Lotus Flower Meaning and Symbolism Quotes with Graphics

Lotus flowers are inspiring for their beautiful blossoms that show above water while their roots—their beginnings—are formed in the mud below. Without the mud there is no lotus.

Here's a collection of 20 quotes about the symbolism and meaning of the lotus flower. Hopefully, they will inspire, encourage, and uplift you to get through challenges and figure out how to turn those challenges into sources of growth. 

1. Goldie Hawn titled her biography Goldie: A Lotus Grows in the Mud. This is what she has to say about lotus flower symbolism:

“The lotus is the most beautiful flower, whose petals open one by one. But it will only grow in the mud. In order to grow and gain wisdom, first you must have the mud—the obstacles of life and its suffering. …

The mud speaks of the common ground that humans share, no matter what our stations in life. … Whether we have it all or we have nothing, we are all faced with the same obstacles: sadness, loss, illness, dying and death.

If we are to strive as human beings to gain more wisdom, more kindness and more compassion, we must have the intention to grow as a lotus and open each petal one by one.”

– Goldie Hawn

2. “The lotus flower is a reminder of the beauty that comes from change, the magic that a new beginning brings, and the seed of potential that’s buried in the most unlikely places.”

– Jennifer Williamson

3. Thich Nhat Hanh's explanation of how we need challenges for personal growth and development:

“It’s like growing lotus flowers. You cannot grow lotus flowers on marble. You have to grow them on the mud. Without mud you cannot have lotus flowers. Without suffering, you have no way to learn how to be understanding and compassionate.”

– Thich Nhat Hanh

4. And Thich Nhat Hanh's more direct analogy:

“No mud, no lotus.”

– Thich Nhat Hanh

5. "This world will throw mud at you. It's your choice to get buried under the mud or bloom like a lotus!

– KP Singh

6. “The lotus comes from the murkiest water but grows into the purest thing.”

– Nita Ambani

7. Just like the lotus we too have the ability to rise from the mud, bloom out of the darkness and radiate into the world.

8. “From the mud of adversity grows the lotus of joy.”

– Carolyn Marsden

9. “If you feel lost, disappointed, hesitant, or weak, return to yourself, to who you are, here and now and when you get there, you will discover yourself, like a lotus flower in full bloom, even in a muddy pond, beautiful and strong.”

– Masaru Emoto

10. “Whenever you should doubt your self-worth, remember the lotus flower. Even though it plunges to life from beneath the mud, it does not allow the dirt that surrounds it to affect its growth or beauty.”

– Suzy Kassem

11. Out of the mud of your fears, struggles, and pain the lotus flower of your inner self can grow if you let it. 

12. "Like the lotus flower that is born out of mud, we must honor the darkest parts of ourselves and the most painful of our life’s experiences, because they are what allow us to birth our most beautiful self."

– Debbie Ford

13. “Seeing the mud around a lotus is pessimism, seeing a lotus in the mud is optimism.”

– Amit Kalantri

14. May I live like the lotus—at ease in the muddy water.

15. “The lotus flower blooms most beautifully from the deepest and thickest mud.”

– Buddhist Proverb

16. “Your heart is full of fertile seeds, waiting to sprout. Just as a lotus flower springs from the mire to bloom splendidly.”

– Morihei Ueshiba

17. “Whenever you should doubt your self-worth, remember the lotus flower. Even though it plunges to life from beneath the mud, it does not allow the dirt that surrounds it to affect its growth or beauty.”

– Suzy Kassem, Rise Up and Salute the Sun: The Writings of Suzy Kassem

18. “Be like a lotus. Let the beauty of your heart speak. Be grateful to the mud, water, air and the light.”

– Amit Ray, Nonviolence: The Transforming Power

19. “Every struggle is like mud― there are always some lotus seeds waiting to sprout.”

– Amit Ray, Nonviolence: The Transforming Power

20. “If you know how to make good use of the mud, you can grow beautiful lotuses.”

– Thich Nhat Hanh

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