This is the basis for the fresh, creative life. The Buddha always referred to the lotus flower. It grows and blooms in a muddy pond, but the lotus is never soiled by the mud. The pure and fragrant lotus flower grows from the mud of a swamp, not the clean loam of an upland field. These differences are negligible when it comes to the attainment of Enlightenment.
Humanity is like a lotus pond.
Some are white, some pink, some yellow. Some grow under water, some spread their leaves on the water, and some raise their leaves above the water. But when we burn incense together, we are mindful that when it burns, it transcends its individual shape and color, and becomes one in the smoke . . . It signals the transcending of individual selfishness or ego, to become one with all others . . . to become one with the Oneness of Life.