Without Mud, There Is No Lotus
Without acknowledging dissatisfaction,
there can be no enlightenment.
We are here precisely to get over our self, to transcend this echo chamber. Repeating thoughts are not our reality; that is just the mud talking.
The Buddha had a vision in which he saw the human race as a bed of lotus flowers. Some of the lotuses were still mired in the mud, while others were just emerging from it, and yet others were on the point of blooming. In other words, all people have the ability to unfold their potential, and some need just a little help to do so.
If we think, “Well, I’m okay”, then we haven’t noticed suffering, the cause of suffering, and the inability of people to resolve their suffering. By ignoring others’ plight and just getting on with our life, we remain indifferent, busying ourselves in futile diligence. It is said that those who die while dissatisfied and confused create the conditions for rebirth in an appropriate form and circumstance. This is why we make the most of life.
Enlightenment is arising from the mud into the full bloom of consciousness, realising that the mud does not exist but still aware of its illusory effects on the unsuspecting. This is why Bodhisattvas remain rooted in the mud of this illusion, and without them, these teachings would be closed to us.
