The Buddha Under the Bodhi Tree: A Story of Compassion and Calm

Few figures bring as much calm to a room as the Buddha. Behind that calm is a story about a search.

The prince who left

As the tradition is told, Siddhartha was born a prince, raised in comfort and shielded from the world's suffering. When he saw old age, illness and death for the first time, he was deeply moved, and he left the palace to seek an understanding of why people suffer.

Under the Bodhi tree

After years of seeking, he sat in meditation beneath a Bodhi tree at Bodh Gaya, resolved not to rise until he understood. There he attained enlightenment and became the Buddha, the awakened one. He spent the rest of his life teaching compassion, non-violence and the middle path between excess and denial.

Why the tree

The tree in the image is the Bodhi tree itself, a reminder that calm is found by sitting still and looking inward, not by running from life.

What it teaches

Peace comes from awareness, kindness to others and freedom from clinging. These are values as useful at a work desk as in a monastery.

For your home

Our brass Buddha with Tree (6 inch) shows the seated Buddha beneath the Bodhi tree. The Buddha idol, finished in brass, is a calm presence for a living room, study or meditation corner.

A Buddha statue also makes a thoughtful housewarming gift: it asks nothing and gives a quiet moment every time you pass it.