Part VII · Caring and Protecting
078 Warmth for a Guest
Hey Lotus, on a cold night you warm your own flower for hours, so the beetles shut inside you stay warm.
Who lights a fire for a guest who can never thank them?
Would you light a fire for a guest who can never thank you?
Night falls on a lotus pond. The air turns cool.
Inside a closed lotus bud, a few small beetles have gathered. Strangely, it is warm in there.
What really happens
The sacred lotus can warm its own flower, keeping it at around 30 to 35 °C even when the night air is much cooler.
Insects that shelter inside stay warm and active, and as they move they carry pollen.
How we know: Seymour and Schultze-Motel, Nature, 1996, measured the lotus warming its own flowers.
The turn
Hospitality often expects something back.
The lotus warms its guests through the cold night, simply because they came.
Three takeaways
- Warm those who shelter with you.
- Hospitality is a quiet kind of strength.
- Give comfort even when no one says thank you.
Keep the flower warm for those inside.
Let thy guest be to thee like unto a god!