The Sal Tree

“Once upon a time, a king in Benaras decided that he wanted a grand palace that would rest on only one column. In his palace grounds was a huge sal tree that stood straight and strong. The royal family had always honoured and worshipped the tree and it was a favourite of all those who lived in the kingdom. However, when no other tree in the kingdom was good enough for constructing such a column, the king ordered that the sal tree be cut down.

- Marie L. Shedlock.

In that tree lived a tree spirit, believed to be a reincarnation of Gautam Buddha. When the tree spirit learnt of the king’s decision, he decided to visit him. He walked into the king’s chamber at midnight and stood weeping beside his pillow. The king woke up with a fright, and asked who he was and why he was weeping. The tree spirit told him that since the king had decided to cut him, he had come with a request that he cut him gently, one branch after another, and the roots, last of all, since his children, the young sal trees grow at his feet and that if the tree crashed, all these young children would perish too.