do I put my lotus lily in dirt now?

I bought three lotus lily pad pods. I grew them in water in my window sill. They have roots and small leaves on them now and are about 8 inches or more long. Do I just drop them in my pond or do I put them in a dirt pot first then put them in the pond?

Doug suggests you plant them in soil if we're talking about lotus. A lotus isn't a lily pad - it's a herbaceous plant (read the article here) that explains how to plant, what soil to use, and to plant them in the shallow water or bog-side garden.