Today, the ancient tree in Khao Ding village is renowned as “one of the most unique historical sites in China – the thousand-year-old camphor tree embracing the Buddha statue.”
The Mystery of the “Buddha-Embracing Tree”
Khao Ding Village (Fujian, China) is home to a remarkably unique ancient tree. This tree is thousands of years old and has become an integral part of the small village, witnessing countless historical changes, affectionately referred to by locals as the “sacred tree.”
It is known that this ancient tree is a camphor tree, which, despite its millennia-long age, remains lush and vibrant. The tree stands 36 meters tall, has a trunk circumference of 10.5 meters, and a canopy area of over 900 square meters. Naturally, these alone do not qualify it as a marvel.
The strange aspect is that on the trunk of this ancient tree, there is a small hollow about 1 meter above the ground, roughly the size of an adult’s fist. Inside the hollow is a Buddha statue, approximately 60 cm tall.
How can a Buddha statue fit into such a small hollow in the tree?
Most of the theories surrounding this mystery are somewhat far-fetched and, of course, not credible to experts who believe in science. However, when attempting to discover how the statue came to be placed in such a small hollow, they could not come up with a convincing answer. So what exactly has caused this strange phenomenon? There is a local legend that may provide some clues.
The Legend of the Thousand-Year-Old Tree
To uncover the secret of the Buddha statue inside the ancient camphor tree, experts turned to the village’s oldest elder. According to him, the legend of the Buddha statue in the tree hollow is connected to Zhu Xi.
Zhu Xi was a calligrapher, historian, philosopher, politician, and writer from the Song Dynasty in China.
The statue of Zhu Xi in Khao Ding Village was built later
According to the legend, Zhu Xi once lived in Khao Ding Village, where he taught the villagers various forms of knowledge and was deeply respected for his wisdom and integrity.
After Zhu Xi passed away, to honor his outstanding contributions, the villagers cast a Buddha statue symbolizing spiritual and moral values. However, due to a lack of funds to build a temple, they had to find a special place to place the statue. Eventually, they decided to place the Buddha statue in the sacred hollow of the tree in Khao Ding Village.
It is said that this ancient tree stands in the middle of the village, and Zhu Xi stood under its branches while teaching the village youth. At that time, the hollow in the tree was quite spacious, capable of holding a relatively large Buddha statue, with room to spare.
Over time, the hole in the tree “healed” naturally, and the tree continued to grow, making the statue appear as if it were “swallowed” by the tree. This scene has made the thousand-year-old tree a unique local attraction, a testament to the legend and history.
Expert Decoding
From the elder’s story, experts grasped the key point when he mentioned: “When I was young, I often curiously looked into the hollow of the tree, and it was much wider back then, clearly seeing the Buddha statue inside, but now the hollow is only the size of a fist. Perhaps in a few years, it will disappear forever.”
Experts believe that this miraculous phenomenon may be related to the growth process of the ancient camphor tree. The growth rate of the tree is so rapid that the bark may not be able to adapt to this pace. As a result, cracks gradually appeared in the trunk. When the villagers saw the cracks, they decided to place the statue inside to commemorate Zhu Xi.
However, no one expected that as the tree continued to grow and expand, the new bark would gradually envelop the existing cracks, eventually forming a small hollow. The statue in this tree hollow is surrounded by the trunk, creating an astonishing sight.
This hypothesis may not fully explain this mysterious phenomenon, but it is a reasonable explanation with substantial grounds.
Of course, the reliability of the statement has yet to be confirmed, but this legend and attraction continue to draw countless tourists and scholars from all over to explore.
Today, the ancient tree in Khao Ding Village is acclaimed as “one of the most unique historical sites in China – the thousand-year-old camphor tree embracing the Buddha statue.” Locally, there is also a belief that anyone who sees the Buddha statue in this tree hollow will be healthy and at peace.
