In Buddhism the lotus stands for the mind rising clean out of suffering. The flower roots in the mud at the bottom of a pond, grows up through murky water and opens above the surface without a trace of mud on its petals. That is why Buddhas and bodhisattvas are shown seated or standing on lotus flowers, and why the lotus is one of the most common symbols in Buddhist jewelry.
The lotus in Buddhist teaching
The lotus image runs through Buddhist texts and art:
- Purity amid the world. The mud is everyday life with its attachments and troubles. The flower shows that awakening grows out of that life, not away from it.
- The lotus throne. Statues and paintings place the Buddha on an open lotus as a sign of his awakened mind.
- Mantra. Padme in Om Mani Padme Hum means "in the lotus."
The lotus is also one of the Eight Auspicious Symbols of Tibetan Buddhism. The cross-legged meditation posture is called the lotus position, padmasana in Sanskrit.
Lotus colors
A popular reading gives each color its own meaning: white for purity of mind, pink for the Buddha himself, red for love and compassion, and blue for wisdom. It is a modern summary rather than a rule from the scriptures, and artists use the colors freely.
The lotus in Chinese culture
In the 11th century the Chinese scholar Zhou Dunyi wrote a short essay, "On Loving the Lotus," praising the flower because it grows out of the mud yet stays unstained. The line became a byword for integrity. The Chinese word for lotus, lian, also sounds like the words for "continuous" and "honest," so the lotus appears on gifts that wish for lasting blessings.
Wearing a lotus
Lotus charms hang from bracelets, malas and pendants. Many pair the flower with bodhi seed beads, named after the tree under which the Buddha awakened.
