Scents of Eternity

When summer comes, the blossoms rise above the vast emerald green water. White and pink flowers cast their fragrance to the winds. In the morning, the flowers are carried through narrow streets and alleys to evoke a sense of ease. For generations, these flowers have been a symbol of nobility.

Thanks to their beauty and elegance, lotus flowers have long beenn associated with nobility

Lotus flowers perfume the air through the three dimensions of time: the past, the present and the future. Their beauty takes root in religious schools and in endless flows of artistic creations.

Lotuses vary in color: white, pink, green, red, purple and yellow. The original Buddhists in India preferred green and white lotuses. Indian mythology holds that the God Brahma created the world from a white lotus after the Deluge. Ancient Egyptians worshipped lotuses and used these flowers in their sacrificial ceremonies. Buddhism attributes the “Lotus Pedestal” to the rule of the Guanyin.

In Vietnam, two colors of lotus are popular: white and pink. Lotuses are an early theme in Vietnamese graphic arts, used to decorate places of worship and community halls. Decorative lotus patterns were quite popular in ancient Vietnamese pagodas. Lotuses embody Buddhist moral values, purity and innocence. Lotuses also represent the evolution of Buddhist doctrines and wisdom towards Nirvana. Buddhists compare lotuses to the virtues of a monk. Outstanding religious edifices decorated with lotuses were erected during prosperous eras and include the One Pillar Pagoda- Hanoi (11 th century); the Nine-storied Lotus Tower in But Thap Pagoda – Bac Ninh (l7th century), and Tay Phuong Pagoda ~ Ha Tay.

Lotuses were also adopted as symbols of romantic love in the countryside and mentioned in folk poems, such as:

“Yesterday I swept water by the temple

Forgetting my shirt on a lotus

May you return it to me?

Or willyou keep it as a love token?”

This evocative verse is still sung by new generations. As r­

well as celebrating the beauty of the lotus, folk poems also I humanized lotus flowers and gave them virtues attributed

to heroes, as in this verse:

“No other species in the lake can rival lotuses

Green leaves, white blossoms and yellow pistils

Yellow pistils, white blossoms and green leaves

Never tarnished by the neighboring dirty mud”

The link between this flower and virtue and beauty is deeply rooted in the minds of Vietnamese people. In the early years of the 20th century, the poet Bao Dinh Giang compared the noble traits of President Ho Chi Minh to a lotus in the vast marsh of Dong Thap Muoi:

“Thap Muoi prides itself with the finest lotus flowers.

Vietnam prides herself with Uncle Ho”

This rhythmic verse is engrained in the minds of  Vietnamese people, like the scent of these noble flowers under the blue sky.

In Vietnam, the noble emblem of the lotus has been passed down through the generations by scholars and the common people. Lotuses serve as a bridge between scholarly and popular thought. These flowers continue to inspire artists and poets to create works that evoke the rich soul of Vietnam.”

 

Scents of Eternity
First post at: Vietnam Culture