Residing in the Presidential Lounge on the third floor of University Unions, a Bodhi tree commemorates the campus visit of Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th Dalai Lama, who delivered remarks to a crowd of 12,000 at the Frank Erwin Center on September 20, 2005.

Bodhi Tree Dedication

For:

UT Students, Faculty, Staff and the General Public

Date:

Thu, Nov 19 2026, 4 - 5pm

Location:

Register Here

This past summer, Texas Global was honored to welcome the tree into our Global Lounge, gifted by longtime UT staff member Robert Moddrell. This tree is the first cutting taken from the original Bodhi tree on the Forty Acres, which the Dalai Lama blessed during his 2005 campus visit.

More than two decades since it came to campus, UT Austin’s original tree remains a powerful piece of University history. Both trees remind us of the value of compassion, wisdom, and peace, as well as our shared pursuit of understanding across cultures and borders.

The Bodhi Tree Dedication Ceremony is an opportunity to acknowledge the roots and connections that bind us and inspire our continued work toward a better world.