The Soul and Beauty of the Faded Lotus

Many people no longer like to display lotus flowers because they fade quickly, blooming in the morning and wilting in the evening. In fact, if you only admire the lotus when it is fresh and blooming, then you are only half liking and enjoying the lotus.
Lotus is beautiful, fragrant but fades quickly. Today, the buds are just starting to form, tomorrow morning the flowers will gently open and then bloom very quickly without anyone noticing. Looking back, by noon and evening the flowers have faded, the petals are scattered all over, sometimes just a light breeze passes by, layer upon layer of petals have no strength to hold on, racing to fall. Lotus is very impermanent, that's why many people who love lotus deliberately arrange lotus on weekends to have more time to admire the flowers.

Try to watch the lotus wither in a relaxed manner to fully feel the soul of the lotus. When fresh, the lotus is noble, with a deep color and a seductive fragrance. When it withers, the lotus is calm and nostalgic. The fragrance of the lotus is also very different, not too strong nor too faint or indifferent. It follows the gentle wind, making us linger even after it has withered.

There are painters and artists who have loved and sympathized with the lotus ponds when they are in bloom and have created many beautiful photos, paintings, and works of art about the lotus when it is in bloom, with great artistic value.
There are many people who love the scene of withering lotus flowers and often stand quietly to watch and let their souls drift into the lotus pond or field in the fading period in the misty morning mist or in the fading afternoon sunlight.
The beauty and soul of the lotus are always hidden both when the lotus is fresh and when it has withered. That is why many people put lotus in vases and leave them for months, even a few months. Looking at the lotus when it has withered, you still feel its soul. When you have a moment of peace, sitting and drinking tea, quietly watching the withered lotus flowers, occasionally a lotus petal falls off and suddenly you feel strangely loving, and feel moved. The withering of the lotus, though in the quiet loneliness of a flower, still contains pride and purity to the end.
The lotus is born from the mud. Is it because it loves this life so much, is it because of its own pride and value, that from the muddy, flooded water, the lotus rises up bright and fresh to offer to life, then all the flowers and leaves quickly return to the earth. The lotus's life cycle is short, so the lotus chose summer, the most brilliant and radiant season of the year, to stretch itself, to offer to life and to make life miss it. Because of nostalgia when the lotus withers, because the lotus comes and goes so quickly, many lotus lovers have preserved, dried, dried lotus, played with dried lotus to be able to admire the lotus forever. The dried lotus flower also carries a soul of longing.
Although it is the flower of all flowers, the lotus is a symbol of purity. The lotus grows in the mud but still produces fragrant flowers that are not tainted by the mud.Lotussymbolizes the indomitable courage of a gentleman, rejecting darkness, knowing how to keep himself pure in the midst of the mud. In the midst of the upheavals of life, the lotus flower still calmly radiates its pure fragrance like an enlightened person. That is why the lotus is a symbol of Buddhism.
Lotus buds blooming in the middle of the lake
Reached out to pick, afraid there was a monk in the temple
If you have a monk, wear a monk.
Please pick it, if it's damaged I'll pay for it.
(Folk song)
Legend has it that: when Sakyamuni had attained enlightenment, he looked at the lotus pond and saw the flowers in full bloom, some were still virgin buds, some were still standing in the water, and some were still buried in the mud. Yet all had the ability to bloom, showing off their colors and releasing pure fragrance. They all rose from the filthy ground, and when they were bathed in dew and exposed to the sun, they were all equally full of color and fragrance. He saw that humans were the same, born and raised in the cycle of delusion, and when awakened, humans would advance to enlightenment without difficulty.

So, He used the lotus flower to symbolize His life and teachings. The Lotus Sutra is the most concrete image. It is also to know that the lotus flower image is always present in Buddhism, in temples, Buddha sitting, lying, standing in the middle of the lotus flower, meditating, majestic, kind and close.

Lotus grows from the black mud but is pure, noble and beautiful but rustic, elegant but simple and close, hasty but affectionate... Lotus is simple and rustic like the land and trees. Therefore, people often display lotus in simple ceramic vases, even rough, old jars...

Rarely is there a flower that can enter life and meet all the circumstances and stages of life: sacred and noble, rustic, happy and sad, life and death. Lotus can be offered to gods, Buddhas, on death anniversaries, in prayers, lotus is given to the person who was born, lotus is given to the person who passed away, congratulating a couple on their marriage, believing in love and dating... With lotus, there are no taboos, whether sad or happy, lotus is still like a message of affection, sharing.
For Vietnamese people, lotus is the image of spirit, character, culture… lotus has been in the life of Vietnamese people for thousands of years. Lotus is the national flower of Vietnam, looking at lotus is recognizing Vietnamese people.