Each Step, a Lotus Blossom

Every step we take in this life is actually a choice: to step onto a lotus blossom, or to step down into the mud. And the difference between the two is sometimes separated by no more than a single thought, a single moment.

The Teacher once asked Buddhists in the north of Vietnam: when can a person be said to have a truly devoted spiritual heart? The answer is not when they have recited a certain number of sutras, or sat in meditation for so many hours each day. It is when their heart begins to long for monastic life. Even if age or family responsibilities prevent them from fulfilling that wish, the longing itself is the sign of a soul walking the spiritual path. And as they walk, the most beautiful image that can be drawn is this: each of our steps is a step upon a lotus blossom.

We are living in the "mud" of the worldly life—a life full of suffering and impurity, where greed, selfishness and hatred have become ingrained habits. But the Buddha's teachings (Dharma) arrive like a light, a solid foundation of truth to support each of our steps. Thanks to this "lotus blossom" of truth holding us up, we do not become sinful, stained people. Each day we live, each thing we do, if it accords with the truth, is a lotus just opening. But if we misstep and forget that foundation, the lotus vanishes at once, and we immediately sink deep into the mire.

So when does the lotus vanish? There are two cases. The first is when we stop practicing: no longer coming to the temple, no longer reciting sutras, no longer turning toward the Buddha's teachings (Dharma), no longer loving or correcting our own faults. The second is when we "practice wrongly"—and this is far more common than we imagine.

Take a simple example: taking refuge. A person comes to the temple, sincerely bows before the Buddha, receives the Three Refuges, and declares themselves a disciple of the Buddha. In that moment, a lotus has blossomed beneath their feet. But afterward, if they carry their disciple "card" home and tell the neighbors: "I've taken refuge now, I won't fall into hell anymore. I can do whatever I like!"—at once, that lotus disappears. They have stepped back into the mud. Taking refuge is only the first step. The second step is to practice: coming to the temple to train whenever there is time, regarding the temple as one's second home. The third step is knowing how to give, making offerings, and doing good deeds. But the greatest and most precious lotus blossoms when we return to ordinary life and use our own exemplary conduct to persuade, transform, and guide those around us toward the Buddha's teachings (Dharma).

Or consider the example of keeping the precepts. A monk or nun receives the precepts and keeps them very strictly—that is a lotus blossoming, and it is right. But what if afterward they become harsh-tempered, criticizing and blaming everyone they meet for "breaking the precepts"? They turn the temple into a gloomy place that no one dares visit. The lotus has vanished at the second step. The precepts exist for us to discipline ourselves, not to interrogate others. When we meet a Buddhist who has made a mistake, the right thing to do is to gently explain through moral principles and the law of cause and effect (karmic law), not through anger and blame.

Similarly, a person who practices meditation and attains deep states of meditative concentration, who has wondrous experiences or even spiritual powers—that is a very beautiful lotus. But if because of this they become arrogant, calling themselves a "great master" or a "senior disciple," announcing their name wherever they go, then that lotus instantly dissolves. Humility is the root that keeps the lotus from ever withering.

Some people say: "I am weary of this noisy life. I want to find a quiet place, build a small hermitage, and spend day and night reciting sutras and chanting the Buddha's name." At first, a lotus blossoms, because this is a heart turning toward goodness, escaping greed, hatred and delusion. But if they simply "settle in" there, cutting off all good connections with sentient beings, no longer visiting, helping, or teaching anyone, then the lotus vanishes again. Good connections with sentient beings are a precious treasure, not easily obtained. A bodhisattva must sow such connections over many lifetimes before being able to liberate sentient beings. Never sever the good connections you already have.

The Teacher once gave the example of a neighbor who loved to curse and scold. Every morning at six o'clock sharp, the man would open his door, glare at the Teacher's house, and hurl a stream of abuse before heading off to work. The practitioner knows patience and does not get angry—a lotus blossoms. But if the man goes on cursing day after day, month after month, and the practitioner makes no effort to transform him, never takes the initiative to befriend him, teach him, or invite him to the temple—then the lotus has gone wrong at the second step. Not getting angry is correct, but simply "leaving things alone" while he creates bad karma his whole life is also a mistake. We must seek the opportunity, using love and wisdom to transform others as well—that is the heart of a bodhisattva.

Life is a continuous journey. The lotus does not bloom once and last forever. It blooms with each correct step: taking refuge is one step, practicing is one step, giving is one step, guiding others is one step, living humbly is one step. And the lotus vanishes only when we "misstep"—through negligence, clinging to our merits, arrogance, selfishness, or severing our good connections.

So each morning when we wake, let us ask ourselves: "Today, is the lotus beneath my feet still blooming?" Let us walk each step with care and with joy. For in the end, when we leave this body behind, those who have walked upon lotus blossoms will go to pure realms filled with lotuses—the realms of the Buddhas and the saints. But those accustomed to trampling through the mud, their karma will carry them to places of suffering to match.

Remember: the Buddha's teachings (Dharma) are not a place to escape from the world, but a light to illuminate our steps and hold us up, right in the midst of this muddy worldly life.

The Meaning of the Story

The path of practice is not a journey away from everyday life, but the continuous accumulation of "lotus-blossom steps" right in the midst of it. Every action aligned with morality, compassion, wisdom and humility is a lotus lifting us out of the mire of greed, hatred and delusion. Conversely, if we grow negligent, cling to our merits, become arrogant or selfish, or abandon our good connections with sentient beings, the lotus will vanish and we will sink deep into suffering. Practice means keeping every step, every day of our lives, "blooming with lotuses"—and above all, the greatest lotus is when we use our own practice to transform and guide others along the path of goodness.

Compiled from a dharma talk by Venerable Thích Chân Quang