religiosa

temple of Borobudur, near Jogjakarta, Central Java, IndonesiaSiddharta Gautam-or the Buddha, as he is now known-gained his spiritual insights in India while meditating below a large tree of a tropical fig, at some time during the 5th Centruy B.C. The tree was already old, but lived for centuries afterwards. In 234 B.C., a rooted cutting of this tree was taken to Sri Lanka and planted there. That tree still exists today. in 1934 A. d., in turn, a rooted cutting of the Sri Lanka tree was taken to the temple of Borobudur, near Jogjakarta, Central Java, Indonesia. Borobudur is the largest Buddhist temple in south-east Asia, and was built some 1100 years ago. This leaf, therefore, represents the very genotype under which Buddha ""achieved enlightenment"", a genotype nearly 2500 years ols, probably the oldest documented genotype of any organis