FROM THE GARDEN OF ZEN: ofuna botanical garden

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July 27, 2021

Sacred Lotus flower: Ofuna Botanical Garden (Kamakura)

The long rainy season has finally ended, and the glaring sun of high summer has just begun to shine in the boundless azure sky. Absorbing the dazzling sunlight thirstily, sacred lotus flowers are emerging one after another from muddy water.

In Asia, particularly in China, sacred lotus flowers are traditionally admired as the auspicious sign which symbolizes fertility, longevity, and prosperity.

Lotus flowers still retain the characteristics of the primitive flowers blooming in faraway ancient times, which makes me imagine the forgotten stories of life in the vast history of this planet.

Sacred Lotus flowers: Ofuna Botanical Garden (Kamakura)

In Amida-kyo (Amida Sutra) of Mahayana Buddhism, it is taught that in the paradise called the Pure Land of Amitabha, sacred lotus flowers are blooming beautifully everywhere.

A lotus flower is said to represent the virtues of those who are to born into the Pure Land. The lotus grows in the mud, but it does not get stained by the mud and produces pure, noble flowers on the water.

When those who have righteous faith pass on to the Pure Land, they will suddenly dwell in the base of a large flower-bud of lotus rising in a large pond. At this moment, all women will also become men, and, as the lotus flower blooms, they will become eternal residents of the Pure Land of Amidanyorai.

Sacred Lotus flowers: Ofuna Botanical Garden (Kamakura)

The crimson and silky-white lotus flowers are daintily blooming in the blazing midday sun, leaning close to each other as if to talk together secretly.

I feel I could hear these lotus flowers whisper calmly about the splendor of this universe, the swift turning of seasons, the merciful blessings from the sun, the busy movement of the insects that visit them, the success of pollination, the end of their flowering, and so on.

Sacred Lotus flower: Ofuna Botanical Garden (Kamakura)

In ancient India, the lotus flower has been a symbol of all kinds of good fortune, including power, creativity, fertility, prosperity, and longevity.

Many deities of Indian mythology are depicted in various ways in combination with lotus flowers.

Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth, beauty and fertility, stands on a red lotus flower and holds red lotus flowers in both hands. Lakshmi is also known as Kisshoten in Japan.

Goddess Saraswati, known as Benzaiten in Japan, is often depicted sitting on a white lotus flower. Saraswati is the beautiful goddess of learning, wealth, music, and art.

In Hinduism, there is a myth that Brahman, known as the ultimate reality of the universe, was born out of the lotus flower that extended from the navel of the god Vishnu.