The Heart that Flowers

#Lotus Blossoming in the #Fall. According to legend, Buddha once told a story: Like the #waterlily, there are three kinds of people in the world.

The first are those who long to bloom but become swallowed in the filthy circumstances that surround them. They never rise above the mud.

The second are those who struggle for a time – reaching for the Sun that is just beyond their fingertips. But eventually they surrender to their own weaknesses. They rise above the mud but never above the water.

The last are the blooming lilies. Those are the ones that rose above the world’s destructive influences and battled their own hearts and minds until finally they grew. Out of the mud, above the water. They bloom, revealing to all the glorious potential that always resided inside.
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We are all a blooming lily – I hope that you have risen to show your flowering heart to the world!

The Tiny Buddha!

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A teeny-tiny buddha carved into the door frame of a cave at the Longmen Grottoes. 

Stone Faced Buddha

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Longmen Grottoes ~ Built from 400 AD to 15th century, there are thousands and thousands of sculptures of Buddha and his disciples carved into the mountain face. 

From Base to Buddha

Travel

According to the Chinese, this is the largest statute in the world. Taller than the Statue of Liberty!