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lotus, springing from the mud and slime of the lake,
;ing its golden-hearted, white blossom high above
e restless reach of the waves that it may open pure
d spotless to the sun, is indeed the very symbol of
e evolution of the world. The whole story of
.ation; the genesis and fulfilment of life is imaged in
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THE LOTUS, SYMBOL OF THE WORLD
F
              this beautitul plant that takes its rise from the lowliest
places, passes through dark and troubled waters, yet brings to matur-
ity a pure, a spiritually perfect flower.
   To the Buddhist it is also an emblem of the soul of man-
though resting in eternal calm above the surging activities of the world
basking in the light of the sun, it exists, pure and undefiled, because
its roots are firmly fixed in the world of experience. "The lotus
springs from the mud," is their mystic answer to those unbelievers
who think the human heart is corrupt or that it must of necessity
become soiled during its journey through life.
   The lotus is regarded as a sacred thing by some people, as the
home of the gods by others or as the throne of beauty. Buddha
is generally represented seated upon a lotus flower, lost in meditation,
or as standing within the lotus heart, teaching all people, as father
of the world, of the Way, the Truth, and the Life. In Japan this
flower is seen on every temple altar, of gold or silver paper it is carried
in every funeral procession, a symbol of the immortality of the soul;
cast in bronze it catches the water from temple roofs. Wherever
religion is taught, in India, Japan or Egypt, the lotus is held in
reverence as typical of divine beauty. One reason for this, apart
from its mystic significance, is that its calyx is a triangle whose base
is a circle-symbols of spirit and form, of eternity and tri-unity.
   The ancient Greeks and Romans used the expression "to eat
the lotus," meaning to drowse in a happy languor, forgetful of dis-
agreeable things. There is an old Greek legend of a people who
lived on the north coast of Africa and subsisted upon the fruit of the
lotus tree. Homer relates that these strange people received Ulysses
and his followers with a great display of hospitality, offering them
choice fruits, among which was the lotus. The sweetness of this
fruit filled the travelers with delight, with such a delicious feeling
of happy stupor that they forgot their native land and drowsed their
days away in dreamy idleness.
   The lotus, known by the Romans as Libyan lotus, was probably
a native of the elm family as it was planted for shade and bore a
small fruit, like wild cherries. Though the lotus is a name generally
applied to a species of water-lily, especially of the African and Asiatic
species, it is a popular name for a large number of unrelated plants,