Not far from the city of Brisbane, on a quiet summer afternoon in December, my wife, Eva, and I met with an unforgettable experience. In the peaceful Australian bushland setting, a Buddhist friend from close by Chung Tian Temple (http://www.chungtian.org.au/) led us to a pond filled with pink lotus flowers. Surrounding the pond of flowers swaying in the summer breeze were gently sloping hillsides of Australian eucalyptus trees. The serenity and splendour of the location are still etched on our minds. This other-worldly setting was only a ten-minute drive from suburban housing, a shopping mall, and busy motorway.

At first, we silently admired the wonder of so many lotus flowers dancing in the sunlight before us. Then, strolling around the pond, I began to reflect on the special significance of the lotus flower – seen as a sacred flower by Egyptians, Hindus, and Buddhists.

Growth through Life

Rooted in mud at the bottom of a pond, the plant’s leaves and flower buds grow through the water to the surface. Finally, magnificent flowers rise above the water. Similarly, from often difficult and painful experiences in life, in a world where darkness and confusion exist, we grow and mature through life. Each person, in their own time, has the potential to emerge into a noble man or woman.

The Mud

Interestingly, while the lotus stem and beautiful flower rise above the water, its roots remain in the mud. This mud nourishes the roots, and can represent our often uncertain and unhappy lives as we try to make sense of and find meaning in our human existence.

All humans are born into a world filled with suffering. However, as it turns out, this suffering becomes an essential part of the human experience – eventually, it strengthens us and teaches us to be on guard against actions that perpetuate or bring more suffering. Through our good and bad experiences, we learn to break free from the causes of suffering and bloom in the beauty of love and compassion for ourselves and others.

Rebirth

The lotus flower pictures rebirth, both figuratively and literally. In a figurative sense, rebirth can be a dramatic change of ideas, the dawn after a dark time in life, a renaissance of beliefs, or the ability to acknowledge one’s past wrongs and move forward again. In a literal sense, the lotus flower represents a new realm of existence – what the saints and sages down through the ages have written and spoken about.

Faith and Belief

For us to rise above worldly passions and traumas, and to then blossom in unselfish love, requires faith, and so a lotus flower can also represent sound belief, assurance, and conviction.

The Colours of the Lotus Flower

Finally, in Buddhist tradition, the various colours of the lotus flower have special meanings.  A blue lotus is often linked with the perfection of wisdom. A pink lotus represents the Buddha. A red lotus is linked with the heart and our pure original nature, and is the lotus of love, compassion, and all the qualities of the heart. Finally, the white lotus represents a mind purified of all poisons that has reached spiritual perfection (or, total mental purity).

Walking away from the lotus pond filled with swaying flowers, we were reminded that like a lotus flower that grows out of the mud and then blossoms above the water surface, we too can rise above our struggles and sufferings of life and one day experience a life of glory forever.

Alexander and Eva Peck (2013)

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