The Lotus Flowers of the Western Pure Land

Teachings from Teacher Practitioner Xia Lianju, recorded and transcribed by Namo Amituofo’s disciple, Venerable HaiZe.

In the first session of the Thrice Yearning Ceremony held on the eighth of March, 2025, Teacher Practitioner Xia Lianju offered these profound insights regarding the lotus flower.

The Symbolism of Purity

The lotus flower is a profound symbol of spiritual resilience. It grows within the muddy waters of the world, yet it remains completely unstained by its environment. Even when surrounded by the mire of the human world, the lotus stands tall and straight, unfurling its beautiful petals in perfect purity. This is the ideal state for a practitioner: to live in this world without being tainted by its defilements.

While the lotus in the human world must struggle through the mud to reach the surface, the lotus flowers of the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss grow in the magnificent Seven-Jewel Pond, nourished by the Eight Meritorious Waters. Their environment is one of absolute purity, reflecting the true nature of the Western Pure Land.

The Many States of the Lotus

Within the Seven-Jewel Pond, there are countless lotus flowers, each displaying a unique form and stage of development. These variations carry deep spiritual meanings for the practitioner:

• The Bud: This represents a practitioner who has not yet truly entered the path of the Buddha, or whose practice of chanting Namo Amituofo has not yet gained sufficient strength.
• The Half-Open Flower: This signifies that the practitioner has successfully entered the path and is beginning to make progress.
• The Fully Blooming Flower: This represents the varying levels of diligent practice and the resulting spiritual harvest one achieves on the Buddha's path.
• The Withering Flower: This is a warning, indicating that the practitioner has developed a retreating heart, or has begun to harbour doubt or slander against the Pure Land teachings.

Each lotus flower bears the name of the practitioner it belongs to. The vibrant colours of these flowers reflect the heart, the aspirations, and the preferences of the one who chants Namo Amituofo.

The Magnificent Vow of Rebirth

The lotus flowers in the Seven-Jewel Pond, bathed in the Eight Meritorious Waters, perfectly manifest the vow expressed in the dedication of merit: May I be reborn in the Western Pure Land, where the nine grades of lotus flowers are my parents. When the flower opens, I shall see the Buddha and awaken to the truth of non-arising, and the non-retreating Bodhisattvas shall be my companions.

For the practitioner who chants Namo Amituofo, the spirit is reborn in the Western Pure Land through the pure, unstained lotus. In this realm, the lotus serves as your parent. This is fundamentally different from the human world, where birth is the result of the union of parents, leading to a physical body that enters the cycle of rebirth through the consciousness of the spirit. In the human realm, the spirit enters a body due to the Causal Conditions shared with the parents, often resulting in the accumulation of Collective Karma.

Nourishing Your Lotus

The dedication of merit highlights the magnificence of the lotus in the Western Pure Land. As long as you continue to chant Namo Amituofo, your own lotus will exist and grow within the Seven-Jewel Pond. It requires your sincere heart, your firm vows, and your diligent practice to nourish and irrigate it.

When the time comes for you to depart from this world, if you are chanting Namo Amituofo with a sincere heart, Namo Amituofo will arrive with a lotus pedestal to lead your spirit. Because the spirit never dies, you will be guided to the land of the lotus—the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss. Therefore, cherish your time, remain steadfast in your practice, and let your lotus bloom in the light of the Buddha.

Namo Amituofo