Lotus seeds sprouting.

JohnG

Okay, I'm lost. Can anyone tell me what that the meaning of a sprouting lotus seed mean?

robot

how

The lotus is often equated with Buddhist practice. It gets its start as a seed in the mud and rises up through the water to rise clear of it in full bloom(enlightenment). The most common teaching in regards to the lotus is the reminder to not try to detach oneself from the mud (the world) but be like the lotus that produces the flower by remaining in contact with the mud.

karasti

No mud, no lotus. No manure, no flower. No dealing with crap, no beauty either. You can't have one without the counterpart.

Vastmind

Just a side note I can't resist.....
Do you know you can eat lotus seeds? Inside the pod....
Tastes like soft macadamia's....

This past summer, my daughter and I sat by the pond
at the monastery with a group of nuns and snacked while
they shared the (Lotus) teaching....

Citta

Vastmind said:

Just a side note I can't resist.....
Do you know you can eat lotus seeds? Inside the pod....
Tastes like soft macadamia's....

This past summer, my daughter and I sat by the pond
at the monastery with a group of nuns and snacked while
they shared the (Lotus) teaching....

They make a delicious paste too which tastes like marzipan. Often used in Chinese cakes.
In Chinese medicine they are used for reducing body heat.

lamaramadingdong

the lotus also represents non-clinging, as water beads and rolls right off.

genkaku

Or, as St. Augustine put it, we are all born between shit and piss.

anataman

Has anyone tried to grow one?

Seriously, I looked into it and it's quite a specialist thing to do in uk. I didn't have the time a few years ago. Maybe now might be the time to start.
Mettha

JohnG

Thank you, everything helped.

lobster

anataman said:

Has anyone tried to grow one?

Seriously, I looked into it and it's quite a specialist thing to do in uk. I didn't have the time a few years ago. Maybe now might be the time to start.
Mettha

No.
Ideally you require an indoor, conservatory or greenhouse pool and ideally extra artificial lighting for flowering.
http://www.watergardenplants.co.uk

You can see them when available at Kew Gardens. They have a strange 'ambience' unlike most other plants.
http://www.kew.org/plants-fungi/Nelumbo-nucifera.htm

If you grow them, getting local sangha to come and see and bless should make the effort worthwhile . . .

Citta

That Lotus House in Kew is wonderful.
Particularly when the green parakeets fly overhead..
For those that may not know, tropical parakeets escaped several decades ago from aviaries near London. It was assumed that they would not survive cold winters...in fact they have thrived and spread.
Over Kew and other parts of Surrey, including where we live, they fly noisily and with green beauty..