We're All Lotus Flowers!

In Buddhism, the term Renge, literally means "Lotus Flower, " hence the title Lotus Sutra. The lotus is deeply significant in the traditions of Buddhism. In nature, the lotus plant flowers and fruits at the same time, thus symbolizing the simultaneity of cause and effect. We know from the study of the scientific method that cause and effect underlie all phenomena. Everything has its causes and its effects. In Buddhism, this cause and effect has a deeper resonance as applied to human life. We create causes through thoughts, words and actions. With each cause made, an effect is registered simultaneously in the depths of life and those effects manifested when we meet the right environmental circumstances. The Lotus flower is also symbolically prized in Buddhism because it blooms in a muddy swamp, thereby signifying the emergence of our Buddha nature from the "swamp" of everyday desires and problems. In a similar vein, society is also likened to a muddy swamp in which Buddhas appear. This, no matter how difficult our lives, how trying our circumstances, the flower of Buddhahood can always bloom.

(The Buddha in your Mirror, sgi-uk.org ) 

Seleus

A good and talented friend of mines Artman2112- used my likeness as a illustration of this. He said he got the idea from a photo of mines. He said "it looked like my face was emerging from darkness - the swirling purple stuff (my fave color!) is sort of "life's confusion" and the lotus' and you are emerging from it together. I thought about the lotus flower, the practice and how the lotus symbolizes that same thing, rebirth, reawakening, etc. It seemed more and more fitting to me as I learned more about you, your struggles/triumphs last year and from the past. And the picture came to represent "you" more as time went on."

I really appreciate his wonderful talent and the time he took to create this. I wanted to share this illustration with you all and more importantly add that we are ALL BEAUTIFUL LOTUS FLOWERS. Its beauty is nourished through its roots in the mud. This is a metaphor for our lives. Chanting Nam-myoho-renge-kyo uses the `mud` in our lives to enable us to reveal our highest life state.  :D

Cause & Effect

  
As we go about our daily lives, in every single moment, we make causes in the things that we think and say and do. Buddhism teaches the existence of a law of cause and effect which explains that when we make a cause, the anticipated effect of that cause is stored deep in our lives, and when the right circumstances appear then we experience the effect.

This concept of cause and effect is at the heart of Buddhism, and the characters for 'renge' in Nam-myoho-renge-kyo mean the simultaneity of the internal cause and the internal effect. This means that, through chanting, we have made the cause for our Buddhahood, and the effect of it exists simultaneously with that cause. By chanting we are directly causing our Buddhahood to appear.

Renge literally means 'lotus flower', which is a beautiful plant that floats on the surface of water and its beauty is nourished through its roots in the mud. This is a metaphor for our lives. Chanting Nam-myoho-renge-kyo uses the `mud` in our lives to enable us to reveal our highest life state.But the Lotus flower is significant for a second reason. It is a plant that flowers and seeds at the same time. It beautifully illustrates the profound working of life where the effect is simultaneous with the cause.

An example of the way Buddhism views cause and effect might be of a young person going home to spend a weekend with their parents. They have a blazing row before the end of the weekend and the young person leaves. In Western society we tend to see the blazing row as the cause and the young person leaving the effect. But Buddhism focuses attention on the internal cause and effect. So it may be that the internal cause turns out to be that the young person disrespects their parents,at quite a deep level, perhaps without realising it. The effect which is simultaneous with this cause is the state of hell, and it is this that is triggering the arguing. This example could equally be the other way round,with the parents doing the disrespecting. It is the internal cause and effect which a person who chants Nam-myoho-renge-kyo can change,replacing their internal feelings with respect.


Through the simultaneity of cause and effect we can cause our Buddhahood to appear. To help us gain a clearer understanding of what Nam-myoho-renge-kyo is we need to appreciate the nine consciousnesses. The nine consciousnesses can be thought of as different layers of consciousness which are constantly operating together to create our lives.And as we progress through explanations of these consciousnesses the significance of the principle of the simultaneity of cause and effect should become apparent.

(SGI-UK Study)