tree of Kumbum

nivek

As Above So Below
A mysterious and legendary tree supposedly exists within the frozen wilderness of Tibet, at a Buddhist monastery called Kumbum, which lies among the frigid foothills of the Himalayan Mountains, where a mysterious and mystical tree grows at the bottom of a hill near the monastery.

This tree from afar seems rather normal, but if one approaches it is said that one can see that the leaves are imprinted with various mystical symbols, letters, figures, and even the face of the Buddha himself, with the whole area infused with a sweet, intoxicating scent.

This sandalwood tree, which has also variously been called the “Golden Tree,” “The Mantra Tree,” “The Tree of Great Merit,” and “The Tree of Ten Thousand Images,” is also said to have various powers, such as healing, precognition, and divination, and over the centuries it became a holy place, particularly revered in throughout Tibet and Mongolia.

The mysterious tree first became known to outsiders in the 1800s, and one of the first to lay eyes on it was a Lazarist priest by the name of Abbe M. Huc, who made the journey to this faraway land to see it after hearing rumors of its existence while traveling from Peking to Lhasa.

Huc made the harrowing trek out to the remote monastery along with fellow priest Joseph Gabet, and they were both highly doubtful that such a legendary tree really existed, but they were in for a surprise.

Huc would write of the magnificent tree in his travel journal Travels in Tartary, Thibet and China During the Years 1844-5-6, saying of it:

Yes, this tree does exist, and we had heard of it too often during our journey not to feel somewhat eager to visit it. At the foot of the mountain on which the Lamasery stands, and not far from the principal Buddhist temple, is a great square enclosure, formed by brick walls.

Upon entering this we were able to examine at leisure the marvelous tree, some of the branches of which had already manifested themselves above the wall. Our eyes were first directed with eamest curiosity to the leaves, and we were filled with an absolute consternation of astonishment at finding that, in point of fact, there were upon each of the leaves well-formed Thibetan characters, all of a green color, some darker, some lighter than the leaf itself.

Our first impression was a suspicion of fraud on the part of the Lamas; but after a minute examination of every detail, we could not discover the least deception. The characters all appeared to us portions of the leaf itself, equally with its veins and nerves. The position was not the same in all; in one leaf they would be at the top of the leaf; in another, in the middle; in a third, at the base, or at the side.,’the younger leaves represented the characters only in a partial state of formation.

The bark of the tree and its branches, which resemble that of the plane tree, are also covered with these characters. When you remove a piece of old bark, the young bark under it exhibits the indistinct outlines of characters in a germinating state, and, what is very singular, these new characters are not infrequently different from those which they replace.

The tree of the Ten thousand Images seemed to us of great age. Its trunk, which three men could scarcely embrace with outstretched arms, is not more than eight feet high; the branches, instead of shooting up, spread out in the shape of a plume of feathers and are extremely bushy; few of them are dead.

The leaves are always green, and the wood, which is of a reddish tint, has an exquisite odour something like cinnamon. The Lamas informed us that in summer towards the eighth moon, the tree produces huge red flowers of an extremely beautiful character.

We examined everything with the closest attention, in order to detect some case of trickery, but we could discern nothing of the sort, and the perspiration absolutely trickled down our faces under the influence of the sensations which this most amazing spectacle created. More profound intellects than ours may, perhaps, be able to supply a satisfactory explanation of the mysteries of this singular tree; but as to us, we altogether give it up.

Our readers may smile at our ignorance; but we care not, so that the sincerity and truth of our statement be not suspected . . . . The Lamas informed us that. . nowhere else exists another such tree; that many attempts have been made in various Lamaseries of Tartary and Thibet to propagate it by seedlings and cuttings, but that all these attempts have been fruitless.

San Francisco Call 14 August 1898

The Sacred Tree of Kumbum

Tree of Ten Thousand Images
 

nivek

As Above So Below
Screenshot_20180127-184443.jpg
 

ImmortalLegend527

The Messenger Of All Gods old and new
A lot of my teachings and learning are from a book called the book of fruits, a book that was written by a tree..as they say, and taught us.I never really looked it up to see if it was true or not so, thanks for a little insight as to what they were talking about.
 
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