No Mud, No Lotus

Text

There is no lotus without mud. The wise gardener does not wash the mud away — she invites it close enough to feed the flower.

tr. Zen Lineage editorial

license: cc_by

Attribution

• Attributed To
  Thích Nhất Hạnh

Lineage: Plum Village

By Thích Nhất Hạnh

• Breathing In, I Know I Am Breathing Inpractice-instruction
• The Present Momentproverb
• Interbeingproverb
• Washing Dishes to Wash Dishesproverb
• Anger Like a Babyproverb

Sources

• contentCuong Tu Nguyen — medieval Vietnamese Buddhism scholarship

  Cuong Tu Nguyen

  pp. 150–175