On this Earth Day 2020, I’m feeling a little “muddy”. There is so much going on with this Pandemic, information coming from all sides. So much suffering due to sickness, death, job loss, and separation of friends and family when these support systems are needed the most. I want to be well informed, but to tell you the truth, most of the time I suffer from Covid-19 overload!
One of the many ways I find relief and distraction is being outside, enjoying what the earth has to offer. Yes, even the mud! A Buddhist value that very much speaks to me is: No Mud, No Lotus. Like a lotus flower that grows out of the mud and blossoms above the muddy water surface, we can rise above our sufferings of life.
Several years ago at a North Church Women’s Retreat I offered this meditation, with our hands in the mud and eyes closed, feeling what the mud has to offer with the emergence of a beautiful lotus flower. So today I offer this during these muddy times, get your hands dirty in the earth and know that beautiful things grow out of the earth with time, patience, love and understanding. Be like a Lotus seed.
Imagine that you are a lotus seed buried beneath a muddy lotus pond. There is mud all around you. 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 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 warmth of sun.
Your lotus bud begins to grow on top of your stem. It expands and grows larger and larger, finally bursting into full bloom, a purple lotus flower. You stand beautifully above the muddy water, not dirtied by the mud from which you grew. You are purple, fragrant and beautiful.
Everyone who sees you marvels at your beauty! Your determination to grow out of the muddy pond reminds them of the Buddha and his journey towards Enlightenment. The Buddha, like a lotus, is determined to grow out of the muddy surroundings, that is the 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 sufferings but we all have the potential of growing out of our sufferings and achieving wisdom, like the Buddha.
You are a beautiful purple lotus flower, and your role is to remind people to rise above their sufferings, just as you are arising above the muddy water and not dirtied by the mud from which you grow.”
Peace and Hope as we journey together in Spirit,
Chris