Thursday, January 24, 2013

Flower Meditation

"Nature is not human-hearted."
-Lao-Tzu

The above quote is a favorite of mine. It's a reminder that the world we inhabit is neither sympathetic nor antagonistic to the human condition. It is what it is, & we are just along for the ride.

Ever since humans first began to think symbolically, flowering plants have always been a pervasive symbol of beauty & the fragile impermanence of Life.

I love nature in general & try to take time to closely observe the wonders surrounding us. Plants fascinate me because they are such a different kind of life than animals. I've been fortunate to visit places like Longwood Gardens, with amazing botanical displays.



According to the teaching of the Flower Sermon, The Buddha silently held up a lotus flower for his followers to contemplate. His followers tried to rationalize possible "meanings". However, one disciple, Mahākāśyapa, simply smiled with the awareness of direct, unfiltered experience.

Similarly, it is thought that a sown ear of corn was held up before the initiates during the ancient Mysteries of Eleusis in modern-day Greece.

Both of these "mind transmissions" used the incomprehensible generative power of nature to shatter the mental preconceptions of the initiate.

The mystery & the revelation are always right in front of you.

It's up to you to see it... wherever you look.


With the aid of modern photographic technology, we are able to have an even greater appreciation for the mysterious beauty of these living systems.



I made this animation "Lotus Meditation" based on the metaphor of the lotus flower to describe the ascendant spirit trapped in the muck of the physical world.


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