In short: the three best-known Buddhist symbols come from the early texts. The lotus stands for a mind that lives in the world but is "unsullied by the world" (AN 4.36). The wheel stands for the teaching, after the first sermon, "Rolling Forth the Wheel of Dhamma" (SN 56.11). The Bodhi tree is where the Buddha awakened, "at the root of the tree of awakening" (Ud 1.1).
The lotus
"Suppose there was a blue water lily, or a pink or white lotus. Though it sprouted and grew in the water, it would rise up above the water and stand with no water clinging to it. In the same way, though I was born and grew up in the world, I live having mastered the world, unsullied by the world."
AN 4.36 · The story: "Remember me as a Buddha".
"From a heap of trash discarded on the highway, a lotus might blossom, fragrant and delightful. So too, among those thought of as trash, a disciple of the perfect Buddha outshines with their wisdom the blind ordinary folk."
Dhammapada 58–59
The lotus grows from mud and blooms clean. It's a symbol for everyone: awakening doesn't need perfect conditions.
Read the full guide
The wheel of Dhamma
The Buddha's first sermon is called "Rolling Forth the Wheel of Dhamma" (SN 56.11). The wheel means the teaching set in motion; in later art its eight spokes are often linked to the Noble Eightfold Path.
The Bodhi tree
"At one time, when he was first awakened, the Buddha was staying in Uruvelā at the root of the tree of awakening on the bank of the Nerañjarā River. There the Buddha sat cross-legged for seven days without moving, experiencing the bliss of freedom."
Ud 1.1
"Bodhi" means awakening. The tree, a fig, became a symbol of the awakening itself; its descendants still grow at Bodh Gaya and at temples worldwide.
Other symbols you'll see
- Buddha images and hand gestures (mudrā): each recalls a moment in the Buddha's life. (Buddha poses explained)
- The three jewels: the Buddha, the Dhamma and the Saṅgha. (The Three Refuges)
Try it
Sit for three minutes like the Buddha under the tree: Practice. New to it all? What is Buddhism?
Questions people ask
What does the lotus mean in Buddhism?
Purity and awakening in the middle of ordinary life. The Buddha compared himself to a lotus that grows in water but 'would rise up above the water and stand with no water clinging to it' (AN 4.36).
What is the Dharma wheel?
The wheel (dhammacakka) stands for the Buddha's teaching. His first sermon is called 'Rolling Forth the Wheel of Dhamma' (SN 56.11); its eight spokes are often linked to the Noble Eightfold Path.