Reality- The False Image

In this world, people strive to be rich, to be attractive, to be loved, to be recognized, to be excited by thrills and external fascinations. Out of these, superficial beauty is a major topic. Because of beauty, people want to be rich, because of beauty, the world is made a more colourful and exciting place for us.

Whether it's the style in fashion, the spectacular CG graphics in movies or the beautiful celebrities' faces, people love them and are so attached to them, that they in time have become the norm of our daily society.

But beauty is not always as glamourous as it appears to be.

Let me sidetrack a bit and share a little of my story. Like most people, I used to study in primary and secondary schools before I go on to pursuing my digital media dream in polytechnic. But still, the most memorable times come from the school days, especially during later stage of primary school and secondary school.

I wasn't really an outspoken boy in nature, and naturally I wasn't very popular among the girls, and my friends were very limited but truthful. Maybe it was a blessing too. Observing from a quiet side, I realize how the good looking students were tormented by their own more appealing exterior. For girls, the abundant attention from the world made them more conscious of their exterior appearances. Aware and enjoying the attention, they would do their best to ensure their outlook is never compromised.

They soon become over indulgent on the admiration of others, and lose their mind lose stability easily simply because they depend too much on the opinions of others. But the lust of sight is not something reliable and often unforgiving.

Although being beautiful can really boost one's confidence, it can also arise insecurity in one's heart and mind and even cause one to lose direction once that beauty is affected.

In short, beauty and appearance are like a blurred glass blinding people from seeing one another's true being/existence. Today, most divorces and problems of love relationships stem from the oblivion of this truth.

Relating to this issue, there was this zen story I read, about a madman who existed during the time when the Buddha lived. According to the story, there was this man who fell in love with the reflection of his face in the mirror. But this greatly agonized him, for once he looked away from the mirror, his face would disappear from his sight. Anxiously, he would run around town asking people if anyone had seen his beloved face. And thus he was called the mad man in his town, for his face have always been with him, just that he couldn't see it because his eyes, being part of his face could never see it without a mirror. And for this reason, he was ignorant of the fact the reflection of his face was caused by his own head.

Back to the effects of beauty, many of us are actually very alike to this mad man in a psychological manner. We don't know that the source of happiness lies with how we see things. Unable to see this fact, we are so ready to place the responsibility of our happiness on these fleeting sensations and our accomplishments in life.


Due to the fast paced working life, we tend to forget this fact. But for the rest of the journey to finding happiness, this truth would be your key foundation and your crucial first step.