How is the Lotus significant to Buddhists?

What does it symbolize?

How is the Lotus significant to Buddhists?
Padma (nelumblum speciosum), the sacred lotus, is an aquatic plant that plays a central role in Indian religions such as Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism.



The lotus and lotus flower is an ancient polyvalent symbol. The lotus flower is one of the Vajrayana Ashtamangala. It is representative of creation and cosmic renewal and shares in the chakra and mandala symbolism of the Dharmachakra. It also represents purity as its flowers grow on long stalks, which are rooted in the mud. It is also symbolic of detachment as drops of water easily slide off its petals.



According to Sanatana Dharma, Padma (the deity and lotus), springs from the navel of Vishnu whilst he is in Yoga Nidra upon Ananta Shesha. The lotus blooms uncovering Brahma in padmasana.[1] The Padma is held to be a flower with a thousand petals and is therefore associated with the Sahasrara and indeed all the chakra. The padma appears as an endemic dais upon which deities rest and indeed upon which Indian iconography is founded. A number of divine figures are associated with the Padma, including Kubera and Lakshmi.



Robert Lawlor (1991: p.388) states:



The lotus in both Egypt and India symbolizes the union of the four elements; earth, air, fire, and water. The roots are in the earth, it grows in and by means of water, its leaves are nourished by air, and it blooms through the power of the sun's fire. The lotus is therefore the perfection of the fourfold order of the natural world. The growth of a new flower directly from the earth-bound original (infloresent proliferation) may be interpreted as a symbol of transcendence as found in Indian philosphophy: a spiritual emergence of a higher world directly from our physical manifestation. It may also be interpreted, as in Egypt, as the exaltation of the essence quality of the lotus.
Reply:The lotus (Sanskrit and Tibetan padma) is one of the Eight Auspicious Symbols and one of the most poignant representations of Buddhist teaching.



The roots of a lotus are in the mud, the stem grows up through the water, and the heavily scented flower lies pristinely above the water, basking in the sunlight. This pattern of growth signifies the progress of the soul from the primeval mud of materialism, through the waters of experience, and into the bright sunshine of enlightenment.



Though there are other water plants that bloom above the water, it is only the lotus which, owing to the strength of its stem, regularly rises eight to twelve inches above the surface.



According to the Lalitavistara, "the spirit of the best of men is spotless, like the lotus in the muddy water which does not adhere to it."



According to another scholar, "in esoteric Buddhism, the heart of the beings is like an unopened lotus: when the virtues of the Buddha develop therein, the lotus blossoms; that is why the Buddha sits on a lotus bloom."



The lotus is one of Buddhism's best recognized motifs and appears in all kinds of Buddhist art across all Buddhist cultures. Scrolling lotuses often embellish Buddhist textiles, ceramics and architecture.



Every important Buddhist deity is associated in some manner with the lotus, either being seated upon a lotus in full bloom or holding one in their hands. In some images of standing Buddhas, each foot rests on a separate lotus.
Reply:Which Buddhists? I think that it is something those Mahayanists are into.