Flowers are intimately associated with all religions and Buddhism is not an exception. The exception is however in the type offlowers Buddhist devotees like to offer in temples, and their significance. Buddhism teaches that irnpermanence is the only permanent reality in life. All composite things are destined to decomposition. This is what flower offerings are meant to inculcate in the minds of the laity. The flower blooms facing the sun. But being short lived it withers and dies under our very eyes. So is the Buddhist reminded of his own life which must be lived with the mind riveted towards Enlightenment, but also conscious of its brevity. Buddhists therefore relate flowers to the cycle of samsara: birth, death and rebirth, Buddhists cultivate flowers with intent to offer them in temples. The colour they prefer is white which is the symbol of purity of thought and purpose. The most sought after flowers as offerings are the jasmin varieties especially the strongly scented one known as 'pichcha ' (Jasminum sambac).
The plant is a shrub and produces a profusion Of such flowers in season. In this country especially when the full moon appears, devotees visit temples with flower baskets in their hands. They obtain these flowers from wherever they are found. No one objects to devotees plucking these flowers knowing fully well the purpose for which they are being gathered. Another flower as popular as the jasmin is that of the 'temple tree' bearing the botanic name 'plumeria'. They are also called 'frangipani'. The plumerias are seen in three different colours being pink, yellow and white.
Once again it is the white type which is the most sought after. Perhaps the best Buddhist pilgrimage site to observe the plumeria trees and flowers is Mihintale. The steps leading to the summit are bordered on both sides with such 'temple trees'. Some of them so gnarled and contorted display their very old age seemingly with pride to all who behold them. Have they not stood there for hundreds of years as symbols of the pure teaching of their master? Of all plants of importance to Buddhists, the one that surpasses all in beauty and symbolism is the lotus.
The lotus is rooted in the mud. Its stem winds its way laboriously through the water, piercing its surface. Its leaves sway above the water while its flower endowed with pristine beauty opens towards the sun basking in its light and warmth. This pattern symbolizes the progress of the mind from the mud ofmundane considerations through the waters of life and its experiences, before detaching itself from all hindrances and rising towards the sun of Enlightenment.
