Roger: 0:02

Talking Trees with Lillian Jad. Welcome to today's episode of Talking Trees. In this episode, we'll explore the rich symbolic significance of trees across various religions and mythologies, from the Tree of Life, a powerful symbol of immortality and divine connection, to the sacred Bodhi Tree in Buddhism, under which Buddha achieved enlightenment. These symbols highlight how deeply trees are woven into the spiritual fabric of different cultures and beliefs. Stay tuned for this enlightening discussion.

Jad: 0:40

Hey everybody, welcome to this deep dive about trees and mythology.

Lilly: 0:45

Really interesting topic.

Jad: 0:46

Yeah, especially for all of you out there who are arborists. Absolutely I mean, think about it, you already spend all day, every day, up in the trees.

Lilly: 0:53

That's right.

Jad: 0:54

With the trees taking care of them.

Lilly: 0:55

Yeah.

Jad: 0:56

So we wanted to do something a little different. Sure, and look at trees through this lens of mythology and spirituality.

Lilly: 1:02

Oh, I like that.

Jad: 1:03

So we're going to start off with a real famous tree Okay, the Bodhi tree, of course. This is the tree in India where Siddhartha Gautama became the Buddha Right and achieved enlightenment.

Lilly: 1:16

A very important species for a lot of people.

Jad: 1:19

It is, and so the tree that's there now at the Mahabodhi temple it's not the original tree, but it's a direct descendant.

Lilly: 1:27

Yeah, it's been propagated for centuries.

Jad: 1:30

Can you imagine the importance of keeping that lineage alive for all of these hundreds and hundreds of years? And then think about it. There's so many places around the world where saplings of this tree have been planted.

Lilly: 1:43

Hawaii, sri Lanka.

Jad: 1:45

California, Japan, I mean all over.

Lilly: 1:47

Incredible.

Jad: 1:48

And speaking of Sri Lanka, yes, the Sri Mahabodhi that's in Anuradhapura. That one was planted way back in 288 BCE, wow, and it's considered to be the oldest verified specimen of any angiosperm.

Lilly: 2:03

That's amazing.

Jad: 2:05

That's incredible.

Lilly: 2:06

So much history in one tree.

Jad: 2:08

I mean, imagine everything that tree has seen, I know, over 23 centuries.

Lilly: 2:13

That's incredible. It's wild and you know what else is really interesting. The Bodhi tree is just one example of a very common archetype across so many different cultures.

Jad: 2:22

I know what you're going to think the world tree or the cosmic tree? Right like yggdrasil oh yeah in norse mythology that giant ash tree connecting the nine realms exactly.

Lilly: 2:32

It's amazing and we see this idea in so many other places mesopotamia, mesoamerica, lots of others too I mean everywhere.

Jad: 2:40

Right, and they usually depict it yeah, connecting the heavens and the earth and the underworld.

Lilly: 2:44

It's like this axis of the entire cosmology Absolutely. And don't you love the pictures of the world tree?

Jad: 2:51

Oh yeah.

Lilly: 2:51

Where you have those figures flanking it.

Jad: 2:54

Sometimes deities, sometimes humans.

Lilly: 2:56

Right, it's so cool.

Jad: 2:57

It really shows that ancient belief about the connection between humanity and divine, and the tree is right in the middle right there at the center of it all absolutely now let's talk about a different tree.

Lilly: 3:09

Okay, that's a little more complicated sure we're going to the garden of eden okay to the tree of knowledge of good and evil oh yeah, this one's all about choice and consequence right it's very different from the world tree right, because the world tree represents connection.

Jad: 3:24

This one is about Well, people usually interpret the fruit of the tree.

Lilly: 3:28

Yeah.

Jad: 3:29

As wisdom or moral discrimination.

Lilly: 3:32

Even the power to judge.

Jad: 3:33

So it's not really about just gaining knowledge.

Lilly: 3:36

Right.

Jad: 3:37

It's about humans taking on a role. It was probably meant for something else.

Lilly: 3:41

Yeah, like the divine.

Jad: 3:43

And that's interesting because, as arborists, you're always making choices about trees. Of course, you have to Deciding which branch to prune or how to guide its growth.

Lilly: 3:54

Right.

Jad: 3:55

I wonder if our ancestors saw those same dilemmas.

Lilly: 3:58

In the tree of knowledge.

Jad: 3:59

In the tree of knowledge. Yeah, okay, so let's talk about one more tree. All right this one is a little darker. Okay, the Zaqwum.

Lilly: 4:06

Oh yeah.

Jad: 4:06

Which, in Islamic tradition, is a cursed tree in hell.

Lilly: 4:11

The fruit are supposed to look like devil heads.

Jad: 4:13

I know.

Lilly: 4:14

And they cause like internal burning and suffering.

Jad: 4:16

It's a very different image from the Bodhi tree.

Lilly: 4:19

Absolutely. This one is about eternal punishment.

Jad: 4:21

Right, but you know, even within the Quran, Like the healing gourd tree that was grown for the prophet Jonah.

Lilly: 4:29

Right.

Jad: 4:30

So even within one belief system, trees can be both.

Lilly: 4:34

Both good and bad.

Jad: 4:35

Punishment and blessing. It's so interesting yeah it's that duality of trees. I know that make them such powerful symbols.

Lilly: 4:42

They really do inspire both awe and fear. You know, it's really fascinating just how these different ways of looking at trees reflect the complexities of being human right.

Jad: 4:52

I mean, we see them as life-giving, but also as these powerful forces that can be scary that's right, inspiring both awe and fear you know, as we're talking about all these different belief systems, yeah, I'm realizing just how important trees were to our ancestors they were central to life. They weren't just something in the background.

Lilly: 5:12

Right.

Jad: 5:13

They were completely intertwined with everything.

Lilly: 5:15

With culture and spirituality. They needed trees for practical stuff.

Jad: 5:19

Of course.

Lilly: 5:20

Food, shelter, medicine, but they also saw them as symbols.

Jad: 5:25

About the universe, exactly Like those images we were talking about.

Lilly: 5:28

Yeah.

Jad: 5:29

With the figures flanking the tree. Oh yeah, it's everywhere.

Lilly: 5:32

It really is a powerful archetype. It is Doesn't matter if it's Adam and Eve.

Jad: 5:36

Yeah.

Lilly: 5:37

Or some deities guarding a sacred grove.

Jad: 5:41

Yeah. It always points to this belief that everything is connected and the tree is that point of contact.

Lilly: 5:48

Yes.

Jad: 5:50

The link between humans and the divine, and for a lot of ancient cultures, trees weren't just symbols.

Lilly: 5:53

Right.

Jad: 5:54

They were actually thought to be.

Lilly: 5:55

Right.

Jad: 5:56

The homes of spirits or gods.

Lilly: 5:58

Oh wow, Can you imagine Like?

Jad: 5:59

if you were just walking through the forest?

Lilly: 6:01

Yeah.

Jad: 6:01

And you came across a tree.

Lilly: 6:03

And it was like that was sacred A sacred space.

Jad: 6:05

It'll be amazing.

Lilly: 6:06

I know it's hard to imagine that now. I know In our modern world.

Jad: 6:11

But as arborists.

Lilly: 6:12

Yeah.

Jad: 6:13

You all have the chance to experience that.

Lilly: 6:15

To feel that connection.

Jad: 6:17

I mean when you're working with a tree, you're interacting with something.

Lilly: 6:20

That's been alive for centuries. I mean that tree has seen so much, it's been through storms and droughts.

Jad: 6:26

It's given shelter to animals. It really makes you realize that trees are more than just wood or shade. And maybe, if we listen, yeah we can learn something about ourselves.

Lilly: 6:36

That's beautiful.

Jad: 6:37

So we've talked about all these different beliefs. Yeah how trees have been intertwined with humanity through our history. I mean we've seen them as symbols of life and death wisdom, temptation and punishment.

Lilly: 6:48

And that brings us to another idea okay about trees yeah the idea that they're sources of wisdom and knowledge oh, I like that like the bodhi tree where the buddha found enlightenment or the tree of knowledge with the potential for good and bad right, but how can we actually use that wisdom?

Jad: 7:05

in our work yeah as arborists. I think it starts with humility oh, okay we don't have all the answers. I mean, trees have been around a lot longer than us.

Lilly: 7:13

That's for sure, and they figured out.

Jad: 7:15

How to survive.

Lilly: 7:16

Yeah, they're resilient.

Jad: 7:17

So by watching them, studying them.

Lilly: 7:20

Their growth.

Jad: 7:21

How they react to stress.

Lilly: 7:23

Their relationships.

Jad: 7:24

We can learn how to care for them.

Lilly: 7:26

Yeah, it's not just about science. It's like learning to speak their language, understanding what they need.

Jad: 7:32

And you're connecting with this long line of tree caretakers.

Lilly: 7:37

I know it's a legacy.

Jad: 7:38

That goes back centuries.

Lilly: 7:40

To the druids.

Jad: 7:41

It shows how deep the connection is.

Lilly: 7:43

Between humans and trees.

Jad: 7:44

And in a world that's changing so fast.

Lilly: 7:47

Yeah.

Jad: 7:47

It's more important than ever.

Lilly: 7:48

To remember that connection.

Jad: 7:50

And to learn from the trees. You know, it's amazing to me how these old stories about trees they still mean something to us today.

Lilly: 7:57

I know what you mean.

Jad: 7:59

Even though we live in this tech-driven world, there's just something that draws us in.

Lilly: 8:05

Yeah, that makes us think.

Jad: 8:07

About bigger things. I mean think about it. For those ancient cultures, these beliefs about trees weren't just stories. They were a way of life.

Lilly: 8:16

Their whole existence revolved around trees.

Jad: 8:19

They needed them to survive.

Lilly: 8:20

For food and shelter.

Jad: 8:22

Right, but they also look to them.

Lilly: 8:24

For guidance. For spiritual inspiration and, in a way, you, as arborists, you're carrying on that tradition.

Jad: 8:33

I like that.

Lilly: 8:33

I mean you're protecting these trees.

Jad: 8:35

Yeah.

Lilly: 8:36

Not just for their practical uses.

Jad: 8:38

Right, but for what they represent.

Lilly: 8:40

That deeper meaning.

Jad: 8:41

It's like we're connecting the past and the present, and sometimes that wisdom comes from unexpected places.

Lilly: 8:48

Like what.

Jad: 8:48

Well, there's all this research now about the benefits of being in nature.

Lilly: 8:52

Spending time with trees.

Jad: 8:54

It can really help us.

Lilly: 8:55

Both physically and mentally.

Jad: 8:57

I mean, it makes sense, of course, we evolved in nature.

Lilly: 9:00

We did. It's only recently.

Jad: 9:01

That we've become so disconnected.

Lilly: 9:03

Yeah.

Jad: 9:04

So by reconnecting with trees, by understanding their importance to our world we're not just caring for them?

Lilly: 9:11

we're caring for ourselves all connected it is. It's about what it means to be human to be part of something bigger.

Jad: 9:19

So to all you arborists out there, yeah, as you're up in the trees taking care of them remember those stories, the meaning behind it all you're not just working with trees you're connecting with a legacy of reverence and respect. And in a world that can feel so uncertain, that connection is more important than ever. Thanks for joining us on this deep dive.

Lilly: 9:39

Until next time.

Jad: 9:40

Keep reaching for the sky.

Roger: 9:45

Thank you for joining us in this exploration of the symbolic significance of trees across different religions and mythologies. From the sacred Bodhi tree in Buddhism to the cursed Zakum in Islam, trees hold deep meanings in various cultures. If you enjoyed this episode and want to support our work, check out our exclusive content at heroheroco slash talkingtrees. Your support helps us bring more insightful discussions like this one. See you next time.