“How sweetly the lotus grows In the litter of the wayside.
Its pure fragrance delights the heart.”
Here is a different interpretation:
“Upon a heap of rubbish in the road-side
ditch blooms a lotus, fragrant and pleasing.”
Dhammapada – Flowers
Let me paint a picture here. We are following the teachings of the Buddha, cultivating each precept, but then Mara attacks us using all kinds of past illusions, trying to awaken our old cravings, our old desires. Images start to pop up, and we feel a little weak, but we turn away and take no heed to Mara, and the army of illusion and then reenact the Stanzas of Victory. We want to do nothing but follow the pure and holy path, but sometimes Mara seems stronger than our determination. See the truth is this, the more you seek the pure path, the more you want and intent to do good, the forces of Mara, the ego, the false self, will try to awaken and try to fight back, because you are killing it softly. In the second verse in the Stanzas of Victory, the Buddha fought using His patience and “self-control.”
SELF CONTROL, what does that mean?
The Buddha used self control, and this is “virtue” a huge and powerful virtue that will determine your success in walking the the eightfold path.
Controlling one self, from not reacting to these delusional thoughts that is trying to awaken your old cravings, your old desires of anger, of lust, of hate, of pride, of fear, of what ever it is, Mara will try its best to make you revisit these bad habits of the false self. And then, lets say you happen to slip into one of these cravings and then you feel so sick and guilty, so discouraged, you even feel sorrow and of course you start to feel suffering because you did something you should have not done.
“Why do what you will regret?
Why bring tears upon yourself?”
Dhammaapada – The Fool
Why would the Buddha write this? Because He knew we will face our cravings again even if we are holy and following the Buddha path. Only because you took a sincere vow to follow Buddhahood, doesn’t mean you will not have Mara visit you. When the Buddha sat in meditation under the Bodhi tree, that’s when Mara saw that Buddha is getting closer to his goal, and Mara try to hit Him with everything. That is the same with Jesus Christ when He went to dessert to pray, the Devil which is the same as Mara, visit Jesus and try to tempt Him.
The more you try to get closer and closer to purification, and walk the path of enlightenment, you will have these wicked visitations, of remembrance of your old self, the false self, or you will get any thought that will try to knock you out from the pure path. In the beginning verse that I used to start this writing, the Lotus grows in the litter, on a heap of rubbish, on a heap of garbage, on a heap of mud or crap! You are not a super righteous person that has no faults, you have imperfections that you are dealing with on a constant basis. 99% of the time we are thinking vexation thoughts. We are full of this mud, this crap, this junk, but the good news is that the Buddha can grow out of this garbage, Christ can grow out of this garbage, God can grow out of this garbage, a beautiful fragrant Lotus flower can grow out of this rubbish.
You are like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, they live in the same house. The True Self and False Self live in the same house but you must decide who will be the master of the house.
“…The wise man directs his mind.”
Dhammapada – The Wise Man
This can also be interpret like this:
“Wisdom directs the mind.”
Because the Bodhisattva, which is you, rely on the Perfection of Wisdom. Remember let understanding fight for you in every trial.
The continuing verse says..
“The wind cannot shake a mountain.
Neither praise nor blame moves the wise man.”
You are the wise man or woman, or you can say nothing can move the wise man or woman, or nothing can move Wisdom. The wind is thoughts, and the wind will always blow, like it will always rain, but when it rains, just take out the umbrella and protect yourself.
RELY ON THE DHARMA, RELY ON THE PERFECTION OF WISDOM.
The verse continues to say this…
“Want nothing.
Where there is desire or craving,
Say nothing.”
When Mara speaks, say nothing, take no heed like the Buddha, just recite the Dharma, remember the Dharma, take refuge, in the Buddha, In the Dharma, and In the Sangha.
No one is perfect, that is why we need “self control.” If you fell, just get back up and try again. Let your Lotus flower grow in the midst of the storm, in the midst of all the garbage that seems to come your way, and say grow Lotus grow!
I hope this has encourage you like it did for me. Be well, Namaste!
