The First School Began under a Tree

I just spent my Spring Festival vacation in India and had the fi rst stop to Bodh Gaya to see the well-known Bodhi Tree. 2,500 years ago Sakyamuni had sitting meditation under the tree for beatification following long asceticism and after 49 days he was enlightened to become Buddha. Thus, Buddhism was originated under the Bodhi Tree. The current tree is a descendant of the original one but it grows in the same place where Buddhists from all over the world come to worship and kowtow, have sitting meditation and chant scriptures, making virtually this sacred tree an outdoor scripture hall. Despite numerous visitors coming and going, the full quietness and tranquility around the lush Bodhi Treemade me feel boundless purity and peacefulness.

Following the Buddhahood and in 531 BC, Sakyamuni came to the forested and wild deer inhabited Sarnath in the suburb of Varanasi to give lectures. Disciples kept gathering there to learn Buddhist classics and disseminating them to the worldly making Sarnatha major worshiped Buddhist center over thousands of years for which Sarnath is reckoned as the oldest Buddhist school of the world. Now Sarnath as relics are hardly noticeable among the luxuriant growth of trees forming a quiet unadorned retreat away from the world in contrast to the noisy Varanasi city. Nevertheless, it remains a spot for believers to worship Buddha and preach sermons,as if the ancient Varanasi Buddhit classics lectures are carrying on.

During almost the same period in about 520 BC, Confucius started admitting disciples to give lectures. He took them to tour various states and then set up private schools. In his long educational career, Confucius recruited more than 3,000 disciples.The specif i c site of his platform can hardly be identif i ed now, but according toChapter 31 of Fisherman, Miscellaneous Writings of Zhuang Zi, “Confucius travelled through dark colored forests and sat onXingtan(apricot trees surrounded bema) for a rest.The disciples read while Confucius sang with accompaniments of stringed instrument and drum”. It is therefore inferred that Confucius had sit under trees or over tree surrounded platform to teach his doctrines andthe six classical arts (propriety, music,archery, riding, writing, arithmetic) in Qufu. Thereafter, numerous academies of classical learning (Shuyuan) were established in China,such as the Bailudong Academy, Songyang Academy and Yuelu Academy. Most of these folk academies as schooling sites and knowledge centers were located in secluded mountainous forests.

Ancient Greek philosophers founded various schools at a slightly shorter time after Sakyamuni Buddhit preaching. In pursuit of spiritual peacefulness, these philosophers had a preference for verdant forests where they could think and study quietly. In about 387 BC, Plato set up a school in the Academus Woods outside Athens to teach philosophy, geometry, astronomy, mathematics and music. This is the oldest comprehensive school in Europe and the origin of the word “academy” of modern western universities. In his densely forested schoolhouse close to a shrine and a gym, Plato taught and wrote and many famous ancient Greek philosophers such as Aristotle were trained. Afterwards, Aristotle founded his academy “Lyceum” in an olive forest in Athens. Most scenic areas of Greece at that time had shrines for sacrif i ce and oblation, and near the shrines such facilities of gyms or sport schools were built for debate, education, physical exercise and for lecture giving of philosophers.

The above well-known lecturing platforms of early human civilization are all related to trees: banyan, apricots or olives. It is no wonder that the architect Louis I. Kahn said, “The fi rst school began under a tree.”

The fact that the early-stage “academies” of the world either oriental or western are located in forested sites and mountains is not a coincidence. This is because school is a circumstance composed of proper spaces for learning. Places with beautiful scenery help cultivate the temperament, tranquilize the soul and concentrate the mind on knowledge acquisition.

The antecedent of the modern western university is the lyceum or shrine of ancient Greek while those of some modern Chinese universities the time-honoredShuyuan. Thousands of years passed,the enrollment of the university as institution for higher education and scientif i c research ranges from several thousands to hundreds of thousand students, and the campus with comprehensive functions to serve the reading and living of students and teachers has become a mini-society. Nevertheless, the nature of the campus environment remains basically the same. Anideal campus should contain sound ecological condition with fresh air, beautiful gardens and far away from the noises, trivialities and vulgarities; adequate living and sport facilities, performance and exhibition spaces and outdoor grounds for communication; rich cultural ambience, profound academic spirit and rich cultural deposits. Only with these can the university produce imperceptible impacts on the character, accomplishment and physical and mental health of the students and teachers on the campus and bring them pride while offering attraction to others.

All the complimentary qualities are based on trees on the campus. Traced back to thousands of years ago, school began with a group of people communicating under a tree. In other words,a tree plus a group of people like cells of biota are essential parts of the campus. To this end, we are supposed to plant more trees rather than constructing more “landscapes” to make the campus natural and woody to enlighten minds, pacifysouls, trigger frank communication for pure sacred academic atmosphere.