By Monica Edelstein
Last spring, I walked into my garden and was awestruck by how fast everything was growing.
Seeds I had recently planted seemed to grow half a foot overnight. Plants that had slept
dormant or succumbed to freezing temperatures were making comebacks at astounding rates.
It was like watching a time-lapse video of a flower growing and opening, but in real time. As I
witnessed this sped up flow of time, I also started to notice how many plants bear multiple
phases of life simultaneously. An oakleaf hydrangea sprouts new branches and leaves adjacent
to the dried inflorescences of the previous fall. An iris bloom, barely unfurled, appears on the
same stalk as one curled and spent. Upon the brunfelsia shrub, nicknamed “Yesterday, Today,
and Tomorrow,” flowers fade from purple to white while new ones emerge. Moments we think
have passed linger as buds full of promise appear. Past, present, and future seem to exist all at
once.
We tend to perceive time as fleeting moments, often unaware of how all the temporal pieces of
our life’s puzzle fit together. When we are peering through a narrow window or moment in
time, we may tend to get caught up in feelings of judgment, comparison, envy, or anger. But
when we can see the bigger picture, move beyond our narrow sense of self and ego, we realize
that we all will experience both happiness and pain over our life times. In her commentary on
the 8th century Buddhist text, The Way of the Bodhisattva, Pema Chödrön offers this:
“Understanding the equality of our joys and sorrows widens our perspective . . . [and] frees up
the kindness of our heart.” By recognizing the similarities of our experiences, we build empathy
and grow into more compassionate beings.
In Yoga Sutra I:33, Patanjali advises showing compassion (karuna) to those who are
suffering. This has a profound effect on ourselves, as well. Patanjali explains that
“consciousness seflles as one radiates friendliness, compassion, delight, and equanimity toward
all things whether pleasant or painful, good or bad.” Through the practice of compassion we can
quiet the push and pull of our thoughts, thereby residing in our true nature, free from the
suffering caused by not seeing the world and each other as we truly are.
When we tend to our compassionate nature, we set off on a journey of realization. For
centuries, the lotus flower has been a symbol of spiritual awakening. Just as the lotus roots into
the mud and rises to the surface unsoiled, we each have a buddha nature and the ability to
awaken through compassion. In the Tibetan Buddhist chant Om Mani Padme Hum, we are told
“the jewel is in the lotus.” This jewel–our buddha nature, our innate potential to realize truth
and connection. We easily feel compassion when we encounter someone who is suffering. We naturally offer
condolences when a loved one has died. We send well wishes to those who are ill. We offer an
arm of comfort to a crying child. In our day-to-day lives, however, this direct confrontation with
another’s state of suffering may not always be present. Then, it can be harder to feel
compassion towards them, especially if we feel we have been wronged or slighted by them. One
remedy is to put ourselves in their future or past shoes and recall that at some point they will or
have experienced pain and sorrow. If we could see everyone in their entirety–like a timelapse
film of their lives–would we not feel compassion towards them?
When we move beyond the boundaries of self and other, time and space, we enter the lotus
dimension. The world unfolds around us like a lotus blossom opening petal after petal, on and
on and on. Our divisions melt away. We respond and act from a place of compassion. In turn,
we find patience for those around us and for ourselves. Perhaps we feel less frustration towards
someone who cuts us off in traffic because we realize that they, like us, will live a life full of
experiences, some joyful, some painful. Maybe we find less room for jealousy, and it becomes
easier to celebrate other people’s successes. Knowing we share a similar and connected
journey, we are likely to experience less anger and instead find more peace. When we reside in
the lotus dimension, we experience great compassion for those of us living through the human
condiƟon and extend this towards all beings. In the words of the 11th century Japanese poet,
Toshiyori Minamoto, “Waves rise under a floating lotus leaf. My heart is moved to touch you.”
ON THE MAT
Pranayama practices that open awareness of and expand the reach of breath: Three-part
breath; Sama vriƫ (after a few rounds try extending the length and fullness of inhalation
and exhalation)
Backbending/heart-opening poses: Sphinx, Cobra, Locust, Bow, Bridge, Fish, Wheel,
Camel
Restorative versions of Bridge or Fish
Arm weight-bearing poses (arms are the extension of the heart chakra): Down-Dog,
Plank, Side Plank, Handstand/L-shape
Nature-themed poses: Tree, Lotus, Frog, Heron, Crow, Firefly, Bird of Paradise
MANTRAS, QUOTES & READINGS
Maitri karuna mudito upekshanam sukha dukha punya apunya visayanam bhavanatash citta
prasadanam – “Consciousness selfles as one radiates friendliness, compassion, delight, and
equanimity toward all things whether pleasant or painful, good or bad.” – Patanjali’s Yoga Sutra
I:33 (The Yoga Sutra of Patanjali)
Karuna “is more than mere sympathy, it is a stimulus that must lead to action. True compassion
is powerful. It involves the question: What can I do to help? Compassion is to recognize that we
are similar and we are related.” – Iyengar Yoga Center
Om Mani Padme Hum – “The Jewel is in the Lotus” (See What is the Meaning of Om Mani
Padme Hum? – Dalai Lama for more commentary on this mantra.)
“Make the form formless form, going and returning, not anywhere else. Make the thought
thoughtless thought, singing and dancing, the dharma voice. How vast is the sky of
unobstructed concentration! How brilliant the full moon of fourfold wisdom! At this very
moment, what can be sought? Nirvana is immediate. This place is the lotus land. This body is
the buddha body.” – Hakuin, 17th-18th century Japanese Zen Master (from Lotus by Kazuaki
Tanahashi and Allan Baillie)
“Beyond yesterday, beyond today white lotus, blossoming.” – Suiha Watanabe 19th century
Japanese poet (from Lotus by Kazuaki Tanahashi and Allan Baillie)
Gate gate paragate parasamgate bodhi svaha – “Gone, gone, gone all the way over, everyone
gone to the other shore. Enlightenment! – The Heart Sutra (translation by Thich Nhat Hanh)
“When all knots that fester the heart are cut asunder, then a mortal becomes immortal.” – The
Katha Upanisad (as translated in Yoga of the Subtle Body by Tias Little)
“The most significant step any one of us can make toward global peace is to soften what’s rigid in our heart.” – Pema Chödrön in Becoming Bodhisattvas