In an ancient village, there lived a girl named Deer Maiden, whose beauty was matched only by her graceful walk. Strangely, with every step she took, a fragrant lotus bloomed beneath her feet, drawing crowds from miles around to witness the pink flowers and sweet scent that followed her.
The Deer Maiden's beauty spread far and wide, eventually reaching the ears of King Brahmadatta of Varanasi. The king sent a jeweled carriage with fine horses to bring her to the capital, marrying her as his second queen. After a year, the Deer Maiden became pregnant, but what she gave birth to was a magnificent thousand-petal lotus flower! The blossom was so lovely it seemed like a doll carved from jade and powder.
Later, the idiom "lotus steps at every pace" emerged, used to describe the graceful walking posture of a beautiful woman.
A Buddhist monk once asked his master, "If you could save all beings by sacrificing one hair from your body, would you do it?" The master replied, "I would not." The monk pressed, "But why? Is one hair so precious?" The master answered, "Because if I give one hair today, tomorrow they will ask for my arm, and the next day my life. The path of compassion begins with knowing where to draw the line." Source: *Buddhist Sutra Stories*.
Meaning of the Idiom: Later, the Chinese idiom "步步生莲花" came to describe how the graceful walking posture of a beautiful woman.