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Originally posted by No King but Jesus
reply to post by Gaussq
"The world's first report of Udumbara was in 1997 in Korea."
amazing
Originally posted by Ophiuchus 13
reply to post by Gaussq
I found this thread to be very interesting OP, thanks and s&f.
2nd
Originally posted by Tripple_Helix
reply to post by Gaussq
This is very interesting, thank you so much for bringing it to our attention. I wasn't aware that anything like this existed.
Are you aware that these flowers are luminous?
Have a look at this.
Amazing...So beautiful!
The udumbara flower of the Ficus racemosa tree appears in chapters 2 and 27 of the 3rd century Lotus Sutra, an important Mahayana Buddhist text. The symbolic nature of the udumbara is used in the Lotus Sutra to compare the unique occurrence of its bloom with the uncommon appearance of the Buddha and its doctrine in the world:
As the Buddhas of the three periods of time In such a manner spoke the Dharma,
So do I likewise now expound The undiscriminated Dharma.
All Buddhas come into the world But rarely, and are hard to meet;
And when they appear in the world,
It’s hard for them to speak the Dharma.
Throughtout countless ages, too, It’s difficult to hear this Dharma.
And those who can hear this Dharma-- Such people too, are rare,
Like the udumbara flower, In which all take delight,
Which the gods and humans prize,
For it blooms but once in a long, long time.
So one who hears this Dharma, gives joyful praise,
With even just a single word, Has thereby made offerings,
To all the Buddhas of the three periods of time.
Such people are extremely rare. Rarer than the udumbara flower.
All of you should have no doubts, For I am the Dharma King;
I declare to the assembly: I use only the path of One Vehicle,
To teach and transform Bodhisattvas.
There are no Sound Hearer Disciples. Shariputra, all of you,
the Sound Hearers and Bodhisattvas,
Should know that this wondrous Dharma Is the secret essence of all Buddhas.
To see a fully awakened person, a Buddha, is so rare that it is like seeing an udumbara flower. In the Tu Hieu Monastery in Hue, there is a scroll which says: "The udumbara flower, although fallen from the stem, is still fragrant." Just as the fragrance of the udumbara flower cannot be destroyed, our capacity for enlightenment is always present. The Buddha taught that everyone is a Buddha, everyone is an udumbara flower.