About Us

Lotus Bend is a 7-acre oasis just 25 minutes south of the center of Austin, Texas, that provides a restorative environment to support the body, mind, and spirit. 

Lotus Bend is… a place for family, friends, practitioners, and co-workers to gather for recreational programs, curative workshops, and to connect with nature’s gifts. We believe that as we expand the heart, mind and spirit, we unlock our inner potential which opens the door to creating beauty, fostering change, and supporting peaceful and mutual coexistence. 

Lotus Bend is… a sanctuary, a sacred space of safety for relaxation, discovery, and inspiration through inward reflection, ritual, rest, connection, and play.

Lotus Bend is… a wish, a promise to plant the seeds of awareness, wisdom, stewardship, and action to create a more inclusive, just, and compassionate society for all.

The lotus flower, our emblem… reminds us that we emerge from the primordial clay through the waters of experience and blossom into the bright sunshine of enlightenment, rising high above…but for a brief period.

The Lotus

The color of the lotus has an important bearing on the symbolism associated with it:

  • White Lotus (Skt. pundarika; Tib. pad ma dkar po): This represents the state of spiritual perfection and total mental purity (bodhi). It is associated with the White Tara and proclaims her perfect nature, a quality which is reinforced by the color of her body.
  • Pink Lotus (Skt. padma; Tib. pad ma dmar po): This is the supreme lotus, generally reserved for the highest deity. Thus naturally it is associated with the Great Buddha himself.
  • Red Lotus (Skt. kamala; Tib: pad ma chu skyes): This signifies the original nature and purity of the heart (hrdya). It is the lotus of love, compassion, passion and all other qualities of the heart. It is the flower of Avalokiteshvara, the bodhisattva of compassion.
  • Blue Lotus (Skt. utpala; Tib. ut pa la): This is a symbol of the victory of the spirit over the senses, and signifies the wisdom of knowledge. Not surprisingly, it is the preferred flower of Manjushri, the bodhisattva of wisdom.