You will find that lotus flowers are used as symbolism throughout Buddhist cultures in artwork and Temple construction.
Here, you see two different lotus flowers, an open lotus flower and a closed lotus flower.
The open lotus flower is symbolizing Enlightenment, where a closed lotus flower symbolizes your potential to attain Enlightenment.
A lotus flower grows in the world, much like the way a Practitioner on The Path to Enlightenment would grow in their journey to Enlightenment.
A lotus flower has roots deep down into the earth, holding onto the earth. Then, it grows a strong stalk moving upwards through the murky water and eventually rises above the murky water and blooms into a nice, beautiful lotus flower.
A Practitioner’s journey to Enlightenment is similar.
An unEnlightened being is “holding on” to the world and worldly things. But then, if the individual develops a strong “life practice” through the cultivation of wisdom in The Teachings of The Buddha, they rise through the “murkiness” of the world. The world is full of killing, stealing, sexual misconduct, lying, and taking substances that cause heedlessness. So, a Practitioner will need the wisdom from The Teachings of The Buddha on how to move past this, no longer making unwise decisions to be involved in this unwise conduct. And, it takes a “strong stalk” or a “strong life practice” of wisdom to ascend above the murkiness of the world.
Then, if one grows a strong well developed life practice, they will then rise above the murkiness of the world and bloom, attaining Enlightenment, where the mind is completely peaceful, calm, serene, and content with joy. This is accomplished through gradual training and gradual practice to experience gradual progress.
So, an open lotus flower is a symbol of Enlightenment. You will oftentimes see open lotus flowers around a statue of The Buddha. They are frequently carved into the base of the statue as a symbol of his Enlightenment.
A closed lotus flower, which you will see many of these in artwork and around Temples, represents your potential to attain Enlightenment. Not every lotus flower will bloom but, they all have the potential to bloom. So, seeing a closed lotus flower is to remind you that, you have the potential to attain Enlightenment and it would be wise for you to apply time, effort, and energy towards developing a “strong life practice” to attain Enlightenment, not allowing the mind to be complacent in this life, while the open lotus flower is symbolizing Enlightenment.