Lotus

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The ancient Egyptians developed the art of counting to a high

degree, but their system of numeration was very crude. For example,

the number 1,000 was symbolized by a picture of a lotus flower, and

the number 2,000 was symbolized by a picture of two lotus flowers

growing out of a bush.

 

The Egyptians of very ancient times decorated their fabrics by

painting them. Favorite motifs in the designs were the lotus blossom,

a zigzag line representing waves, and the sacred beetle. Some mummy

cloths were painted with religious scenes. (Excerpted from Compton's

Interactive Encyclopedia 1993, 1994 Compton's NewMedia,

Inc.)

 

The lotus is an Asian water lily known for the delicate beauty of

its water flowers. It possesses an amazing ability to flourish in a

variety of environments ranging from clear ponds to muddy marshes. It

is also known for its exceptionally hearty seed pods, which often

plant themselves far from its source, bringing the beauty of the

lotus blossoms everywhere.

 

Lotus {loh'-tuhs} Lotuses are 5 species of water lilies, three in the

genus Nymphaea and two in Nelumbo; both genera are members of the

water-lily family, Nymphaeaceae. Lotus is also the name of a genus in

the pea family, Leguminosae, which contains such plants as the bird's-

foot trefoil, Lotus corniculatus. Nymphaea lotus, the Egyptian white

lotus, is believed to be the original sacred lotus of ancient Egypt.

It and the Egyptian blue lotus, N. caerulea, were often pictured in

ancient Egyptian art.

 

The white lotus is a shallow-water, night-blooming plant with a

creeping rootstock (rhizome) that sends up long-stalked, nearly

circular, dark green leathery leaves, which

float on the surface. The flowers, up to 25 cm (10 in) across, remain

open until midday.

The blue lotus is a smaller, less showy day-blooming plant.

The Indian blue lotus, N. stellata, differs from the blue Egyptian

species largely in its

leaves. Nelumbo contains but two species. The American lotus, N.

lutea, is found in the eastern half of the United States into

southern Canada. It has thick, spreading rootstock and large bluish

green circular leaves, up to 60 cm (2 ft) across, which are usually

raised above the surface of the water. The pale-yellow flowers, up to

25 cm (10 in) across, usually open on three successive days. Both the

seeds and the rootstock (rhizomes) were eaten by the Indians.

 

The East Indian lotus, N. nucifera, found in southern Asia, was

introduced into Egypt about 2,500 years ago but is no longer found in

the Nile region. Its flowers are considered sacred by the Buddhists

of India, Tibet, and China. (Edwin E. Rosenblum) Picture Caption

The lotus, Nymphaea lotus, bears many-seeded, berrylike fruit and

leathery, floating leaves that may reach 50 cm (20 in) across. The

cup- shaped flowers of the lotus were often represented in ancient

Egyptian art and architecture.

 

 

Lakshmi (luhk'-shmee), wife of the Hindu god VISHNU, and one of the

incarnations of the Mother-Goddess, or Devi, is the goddess of

fortune and prosperity as well as the epitome of feminine beauty.

According to Hindu legend she was born radiant and fully grown from

the churning of the sea. Lakshmi is portrayed as sitting on a lotus,

her traditional symbol. SHAKTI art objects is a basic characteristic

of all Phoenician art. A 13th-century BC sarcophagus from BYBLOS

that was reused for King Hirain in the 10th century BC, for example,

shows a bearded ruler seated on a throne that is flanked by winged

sphinxes and topped by a lotus frieze. Also shown is a procession of

servants and worshipers approaching a table laden with food; below

the scene four lions support the sarcophagus.

 

Most seeds remain quiescent during a cold or dry season and germinate

only with the coming of favorable growing conditions. Seeds that

require special treatment to germinate, even when presented with

adequate water and oxygen and favorable temperatures, are said to

exhibit DORMANCY. Seeds with thick or waxy coats, which inhibit the

entry of water and oxygen, may remain in a prolonged quiescent state.

Seeds of the Indian lotus can germinate 200 years after they are

shed. Most seeds, however, lose the ability to germinate within

several years of shedding. Following the return of the rains,

primitive peoples witnessed the rise of the undefiled water lily from

the bottom of dried-up watercourses and considered the living blooms

symbols of immortality and resurrection. The ancient Egyptians from

the 4th dynasty greatly valued the sacred lotus, N. totus, in

religious ceremonies and funerals.

 

The Chinese have always loved lotus flowers. They are thought of as

being like a gentleperson, who keeps themselves clean, alive and

healthy in a dirty environment. Essentially the lotus flower

represents creative power and purity amid adverse surroundings. It

is also a symbol of the seventh month, summer. In China, there are

many poems about the lotus flower, often describing how they come out

of the dirty mud under the water and yet retain their pureness,

freshness and beauty

 

An Old Chinese Poem:

"The leaves break the bandage of the green stem, stretch themselves

and form a green pool with untidy edges. Now the flower comes from

out of the vast surface of the water, just like a very beautiful

woman coming gracefully from her bath"

 

Chinese poets also use lotus flowers to inspire people to continue

striving through difficulties and to show their best part to the

outside world, no matter how bad the circumstances may be. This is

understood as being just like the lotus flower, bringing beauty and

light from the murky darkness at the bottom of the pond

 

Another symbolic characteristic of the lotus flower leads from the

observation that the plant's stalk is easy to bend in two, but is

very hard to break because of its many strong sinuous fibres. Poets

use this to represent a close unbreakable relationship between two

lovers or the members within a family, showing that no matter how

far away they might live nothing can really separate them in heart

 

 

 

In Buddhism the lotus flower symbolizes faithfulness. The golden

lotus that is mentioned in Buddhist sutras has two meanings, one is

the symbol for the achievement of enlightenment and the other points

towards a real flower which is beyond our normal perception

 

The influence of a lotus flower painting is to open us up to beauty

and light. A good lotus flower painting can act as a reminder of the

miracle of beauty, light and life. This reminder, communicated on an

emotional level, is said to aid both spiritual and practical

understanding of Tao, the world and our place in it

 

Buddhism

 

The lotus flower has become a very important image to the central

ideas of Buddhism. In a sense it parallels the life of someone on a

quest to Enlightenment. The lotus blossom is symbolic of many aspects

of Buddhism such as views on spiritual unfoldment, Enlightenment, and

impermanence. The lotus shows many similarities to Buddhism, only a

few I will elaborate on. The lotus blossom has been used in Buddhist

legends dating back thousands of years ago. One of the most popular

legends about the lotus blossom is as follows:

 

A long time ago a baby was born, and this baby took his first steps

shortly after being born. He took seven steps in total and in every

spot where his feet touched the earth a lotus blossom appeared.

This baby's name was Suddhartha, and he was a young Buddha.

 

The lotus plant starts with the development of its roots in the

darkness and mud in the bottom of a lake or pond. As the stem grows

it becomes strengthened, it remains bendable, but maintains the

rigidity that is needed to grow towards the surface. It eventually

grows out of the water and is graced with brightness, light, and

sunshine. In the same way a Buddhist mind grows out of the darkness

of ignorance and self-ness. The mind transforms this murky darkness

into a sort of Enlightenment-Consciousness (bodhi-cutta), which is

the very essence of the lotus blossom (padma). As one seeks

Enlightenment it is important to realize that if your roots were not

in the darkness that there would be no way that your mind could have

grown into the light. Similarly, if the urge to find light were not

in the seed, it would have no means to migrate towards the light in

the first place. The enlightened mind works much in the same way.

If the urge to move towards consciousness and knowledge were not

instinctively in ones mind from birth, they would have no means of

surpassing the dark state of Samsara.

 

The lotus grows out of the mud and murky waters and is actually

nurtured by these very

elements. As the plant grows out of the water and reaches brightness

and air it blooms into a beautiful flower. It is said that during

their development, the plants filter and purify the body of water in

which they find themselves, making the water transparent. According

to tradition, the muddier the water was to start with, the more

beautiful the lotus flower is when it arrives. This flower bears no

resemblance to the environment in which it was raised, nor has its

environment stained it. One who has grown out of greed and hatred

must not let them be stained by that upbringing. They must search

for the light. When they find that light they will bloom into a

beautiful and harmless creature, which is capable of perfect

understanding.

 

The fact that the lotus blossom is impermanent is also a very

important concept. The lotus plant will eventually perish, but

before it does so it will pass on seeds of itself, which will regrow

at some point in time. So the life of just one plant can be traced

as a cyclical pattern. This concept is the same in the philosophy of

Buddhism. The idea of life and rebirth are conveyed through the

imagery that the lotus plant lends itself to.

 

Meditating Buddha's are represented sitting in lotus flowers. The

unfoldment of spiritual vision in meditation (dhyana) is symbolized

by fully opened lotus blossoms. The center and pedals carry the

images according to their relative position and mutual

relationship. In the same way the centers of human consciousness are

represented as lotus flowers.

 

 

Like a Lotus Flower...

All priests and priestesses.

I loved lotus flowers.

I have often cited the simile of lotus flowers;

Look at that muddy pond.

Muddy ponds where the lotus blooms

Are not a pretty sight.

Or rather, they are filthy ponds.

They are far from being pure and clean ponds.

The water is muddy and may have a foul odor.

Nonetherless those muddy ponds are chosen

To sow the seeds of lotus,

And the lotus prefers to bloom

Out of such muddy ponds.

Out of the mud, it stretches a fresh clean stalk,

And opens a red flower, violet flower or white flower.

The sight is quite ethereal.

 

All priests and priestesses.

Learn that your missions are here.

That your calling is here.

The world on earth you tread on

May look to you to be full of dirt.

The mundane world may be full of temptations.

The world may always be filled

With crises of degradation.

You, however, should not evade such environments.

Do not try to escape from such circumstances.

Produce splendid lotus flowers.

Out of the muddy pond.

That is what you are meant to do in your present life

As Buddha's disciples.

Thus I spoke in the past, and thus I speak now.

However full of pains and miseries

The world may be,

That should not be an excuse.

 

n Excerpts from "The Rebirth of Buddha"

 

 

 

INDIA

 

NATIONAL INSIGNIA :National Flower - Lotus

 

The Lotus or waterlily is an aquatic plant of Nymphaea with broad

floating leaves and bright fragrant flowers that grow only in

shallow waters. The leaves and flowers float and have long stems that

contain air spaces. The big attractive flowers have many petals

overlapping in a symmetrical pattern. The root functions are carried

out by rhizomes that fan out horizontally through the mud below the

water. Lotuses, prized for their serene beauty, are delightful to

behold as their blossoms open on the surface of a pond. In India the

sacred lotus is legendary and much folklore and religious mythology

is woven around it.

 

Lotus

In an early Egyptian legand, many, many years ago, before the

universe was created, it was believed that there was an infinite

ocean of motionless water that formed into the original being, Nun.

Out of Nun, appeared a small mound of dry land. And on this land

appeared a lotus flower. When this lotus flower opened a self-created

sun god, Atum was born. Every night when the flower closes and it is

thought that Atum returns to his flower to rest.

 

The lotus flower in the Orient has represented divine female

fertility for over 5000 years. In the Jewish creation story, the

lotus flower was the symbol of Lilith, the Sumero-Babylonia goddess,

who was considered the first wife of Adam.

 

The lotus is often identified with goddess Laksmi, who is the life-

bestowing goddess of abundance and luck and is one of the queens of

Vishnu, the preserver.

 

The Lotus is also a symbol of the teaching of Buddha and meditation.

In the practice of Yoga, the lotus posture is one of the most

ancient, symmetrical and serene postures. When performing this pose,

one sits upright with right foot placed on the left thigh, while the

left foot is placed on the right thigh. hands of the yogi should be

kept on the knees with his/her palms up and open, while the thumb

and the second finger of each hand should touch, forming the letter

O.