A golden fence surrounding Sri Lanka’s sacred Sri Maha Bodi tree in Anuradhapura.

ANURADHAPURA, Sri Lanka

Buddhism’s holiest tree in Sri Lanka’s ancient capital, tightly guarded by monks and security forces after Tamil rebels attacked it 23 years ago, is under threat again  this time from monkeys.

Pilgrims are frisked and scanned by metal detectors before being allowed to worship the “Sri Maha Bodi”, grown from a sapling of a tree in India that sheltered the Buddha when he attained enlightenment more than 2,550 years ago.

But primates in the temple compound are free to swing from tree-to-tree, grab sweet offerings and in the process endanger what Sri Lankan Buddhists believe is the world’s oldest religiously significant tree, a Banyan species propped up by iron supports at temple ruins dating back 2,300 years;-In the mainly Buddhist nation, the tree is not only an object of worship, but a symbol of national sovereignty.

Buddhist devotees from India, Myanmar, Thailand, Korea and Japan visit to pay homage, while tourists also flock to the scene despite the security procedures.

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