This paper employs the method of comparative religious study to examine the mythological narratives concerning the lotus-birth in Egypt and Chinese Buddhism and Daoism. It has attempted to put forward the idea that the lotus is an important religious symbol shared across different Asian cultures, as witnessed in the cases of ancient Egypt, Chinese Buddhism and Daoism. It is especially related to the idea of life. It signifi es the idea of creation of sacred life or the transformation of life. The paper has also shown that some special characteristics of the plant, such as its being open in the morning and closed at night, have made the plant an easy metaphor for the cycle of life and death, a symbol of the duality of life and death. In addition, since the lotus is not contaminated even though it grows in a mud pond and the fl owers have a unique fragrance, this dualistic structure can easily be used to express an idea of moving from the profane world to the sacred world, or leaving the world of the dead and gaining resurrection. This type of duality can easily acquire symbolic correlation from the characteristics of the lotus. On account of this correlation, the lotus symbol is used across different religions. But this paper has also shown that it is important to note that different types of lotus bear influence upon the narratives of religious symbols in different geographical locations. The waterlily has neither seed pod nor lotus root and, naturally, in the ancient Egyptian narratives, these two parts of the plant are never mentioned. However, different parts of the lotus are used in Buddhist and Daoist narratives. The mentioning of lotus seed/embryo in Pure Land Buddhist tradition is a refl ection of their belief in tathāgatagarbha.
