Two years ago in the spring time, an old lady in the neighborhood sent a pot of Amaryllis to GWBI as an offering. Unfortunately, on the way to the monastery, its straight stems were broken and two beautifully flourishing blossoms fell off in an accident.

Although it was brought to the monastery urgently and placed earnestly in front of the Buddha statue, there was no sign of recovery since it was seriously injured and fractured. Then we moved it to the office in the hope that it would revive one day.

Two years passed, this pot of Amaryllis that never had the chance to show its beauty didn’t change a bit. It stood lonely in the same place while the flowers outside the room were blooming in the spring. One day, a venerable, recalling the kindness of the old lady who offered the pot to the monastery, picked the withered leaves off the plant.
To our surprise, a few days later, new leaves began to appear on the old stem, and four beautiful red blossoms came out after two years of silence.

Placed on the altar in the prayer hall as an offering to the Buddha and Bodhisattvas, the beautiful blossoms received praises from people around. They were really a surprise, a wonderful surprise!

It reminds me of what the Teacher says in “The Heart of Hero”: The great process of growing usually takes place silently deep in the heart. From all appearances, it may look awful, but the struggle and efforts that have been made are invaluable. There is no reason to retreat no matter how many setbacks and suffering we may encounter. Maybe it’s because we haven’t found the right way or just lack persistence!