20 Lotus Flower Quotes to Inspire Growth & New Beginnings
The lotus is a flower with a wealth of spiritual symbolism tied to Egyptology, Hinduism, and Buddhism. Each culture lends a slightly different take, but the lotus reflects spiritual awakening, purity, potential, rebirth, creation, and eternity.
If you love what the lotus stands for too, get this companion poetry print, handwritten by me!
To blossom, the lotus flower must grow through mud and dirty pond water. But it blooms anyway.
Though conditions are tough, the lotus heeds the call of the sun each morning, breaks the surface of the water and blooms untouched by the mud; each petal remains clean and pure. Closing at night, it sinks below the water’s surface, only to resurface again in the morning.
Fully grounded in the earth, aspiring toward the divine, ever blooming from within toward the light.
These lotus quotes are reminders that in a hard world, you can stay loving inside and, one by one, open your petals to spread that you-ness into the world.
Like the lotus, you too can grow through dark times and difficulties. You can rise again and again to shine like new because there’s something inside of you that the world can’t touch.
As you’re reading these lotus quotes, remember your own resilient nature. No matter how muddy your surroundings, you’re budding with potential. That’s something no terrible thing can take away from you.
20 Lotus Flower Quotes Worth Pondering
1. “As a lotus flower is born in water, grows in water and rises out of water to stand above it unsoiled, so I, born in the world, raised in the world having overcome the world, live unsoiled by the world.” – Buddha
2. “The lotus comes from the murkiest water but grows into the purest thing.” – Nita Ambani
3. “Just like the lotus we too have the ability to rise from the mud, bloom out of the darkness and radiate into the world.” – Unknown
4. “There is the mud, and there is the lotus that grows out of the mud. We need the mud in order to make the lotus.” – Thich Nhat Hanh
5. “From the mud of adversity grows the lotus of joy.” – Carolyn Marsden
6. “As the lotus rises on its stalk unsoiled by the mud and water, so the wise one speaks of peace and is unstained by the opinions of the world.” – Buddha
7. “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
8. “By means of microscopic observation and astronomical projection the lotus flower can become the foundation for an entire theory of the universe and an agent whereby we may perceive Truth.” – Yukio Mishima
9. “Water surrounds the lotus flower, but does not wet its petals.” – Gautama Buddha
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, pain and confusion, the lotus flower of your inner heart will spontaneously grow.” – Anon I Mus
12. “Live life in its totality. And living in the world, don’t be of it. Live in the world like a lotus flower in water: it lives in water, but the water touches it not.” – Osho
13. “May I live like the lotus at ease in the muddy water.” – Unknown
14. “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
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, the interaction of the cosmic breath causes the flower of the spirit to bloom and bear fruit in this world.” – Morihei Ueshiba
17. “The flower that blooms in adversity is the most rare and beautiful of all.” – Mulan
18. “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
19. “No mud, no lotus.” – Thich Nhat Hanh
20. “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
. . .
Take this lotus flower poem home with you!
And tell me:
Which of these lotus quotes is your favorite?
Tell me in the comments. I read every single one, and I’d love to know!
~ Jen
Comments on this post (26)
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Hello everyone💜#18🖤 is my favorite..i have a lotus tattoo on my left foot coming from the bottom of my arch. I got it in 2014 after I got sober, divorced from a 14yr marriage & met the most perfect man who passed away in May of 2015. This quote is almost exactly what I say about the lotus & it’s meaning for me. I got another lotus unilome tattoo on my right thumb extending past my wrist in 2021. This also is symbolizing the same. Me getting sober again. Prison, my bestfriend & man angel passing, my very horrible car accident (right after my boyfriend & friends passing..all 3 happened within 3 months) I passed away 4 times in it,& was given another chance, my mom & 20yr old daughter got cancer my mom had to have her bottom jaw completely removed while i was in prison & my daughter got larynx cancer with HPV cells (they didnt have the vaccination then) right when i got out in 2018. My mom was literally my everything. She passed 1yr after i got out..she got to see me sober & transformed. Radiation eradicated my daughters cancer but has caused several very trying side effects, she has somehow managed to avoid a tracheotomy she just turned 26 is an absolute warrior like my mom & has 2 of the cutest kids ever 7 & 1½ .. sorry for the long comment but lotus flowers are so symbolic to me. I absolutely l♡ve them. There is always positive after negative, yin & yang, the seemingly most perfect flower lives in the most dirty place, always good with the bad, perception, resiliance, strength, adversity, radical acceptance, persevering, change, growth, with all these comes pure beauty..every day we all have our mud & our struggles but we are all beautiful growing beings. Both my lotus’s are my favorite color purple🪷. Thank you for yor words & thank you for your time. 🪷Carpe🪷 Diem🪷everyone🖤💜18. “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💜🪷🖤
— KishaMarlae
I just got my 1st tattoo and now I’m reading all of these beautiful poems!
— Karen
— Govindanandini
Thank you for this site.
For the second time in my life, I find what I believed to be my life merely reflections from water pooled on mounds of mud.
The first time, two dear friends bought me a delicate lotus necklace- I saw and heard about them constantly during that time of beginning anew.
12 years later, I looked for that necklace as I realized everything was mud but I had created such beautiful things in my mind’s eye, from the depths of the mud that was my actual reality. I couldn’t handle it this time – I worked so hard on those images that they became real to me.
A longtime friend who in hindsight protected my naive self from dark pathways by delighting in chasing the light.
20 years later in the blink of a moment worth considering even tho I had given in to the mud.
Once again with zero effort I somehow ended up out of bed on a shockingly cheap flight to stay free, on a couch, with a long-lost friend who was supposed to have moved away from the tropical location but covid forced a stay and it was also the first time ever, that there wasn’t a roommate.
I came back to life in the energy clearly carrying me somewhere with purpose, protecting me from any and all travel worries by just being there. And randomly stopping somewhere for a sunset I kept dreaming about. The moment I was on the edge of that park/beach coastline, I had to stay. I could breathe, laughter and tears and joy out of my control and never more welcome in the ruins of my wretched body and shredded soul. It was four hours of the purest light love and joy – looking back at my phone the sun had set almost exactly at my time of birth. Since I had lost all sense of time – only later in that whirlwind weekend did it occur to me that the DAY of what i now refer to as my rebirth (only to myself as it had been so powerfully transformational that I was overwhelmed and speechless a LONG time – I still barely tell the story.
Sorry that was so very long. It shows a connectedness of space and time untouched by me. Which has happened again to bring me to your words, realizing they fit now more than ever.
That same friend lost a parent who lived a long life, but covid and flights prevented a final goodbye for my friend.
In researching customs for honoring those we have lost, I followed a path based on ethnicity, not knowing if any religion may have guided the traditions and beliefs. One thing I could learn more about and use to show condolence was the NATIONAL FLOWER of their country. The lotus. Looking into the meanings through a Buddhist lens, then more generically through any grieving memories of this culture – and here I am And all of your quotes are so deeply speaking to ME as I try to find one to send to a family in mourning. So much is lining up with your words, my mud, and the path that brought me here from there.
I’ve learned much more about the power and purpose the lotus can represent to almost anything we go through that could be seen as mud – to bloom – petals pure and untouched. Again and again and again…I had no idea the whole process happens in one DAY. Followed by so many DAYS.
Finding only mud where I had spent DAYS, months and YEARS recreating a new life based on what collapsed in the first one…my scariest struggle by far right now is feeling zero capacity or hope in starting all over again, again, further damaged and much less resilient this time from grinding hard just to get by most days.
These quotes have shifted my cynical, exhausted voice unwilling to even fake hope that the effort of ANOTHER new beginning would somehow find me surviving and THRIVING in some place and time beyond this absolutely destroyed representation of the tiny me born many years ago.
I loved so many of the quotes. But since I’ve been inspired to write a novel to you as a result, it seems fitting that the words that grabbed me the most were yours, in the introduction before the list.
“…Fully grounded in the earth, aspiring toward the divine, ever blooming from within toward the light.” – YOU :)
I am renewed in this moment – it feels possible to live again. I just needed you to know something you typed in 2016 changed an entire life in 2022. And there was no. hope. left.
I hope you are guided to this very long comment someday soon. 😊 Thank you for creating a resource for such a powerful symbol – one that I’ve learned generations have cherished all over the world.
And it feels like we still need it “now more than ever.’
— Kona D.
Very beautiful Quotes.I loved the No 15 and No 19.Thanks for sharing.
https://manekancor.com/
— Anna david
https://theyogamandala.com/powerful-lotus-flower-meaning/
— stephy
My favorite Lotus quote:
16. “Your heart is full of fertile seeds, waiting to sprout. Just as a lotus flower springs from the mire to bloom splendidly, the interaction of the cosmic breath causes the flower of the spirit to bloom and bear fruit in this world.” – Morihei Ueshiba
— Shivon
I came across this quote from one of the contemporary Chinese dramas I watched recently and cannot seem to find the meaning or interpretation to this:
“Life is expecting a lotus but getting a big and sweet-smelling mango instead”
Wonder what this means.
— Rina Araño
Someone sent me a reply and said something about a lotus flower so out of curiosity I did some readings and found your beautiful quotes and got inspired..I loved them all especially quotes #s 3, 9, 11, 15 &17. Thank you for sharing..💕🌷💕
— Anne de Guzman
Veera and Lana – each of your words are so moving to me. Whichever path you follow, what you pick up (and let go of) along the way becomes a part of your own blossoming.
— Jennifer Williamson
I loved all 20 but my favorite verses are numbers 1,6 and 14. I am a Christian but taught yoga for many years. I find that if you are moved by any religion it becomes a part of my own blossoming.
— Lana Meisner
I am Buddhist, Lotus life cycle is a reminder of myself as Bell shape curve of life as stages of birth, aging, illness and death.
As I know, lotus plants in tropical need a natural cleaner pond more than polluted pond .
— Veera Vitayaudom
Debby, it is simple and perfect for your situation! I am glad you could find some words to express what you’ve been through and are coming through still. Thank you for sharing. Sending you my love.
— Jennifer Williamson
Thank you for sharing these! I have a wooden lotus flower carving hanging in my bedroom and I’ve been looking for a quote to hang next to it. It’s hard to pick a favorite because so many of them have great meaning, but I personally love #17 the best, probably because it’s the most personal for me as I’m recovering from a serious illness and trying to find my own new beginning. Thanks again for sharing!
— Debby
Thank you for sharing, Jack. Beautiful <3
— Jennifer Williamson
I was inspired to write the following today, 2/14/2020 ❤️:
I would send you flowers today but you are the flower. The lotus that even in the muddy pond of life is beautiful and strong.
My inspiration comes from a lovely yoga teacher whose classes I have been attending for the past 10 years.
— Jack Van Riper, Jr.
KSS, I wish I knew the source of #13 because it’s so simple and beautiful. I’m glad you like this one too.
— Jennifer Williamson
A great saint poet of India has written addressing his favourite deity Rama beseeching his lotus-like self to reside in the mire-like heart of his own. This is similar to the Quote no.13. This idea is so different from the many great composers who normally compare heart to the lotus and the divine residing in it.
— KSS
I like the quotes written on #20
— Jane Bertanico
Ravi you’re so welcome! I’m glad you like them all too :)
— Jennifer Williamson
All of them!
Thanks for sharing such beautiful quotes!
— Ravi Banswal
I agree, Tayyaba! <3 Jen
— Jennifer Williamson
My favorite is no 3. Just like lotus every person can overcome the negativity and reach to heights of glory.
— Tayyaba Munir
The simplest words can be the most meaningful. I hope this new season of your life is full of unexpected joy, Dorin! <3 Jen
— Jennifer Williamson