Why Does the Lotus Symbolize Death and Rebirth?

The lotus is one of the best-known symbols of rebirth. But “lotus” is not one plant, and the story is really two stories. This article keeps them apart.

Which plant is the “lotus”?

More than one. Tricycle, a Buddhist magazine, notes that the name causes confusion. The “lotus” of ancient Egypt was actually a water lily, Nymphaea caerulea, the blue lotus. The sacred lotus of Asia belongs to a different genus, Nelumbo, and it is the Nelumbo nucifera that is shown holding the seated Buddha.

What did the lotus mean in ancient Egypt?

Daily rebirth. The Metropolitan Museum says the flower, blue or white, closes up at night and reopens in the morning to reveal a yellow center with radiating petals. It says the ancient Egyptians saw this as the rising of the sun at the dawn of creation, and honored the flower as a symbol of daily rebirth and rejuvenation. Wikipedia, citing a British Museum Press book, adds that in Egyptian myth the sun god emerged from a lotus that rose out of the primeval waters. The Met also holds a model lotus found in a Middle Kingdom tomb, which it says might have been part of an offering.

What does it mean in Buddhism?

Growth from mud toward light. Daily Buddhism says Hindu influences run through Buddhism, so the lotus became important there too. It describes how the lotus’s root is in the mud, its stem reaches through the water, and its flower floats on the surface. It reads this as the growth of the soul through materialism (the mud) and experience (the water) toward sunshine, which stands for enlightenment. It also lists color meanings: white for mental and spiritual purity, red for the heart and compassion, blue for wisdom, and pink for the historical Buddha. Color conventions can differ by school.

How does a real lotus bloom?

Tricycle says all lotuses bloom in the daytime, usually for about three days. They open early in the morning and close toward the end of the afternoon, and on the fourth day the petals fall, leaving the seed pod standing. The Egyptian water lilies described by the Met, by contrast, close at night.

Do you need to be Buddhist or Egyptian to find it meaningful?

No. A flower that rises clean from muddy water is easy to read as hope, whatever your beliefs. For related symbols, see Why Is Water Associated With Life, Death, and Rebirth?, Why Do Rivers Symbolize Life and Death?, and Buddhist Funeral Traditions.