In a vast and beautiful place, where the silence resonates like the most enchanting music and the air is sweeter than honey, lies a mysterious Magic Lake.

Every morning, above its clear blue waters, a host of beautiful lotus flowers open, rejoicing in the beauty of the world around them and sharing their joy.

Each of these lotus flowers is, in its own way, unique and noble: white, pink, red, and even yellow and blue ... and the Magic Lake reflects them in its waters.

Until one day, something extraordinary happened in this Lake ... 

The Great White Lotus spoke to his seeds, who grew up happily day by day:

“My dear children! Now you have become ripe. It’s time to begin your life journey. A dangerous and challenging journey is ahead of you. At your destination, each of you will be as beautiful as the lotus in our world. However, not all of you may complete your journey and return home.

So listen to me very carefully, for this ancient knowledge has been passed down from generation to generation ... 

Each of you carries Three Treasures with you. They cannot be bought even with gold. If you can remember them in times of danger, you can pass the most difficult of trials. These Three Treasures are 

TRUTHFULNESS

COMPASSION

FORBEARANCE

There is no situation where they cannot help you. Mysterious ancient writings contain these Three Treasures as three symbols. But listen, there is more ...” – and the Great White Lotus whispered his last advice to the little seeds.  
Finally he said: “I believe in each one of you – and I'll be waiting for you when you return home to the surface of the Magic Lake.”

In the evening, the pod carrying the lotus seeds bent low above the water surface, and all of the seeds fell into the Magic Lake.

One of the seeds fell faster than the others. She wondered: “Why did the Great White Lotus tell us our paths would be difficult? The water is clean and clear, and I can even see the sunlight in it.” The Little Seed was too innocent to know: it would be much easier to fall than to rise and return.

The deeper the tiny seed sank, the darker the water became, until mud and silt was all around. “Oh – oh – oh!”, cried the Little Lotus Seed, “I can hardly see anything!” But she sank deeper and deeper into the mud ... and grew so afraid that she closed her eyes. 

After some time, the Little Seed opened one eye and then the other, but she still couldn't see anything.

“Where should I go now? Where is my home? How do I go back?” She then heard some strange gulping sounds. Something dark and long was approaching her rapidly.

Soon the Little Seed could see: it was a huge crocodile. The animal’s name was written on its back, but she couldn’t read it in the dark.

“Little Seed, Little Seed” – the creature began to speak in a deep menacing voice – “I have been waiting for you. You are starting a new life. I am going to give you some valuable advice.

There are all kinds of situations in life. Sometimes someone might accidentally bump into you: after all, it is very dark here.

Or perhaps because they are in a bad mood – that’s almost always the case for folks in our world – someone might say something hurtful to you. Never let that slide! Give double or triple back to them, hit back as hard as you can, so they know you are strong and capable” – the mysterious being continued its passionate speech.

Filled with fear, the Little Seed thought: “Perhaps it should be so. How else can one survive in such an awful place?” But suddenly she remembered the words of the Great White Lotus, and thought: “If I follow the advice of this being, I will stay forever in this dirty place, and will soon look just as awful.” 

The monstrous creature – the underwater crocodile – circled the Little Seed slowly.

Had the Little Seed followed only a tiny bit of its advice, the crocodile would have been able to take a bite of her!

In this world, nothing is for free, not even advice.

The Little Seed would then not be able to return to the Lake surface and become a beautiful flower above the Magic Lake. 
“There’s a way out of every situation! There’s a way out of every situation!” – the Little Seed repeated to herself.  
And suddenly she remembered the Three Treasures, the secret from the Great White Lotus: 

“Always remember that deep down, in each of you, Three sparkling, powerful Treasures are hidden:

TRUTHFULNESS

COMPASSION

FORBEARANCE

When the time comes, they will help you.” And then a miracle happened!  
At that moment when the Little Seed refused to accept the wicked advice, a luminous glow of COMPASSION enveloped her, like a bright star that spread light all around.

On the back of the monster one could now read its name: “Evil”.

A strong force suddenly made the Little Seed shoot upwards, as if it was on a giant swing. 

A completely different world appeared little by little. The world of Black Darkness was now far below – and all around the Little Seed was just dark grey.

It was easier to breathe, too.

The Little Seed looked at herself and realized: “Yes! I've got two petals! Wow! I'm turning into a real flower!”

But it was still too early to rejoice ... 

Out of the bleak surroundings, a slimy, warty toad approached. It paddled toward the Seed with its huge webbed feet, and croaked: “Welcome to our world, Little Seed! Our rules are simple: Everyone for himself, help no one. Just protect your own interests, whatever the costs – and for that purpose, you can also lie. If you have done something wrong, simply pin it on someone else. If you’re sharing candy, do it this way: five for yourself, one for the other person ...”

The Little Seed opened her eyes wide with terror and stared at the creature that had spoken such strange things. They were quite different from what the Great White Lotus had taught her! 

This time, the thought about Three Treasures came into her mind much faster, because staying in the Grey World and living according to the rules of this monster was not what the Little Seed wanted.

At that moment, TRUTHFULNESS shone forth like a beacon. A protective veil enveloped the Little Seed, and pushed her forcefully upwards. On the back of the warty toad, one could read "Dishonesty". 
Now the Little Seed found herself in a Murky World, but could happily move all six of her petals! Yes, there were now four more, because with every right choice, she blossomed. Somewhere up above, she could already see the sunlight.

But the test was not over yet ... 

A nasty worm – it looked more like a fat snake – appeared in the distance. It swam slowly closer, looking at the Little Seed and studying her as if trying to find her weaknesses.

The worm was not as powerful as the evil creatures of the other worlds, but smarter. It spoke with an ingratiating voice: “You're lucky, Little Lotus Flower – now you can rightly be called so. In our world of peace there is no wind, and it is not so dark. The rules are simple and easy:

First, if you do not want to do something, then don’t do it – neither learn nor go to great lengths – we work around our difficulties.

Second, we do not need friends, because if you have friends you might have to endure their bad moods, or help them when they are in trouble. 

Third, if someone says anything unpleasant to you, do not hold yourself back: even the very worst things that come to your mind, you can say them …”

“Of course, it is tempting to not try hard… but then I will never learn anything new. And besides, being alone with no friends is boring – how terrible! No, no, no!” – thought the Little Lotus Flower, “I have everything in me to escape from this dim, boring world!”

The third Treasure was ready to help. The star of FORBEARANCE blossomed quickly in her heart and, glowing like mother-of-pearl, a ball of light enveloped the Little Lotus Flower, and she slowly began to rise up. 

The worm called “Laziness” got smaller and remained in the deep, before disappearing completely.

The sunlight became brighter and brighter, and the water around - clearer and clearer. The Little Lotus Flower became stronger and stronger, her stem grew faster, and she was full of confidence. The Dark Grey and Murky worlds now lay far below her.

There was also no boundary anymore between water and air. The Little Lotus Flower appeared on the surface of the mysterious Magic Lake. 

“Welcome home, Little Lotus Flower!” –  
It was the Great White Lotus.

“Now that you have become strong and beautiful, you can support others with your strength, and delight the world with your perfect beauty.” The Little Lotus Flower looked at her reflection in the lake and saw a magnificent flower with sparkling, translucent petals.

And all around her more and more lotus flowers emerged. Each had followed his or her own path, and now showed their unique beauty.

And if you look closely, you can see their hopeful look, as if they are saying to you:

“Follow your own path well!”