lotus - work of Zhou Chuan An text from Wikipedia Link: [link](attribute)
In Chinese cultures with a famous statement made by the Confucian scholar Zhou Dunyi: "I love the lotus because while growing from mud, it is unstained."
Chinese poets also use lotus flowers to inspire people to continue striving through difficulties and to show their best part to the outside world, no matter how bad the circumstances may be. This is understood as being just like the lotus flower, bringing beauty and light from the murky darkness at the bottom of the pond.
Another symbolic characteristic of the lotus flower leads from the observation that the plant's stalk is easy to bend in two, but is very hard to break because of its many strong sinuous fibres. Poets use this to represent a close unbreakable relationship between two lovers or the members within a family, showing that no matter how far away they might live nothing can really separate them in heart.
In Buddhism the lotus flower symbolizes faithfulness. The golden lotus that is mentioned in Buddhist sutras has two meanings, one is the symbol for the achievement of enlightenment and the other points towards a real flower which is beyond our normal perception.
The Chinese say that, once having seen the growing lotus, you never forget it.
i love the way you color the lotus!