When we plant a rose seed in the earth, we notice it is small, but we do not criticize it as "rootless and stemless." We treat it as a seed, giving it the water and nourishment¹（食物，营养） required of a seed.

When it first shoots up（射出，发芽） out of the earth, we don’t condemn² it as immature³ and underdeveloped, nor do we criticize the buds for not being open when they appear. We stand in wonder at the process taking place, and give the plant the care it needs at each stage of its development.

The rose is a rose from the time it is a seed to the time it dies. Within it, at all times, it contains its whole potential. It seems to be constantly in the process of change: Yet at each state, at each moment, it is perfectly⁴ all right as it is.

A flower is not better when it blooms than when it is merely a bud; at each stage it is the same thing a flower in the process of expressing its potential.