Let's make flower essence mindfully

Buddha and organic farm in California

When I came back to Taipei, one Buddhism nun friends invited me to visit their temple in the mountain and provided some ideas as former architectural designer. The land policy changed so the planning needed to shift again.


I has close relationship with the monastics. I used gone to this new temple few years ago. There was an old Chinese traditional building as meditation hall. I loved the small scale and simple architecture the nuns kept. However, this time, I heard they tried to have more buildings for bigger hall and dorms for retreatants. I agreed to visit and provided some experiences of organic farm and ecothearpy for the landscape design.


Buddha in the forest, Plum Village in France


The first glance to meet the temple again surprised me. I saw several large buildings located in the top area of mountain. The original forest was gone though nuns created another are for vegetable farms. I couldn't understand why Buddhism in Taiwan could not treat nature as human beings.  In the meeting with architect, the team showed me the planing, it seemed they will to cut more bamboos forest to make a entrance area. As Chinese Buddhist, I understood monastics needs to provide comfortable environment for retreatants; I tried to explain the idea how nature as living being to live with us harmonically but resource and land to use as material. The nun seemed understand some points I wanted to express. I was not the right person to do the planing for limited schedule in Taiwan, I suggested a ecology-base landscape team to them for more details if they can make decision to work harmony with this land.

Frankly, I felt sad to see the large buildings in the mountain. I didn't need Big Buddha sculpture to worship but peaceful and mindful environment to support my practice.  I learned the new design idea from several western retreat centers. The simple life and mindful practice reversed my idea of former architectural profession. I realized the mind as core to make outer world. I want to be a spiritual architect. That's the start for my spiritual journey of flower essence therapist and mindfulness practitioner.


I spent one night in the temple. It seemed I couldn't do anything more for the land which made me depressed. In the morning of the next day, I walked alone in the farm after breakfast. It was cold day with some cloud. I walked through fields of vegetables,corn plum tress. Plenty of yellow flowers caught my attention. They was shining and blooming. I made fresh herbal tea with their leaves to enjoy the lazy day. Around 11 p.m., one nun asked me to help pick coffee beams where same yellow flowers growing aside. I sang the nature songs to the coffee tress and talked to the yellow flowers. It was surprised I had inner response from these little yellow flowers. They were  happy to be made as flower essence today, if I wanted. I looked up to the sky; it became clear blue and the sun was blight. Yes! It was the day, the day I would make essence in my homeland.






I didn't bring any equipment with me. I went to the storeroom to bring a glass bowl. I collect the local clean water and brought all to the meadow. The yellow flowers seemed happy. I checked with them with Oring test for both conditions. I started to choose and pick flowers who were most bright one to be made, the joyful swaying one to enjoy the moment together. It was the time no any tourist or nun passing to disturb our process. I appreciated flower's energy; I also looked at the change of my mind. It was also a mindfulness practice for me to make flower essence; a meditation with the plant kingdom. When put all flowers into the bowl, there was many bubble appearing under sunlight. It will be the sacred process between the natural element, fire, water, wind ,earth, and clear mind as human beings to join the celebration. Later, I invited nun friend to join the process. We sat beside the bowl and flowers, breathing in and out mindfully, showing our gratitude to see such wonderful moment, present moment. Was that the message to show me the healing power of yellow flowers? I had some idea but I may need more evidence to confirm.




It cost about three hours to finish. I filters the water and made several spray bottle with essential oils as gift for nuns in the temple. I brought one back to home and add edible Vegetable Glycerine to preserve as mother tincture as Catherine, the California herbalist shown to me. Well done, the first local flower essence I made in Taiwan. It has living energy to keep in the bottle.





Well, the next step would be to recognize the quality for the yellow flowers.  I didn't have guide for the plant as Western practitioners. To receive and confirm the message I got when making this flower essence, I observed the condition I met and the efficiency the essence enhanced. We had meeting with architect again in the afternoon of the same day; it was not harmonic communication in the beginning. Then I sprayed the essence during the break time. After that, the meeting became easier to discuss, the architect shown his smile after argument. I used the essence for other meeting too. It always released the tense of different idea and argument. People felt released to accept other's suggestion and communication became better. I didn't write any complete sentence for the quality yet. It was just some memo when and how to use the first essence I made here.