The Lotus flower is a fount of creation, source of possibilities. In Buddhist art, enlightened beings sit or stand on lotuses. When a foot is outstretched, a lotus blooms where it steps.
Guru Rinpoche, the extraordinary yogi who introduced Buddhism to Tibet is known as the Lotus Born, Padmasambhava.
These fertile lotus flowers symbolize innate purity arising in the world.
The lotus grows out of mud at the bottom of murky swamps. Unstained by that mud, it rises through the water and emerges from it — immaculately beautiful.
In the same way, the awakened compassion and wisdom of buddhas arise from the squalor of our ordinary world.
This world that gives rise to destructive emotions is also the place where we can become buddhas, where we can awaken from our ignorance and see reality as it is. This is the potential we all possess, right where we are.
This silken Lotus invites you to recognize that you don’t have to wait until everything is perfect, till your life calms down, till your circumstances improve, till anybody else gets on board. The lotus blooms right in the middle of the chaos. It grows out of the mud, unsullied by it. Perfectly beautiful in midst of the muck.
Be a Lotus. Rise up from the Muck.
