https://www.facebook.com/pg/HealingTheLotusWay/notes/?ref=page_internal
Into The Lotus Way
I agree with this beautiful quote for the most part. I hope you enjoy it as well as my comments that follow.
“Imagine that you are a lotus seed buried beneath a muddy lotus pond. There is mud all around you, and you can feel them clearly. Above you, above this muddy pool of dirt, mud and filth, are sunshine and air. You are not disheartened as you begin your journey towards the surface.
With a determined heart, you begin to wiggle in the earth. You grow roots deep, deep into the mud. Your little stem grows up slowly. Suddenly, “pop” you are out of the mud! Your stem grows higher and higher, taller and taller. You rise up slowly, fighting against the muddy water. All of a sudden, you are out of the muddy pond! You reach up towards the warm sun, shining down on you.
Your lotus bud begins to grow on top of your stem. It expands and grows larger and larger,finally bursting into full bloom. A white lotus flower. You stand beautifully above the muddy water, not dirtied by the mud from which you grow. You are white, fragrant and beautiful.
Everyone who saw you marveled at your beauty! Your determination to grow out of the muddy pond reminds them of the Buddha and his journey towards Enlightenment. TheBuddha, like a lotus, is determined to grow out of the muddy surroundings, that is the defilements and sufferings of life. He has done all that is to be done and he is showing us that we can all do it too. We may have defilements but we all have the potential of growing out of our defilements and achieving wisdom,like the Buddha.
You are a beautiful white lotus flower, and your role is to remind people to rise above their defilements and sufferings, just as you are arising above the muddy water and not dirtied by the mud from which you grow”
http://www.buddhanet.net/e-learning/buddhism/meditate/lotus.htm
Here is my input on this beautiful note:
If we are the lotus seed…part of us always remains connected… rooted even… in the muddy depths of life’s pond. Another part of us is always growing and being moved about by the murky waters. And yes, if we accept these conditions and work within them… a part of us may find ourselves blossoming into the air and towards the sun. But… it is ALL beautiful… all necessary.
I have always questioned why everyone needs to just focus on that part of us that is the beautiful flower. We are also the dirty muddy roots and the fragile wavering stem. Sometimes if the conditions are just right and we are patient and allow for the time to grow, we can enjoy some time blossoming in this life. However, if several variables are not just right (most of which we have little or no control over), we may rarely or even never achieve the state of flower in full bloom. So what!? That is only one part of us. If we honor and cherish the mud where our roots remain… then we focus on that part of us which is still connected and continue on our journey with gratitude and a deep intention to grow as best we can from the conditions we find ourselves in. It is this journey, not the destination that defines us. We are still the lotus.
Anyways… that’s my two cents on the beautiful symbolism of the lotus. The concepts I note here are what inspired the name of my company back in 2001. And although the quote above is beautiful and I honor these teachings deeply… the lessons I was receiving in my meditations were that something of the teachings of ‘TheLotus Way’ were missing. And one day, the full teaching came to me. This note is a morsel from the volumes that took root in me that day. I came out of that meditation and within a days time had registered my company name ‘The Lotus Way, LLC’ and built my website. From that day forward I committed to my growth more deeply as well as my desire to serve others in any way I could in their commitment to growth… whole-istic growth… mind, body, soul.
I hope that this little note resonates with those of you who may feel you are still more in the mud or rising up through the murky waters rather than the temporal yet beautiful blossom on the surface.
You, all of you, are The Lotus Way… from seed to root to petal.
In Love, The Lotus Way