Water lotus and water lily
Dec 03, 2019
Years ago, before I learned more about Buddhism, meditation and rituals, I visited Sri Lanka and several other asian countries. Besides the overwhelming beauty of nature I felt attracted to the peaceful and vibrant energy that was found at temples and spiritual sites. In those days I was sometimes haunted by my own neurotic mind, but travelling to countries like Sri Lanka forced me to open my mind and heart and to let go. Looking back now, I was beginning my own spiritual practice, but one that didn't last long because as soon I come my home my frantic live and mind took over again.
One of the moments I remember very well was in the south of Sri Lanka, when I took a boat trip and visited a desolate temple on the shore of a small island. It was a very small site, not even a temple, but a large well kept Buddha statue accompanied by some flower offerings. When the sun lit up the flower -as shown on my photograph above- it struck me that someone must have placed this lotus flower and petals with lots of love and attention at the feet of this large Buddha just before I walked in. The beauty of this scene was one of that moments that will stay with me the rest of my life.
Years later I painted many flowers of which lots of lotus flowers and waterlilies (for a complete overview take a look at all my lotus flowers on Etsy). Some based on these beautiful photos taken in Rotterdam zoo 'Blijdorp' by Willem and others with more artistic freedom in colors like the ones below. Only when I looked up the spiritual meaning of the lotus flower, I realized that it was not clear to me what the exact difference between a waterlily and a lotus is. The flowers look quite similar but stem from two very different plants. Waterlilies and their leaves float on the water while lotus flowers and leaves rise above the water. However, some small lotusses only rise several inches above the water and some waterlilies rise above the water too. Especially tropical waterlilies are easily confused with lotus flowers.
Another difference is the shape of the flower and its petals. Waterlilies have smaller petals and a flatter appearance compared to the round leaves of the lotus. This is my own observation, so please correct me if I am wrong! Based on this, I have to conclude that the lotus offer in Sri Lanka was actually a waterlily and that Willem's photographs are waterlilies too. My watercolor paintings below are more like lotus flowers than waterlillies expect perhaps the orange flower.
The watercolor paintings below look more like waterlilies to me, however the first image is questionable. Both flowers are well known for their spiritual meaning in many cultures and religions. In general both flowers represent rebirth, enlightment and life in general. As the lotus grows from mud to a beautiful flower, it represents the way we too can grow despite some of the hardships in our lives, as we open up to the spiritual reality that surrounds us.
Back then in Sri Lanka, I had no idea about this meaning of these flowers, but the beauty of the waterlily in the sunlight gave me a glimps of a spiritual reality of inner peace and stillness in such a way, that I decided that I wanted the experience of this short moment to spill over into my entire life.
