This image above is the only remaining version of a lotus flower created by my spiritual teacher Chagdud Tulku Rinpoche, who gave me his permission to use it as part of my logo. The lotus stem arises from the bottom of a swamp though the muddy water and produces a clean, pure, beautiful flower on the surface, unstained by the mud through which it has passed. In Tibetan Buddhism, the lotus symbolizes the compassion, wisdom, and purity of mind that can arise out of the suffering and harmful actions caused by destructive afflicted emotions through the practice of the teachings.
The lotus symbolism provides the underlying view behind Starlotus Consulting and Starlotus Sacred Site Tours. It is based upon the Buddhist perspective that the arrangement of the celestial bodies at the moment of our birth depicts our basic karmic situation in life, representing the limitations and negative emotional patterns which are the sources of our suffering. However, simultaneously the natal chart is a picture of what we would look like as an enlightened being if we were able to transform the negative karmic patterns into their corresponding wisdom qualities through meditative practice and right action. It is my hope that the wisdom of the lotus inspires my work with others.