Lotus Flower (Padma~Symbol of Purity)
Lotus
The Flower of Life
All my life, I am always fascinating about the perfection of the lotus flower. Wherever I go, whenever I see this flower bloom, I often stop by to enjoy the exquisiteness sight and reflect on its natural beauty; its roots grow in muddy water, its long stem rises up out of the water, and its petal blossom gracefully toward the sun. As my inquiry mind goes to work, I could not help to think back of the quintessence of this magnificent flower. I come to realize that lotus flower is also one of the most important symbols in Buddhism (Padma-Symbol of Purity). The lotus takes time to plant its root and grow only from mud just as human beings can only grow from learning, making mistakes and failures, hard works, efforts, strong determination, and the practice of acceptance. The roots growing in mud symbolizes in ignorance or delusion, the long stem rising undefiled up in water symbolizes wisdom and spiritual growth. The petal blossoming gracefully symbolizes liberation, enlightenment, and nibbãna.
Life is continuous journey beset with problems and opportunities. Life starts with crying; birth is a great suffering. Every living being suffers. As human beings we suffer, and we should be allowed to acknowledge our feelings and we need to, say that we are hurting. Otherwise, we may become sick from suppressing our feelings. Being aware of our jealousy, perceptions, judgments and fear is already a positive step toward acceptance. When we accept ourselves as we are, we do not any longer need to change ourselves. The moment we become aware that we are being too critical of ourselves and we accept our negative seeds, we are making progress. People who are unaware of their negative energies will have difficulties making progress. The lotus knows that it can blossom beautifully because of the mud. For us the same is true. Throughout life, we encounter things that we don’t like, and are separated from things that we like. Unwanted things happen, wanted things do not happen, and we feel miserable. We have negative seeds within us, if we know to accept this, we accept ourselves. The lotus flower does not need to get rid of the mud. Without the mud, it will die. Unless we have garbage, we cannot have flowers. We should not judge others and ourselves. We only need to practice acceptance and tolerance. There will be progress without struggle. The process of transformation requires ongoing time, practice and patience. We produce garbage every day, so we need to practice continuously, ardently and to take care of our garbage in order to make it into flowers. Just as the lotus, we are the maker of our own future. We create our own welfare and misery as well as our own liberation. Real learning takes time, practice and patience. Nothing great was ever achieved without enduring. Make use of our time. We have to work; no one else can work for us. The benefit will be from our own work. This is the nature of the lotus flower. This is the nature of life.
As I contemplate the lotus flower, I establish inner contact with the aspect that is represented. Where we live, where we work, what we learn and what we do will influence who we are and what we accomplish in life. Just as the lotus, though it is born in the mud, grows up in the water, yet remains undefiled by the water, just so should strenuous person earnest in effort, remain undefiled. Lotus is The Flower of Life.
The Flower of Life
All my life, I am always fascinating about the perfection of the lotus flower. Wherever I go, whenever I see this flower bloom, I often stop by to enjoy the exquisiteness sight and reflect on its natural beauty; its roots grow in muddy water, its long stem rises up out of the water, and its petal blossom gracefully toward the sun. As my inquiry mind goes to work, I could not help to think back of the quintessence of this magnificent flower. I come to realize that lotus flower is also one of the most important symbols in Buddhism (Padma-Symbol of Purity). The lotus takes time to plant its root and grow only from mud just as human beings can only grow from learning, making mistakes and failures, hard works, efforts, strong determination, and the practice of acceptance. The roots growing in mud symbolizes in ignorance or delusion, the long stem rising undefiled up in water symbolizes wisdom and spiritual growth. The petal blossoming gracefully symbolizes liberation, enlightenment, and nibbãna.
Life is continuous journey beset with problems and opportunities. Life starts with crying; birth is a great suffering. Every living being suffers. As human beings we suffer, and we should be allowed to acknowledge our feelings and we need to, say that we are hurting. Otherwise, we may become sick from suppressing our feelings. Being aware of our jealousy, perceptions, judgments and fear is already a positive step toward acceptance. When we accept ourselves as we are, we do not any longer need to change ourselves. The moment we become aware that we are being too critical of ourselves and we accept our negative seeds, we are making progress. People who are unaware of their negative energies will have difficulties making progress. The lotus knows that it can blossom beautifully because of the mud. For us the same is true. Throughout life, we encounter things that we don’t like, and are separated from things that we like. Unwanted things happen, wanted things do not happen, and we feel miserable. We have negative seeds within us, if we know to accept this, we accept ourselves. The lotus flower does not need to get rid of the mud. Without the mud, it will die. Unless we have garbage, we cannot have flowers. We should not judge others and ourselves. We only need to practice acceptance and tolerance. There will be progress without struggle. The process of transformation requires ongoing time, practice and patience. We produce garbage every day, so we need to practice continuously, ardently and to take care of our garbage in order to make it into flowers. Just as the lotus, we are the maker of our own future. We create our own welfare and misery as well as our own liberation. Real learning takes time, practice and patience. Nothing great was ever achieved without enduring. Make use of our time. We have to work; no one else can work for us. The benefit will be from our own work. This is the nature of the lotus flower. This is the nature of life.
As I contemplate the lotus flower, I establish inner contact with the aspect that is represented. Where we live, where we work, what we learn and what we do will influence who we are and what we accomplish in life. Just as the lotus, though it is born in the mud, grows up in the water, yet remains undefiled by the water, just so should strenuous person earnest in effort, remain undefiled. Lotus is The Flower of Life.
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