As we noted in our previous blog post, there are legends that tell of the Apostle Thomas traveling to India after the resurrection to spread the Gospel. To this day, there are still Christians in the Indian state of Kerala who trace their origins to Thomas. They are known as Saint Thomas Christians, Syrian Christians or Nasrani. This community blends elements of Hinduism and Indian cultural symbols into their Christian liturgy and iconography. It is one such blending of these elements that we have adapted for the Thomas Chapel logo which is based on the Saint Thomas Christians Cross, featuring a square cross resting atop a lotus flower. The lotus flower is a symbol of the sacred. It represents purity, enlightenment, self-regeneration and rebirth. Through incorporating the lotus into our logo, we create a connection to one of the earliest Christian communities and draw insight from the symbolic meaning of the lotus.
Bedford artist Lori Leist graciously accepted our invitation to create her vision of this symbolic flower for the space at Thomas Chapel. Lori is well known for her large floral paintings which feature bold colors and movement. When explaining her frequent choice of subject, Lori explains, “Flowers are very alive and familiar to me. The colors and fragrances can transport me to another place and time, connecting me to memories of family and friends.” She also connects the flowers she paints and the process of painting to a broader spiritual and cultural context, saying, “…one of my hashtags on Instagram is #flowersfeedmysoul. I do believe that my need to create or paint is a gift from God. I am so thankful to be able to express myself through my art, and his gifts. Also, when I am painting either florals, or my new landscapes, I feel like I am part of something bigger, more connected to the earth, and humanity as a whole.”
The lotus flower and the environment in which it grows illustrates deeper insight into understanding the human condition. With the Four Noble Truths, the Buddha explained that, while inevitable human suffering comes from attachment and craving, happiness can be attained by following a path of renouncing our cravings and attachments. This does not mean ignoring suffering and only focusing on happiness. On the contrary, it requires a concerted acknowledgment that the suffering and happiness are intertwine and, in fact, we cannot fully understand one without the other. Buddhist monk and peace activist Thich Nhat Hanh illustrates how the lotus symbolizes this juxtaposition when he writes “Everyone knows we need to have mud for lotuses to grow. The mud doesn’t smell so good, but the lotus flower smells very good. If you don’t have mud, the lotus won’t manifest. You can’t grow lotus flowers on marble. Without mud, there would be no lotus.” He goes on to explain how confronting suffering head on is critical to this understanding, writing, “The Buddha was saying that if we can recognize suffering, and if we embrace it and look deeply into its roots, then we’ll be able to let go of the habits that feed it and, at the same time, find a way to happiness.”
The juxtaposition of mud and lotus is not unlike the juxtaposition of death and resurrection in the Christian tradition. The empty tomb of Easter can only be understood through the experience of suffering and death on the cross. To fully understand the promise of new life, we must confront the death of our old ways of living and being. Through the liturgy – baptism, proclamation of the word, and the shared meal – the assembly has gathered to meditate upon and respond to this juxtaposition for millennia.
Through the work and prayer at Thomas Chapel, and through the greater project of the Portiuncula Guild, we hope to offer opportunities to explore juxtapositions such as these – mud and lotus, suffering and happiness, death and resurrection – and how they can inform our lives in community with one another. In doing so, we invite artists and seekers, the faithful and doubting alike, to delve deep into the mud of human experience and revel in the beauty of life’s lotus flowers. We are blessed that Lori Leist has shared her spiritual reflections and her gift of art with us to guide us in this journey.
MEB
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No Mud, No Lotus: The Art of Transforming Suffering, Thich Nhat Hahn, 2014.
The lotus flower and the environment in which it grows illustrates deeper insight into understanding the human condition. With the Four Noble Truths, the Buddha explained that, while inevitable human suffering comes from attachment and craving, happiness can be attained by following a path of renouncing our cravings and attachments. This does not mean ignoring suffering and only focusing on happiness. On the contrary, it requires a concerted acknowledgment that the suffering and happiness are intertwine and, in fact, we cannot fully understand one without the other. Buddhist monk and peace activist Thich Nhat Hanh illustrates how the lotus symbolizes this juxtaposition when he writes “Everyone knows we need to have mud for lotuses to grow. The mud doesn’t smell so good, but the lotus flower smells very good. If you don’t have mud, the lotus won’t manifest. You can’t grow lotus flowers on marble. Without mud, there would be no lotus.” He goes on to explain how confronting suffering head on is critical to this understanding, writing, “The Buddha was saying that if we can recognize suffering, and if we embrace it and look deeply into its roots, then we’ll be able to let go of the habits that feed it and, at the same time, find a way to happiness.”
The juxtaposition of mud and lotus is not unlike the juxtaposition of death and resurrection in the Christian tradition. The empty tomb of Easter can only be understood through the experience of suffering and death on the cross. To fully understand the promise of new life, we must confront the death of our old ways of living and being. Through the liturgy – baptism, proclamation of the word, and the shared meal – the assembly has gathered to meditate upon and respond to this juxtaposition for millennia.
Through the work and prayer at Thomas Chapel, and through the greater project of the Portiuncula Guild, we hope to offer opportunities to explore juxtapositions such as these – mud and lotus, suffering and happiness, death and resurrection – and how they can inform our lives in community with one another. In doing so, we invite artists and seekers, the faithful and doubting alike, to delve deep into the mud of human experience and revel in the beauty of life’s lotus flowers. We are blessed that Lori Leist has shared her spiritual reflections and her gift of art with us to guide us in this journey.
MEB
____________________
No Mud, No Lotus: The Art of Transforming Suffering, Thich Nhat Hahn, 2014.
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