(Photo by Chen Ya Yin)
The Buddhist sutras tell us that a person’s outward appearance comes from his inner state. When our minds are pure and flawless, we will look very dignified, like the Buddha. But when tempted by external conditions, our minds would give rise to unwholesome thoughts, which lead us to do many wrong things. The evil acts that we commit would gradually cause our appearance to change and make us look like a hideous demon. Therefore, whether we are a buddha or a demon all depends on our state of mind.
The Buddha and the demon are beings of completely different states; the images they project are vastly different, and they evoke very disparate feelings in us, too.
Once, there was an artist who desired to create a beautiful drawing of a saint. He wanted it to become the most satisfactory work of art in his life. After mulling over the illustrious people in history, he came to the conclusion that the noble character of the Buddha was peerless and the image of the Buddha was the most perfect and dignified. So he decided to create a drawing of the Buddha, whom he deeply revered. Then he began searching for a model.
Finally, after a long search, a very fine-looking young man was found. The artist then offered him a handsome sum of money, which he joyfully accepted.
From then on, the artist devoted himself to his undertaking single-mindedly; every day, he worked on his drawing with sincere piety and reverence. Knowing that the artist was creating an image of the Buddha, the youth, too, cooperated fully with him with a deeply respectful attitude.
After the drawing was completed, it brought joy to all who viewed it and feelings of veneration arose in their hearts. They lauded the artist for his talent and also praised the saintly-looking man in the picture. The artist adored this drawing very much; he would not sell it off even if someone had offered him a very good price.
The picture was mounted onto a frame, and the artist admired it every day. After some time had passed, a thought came to him — ugliness, though a stark contrast to beauty, would only serve to exalt the exquisiteness of the latter. Hence, he desired to produce a rendering of the most loathsome-looking demon. Taking up the suggestion of another that he look among the prisoners for his model, he obtained permission from a prison warden and visited the prison daily. Finally, he found a man with a countenance so horrid that those who looked upon him would be filled with fear and disgust.
Just as the artist was about to complete his drawing, the prisoner burst into loud sobs. The fearsome criminal was in fact, none other than the fine-looking youth of yesteryear who had lent his face to the drawing of the Buddha image.
The artist asked the man how he landed himself in his present state. He replied that after receiving the handsome payment from the artist, he was really smug about his sudden windfall and soon lost himself in life’s excesses, wining, dining and making merry. To indulge in his excesses, he even robbed and stole, and was subsequently caught and sentenced to life imprisonment.
Seeing the contrast in the youth of yore and the man that stood before him today, the artist ruefully reflected, “The sutras say that our hearts and minds create our outward appearances. A person with a pure and unblemished heart will have a dignified appearance. But when he succumbs to temptations, he will give rise to unwholesome thoughts and commit wrongs. Having taken one wrong step, each subsequent step he takes will be wrong. That’s how the young man came to commit crimes, which led to his downfall and caused him to end up in his present state. This man had a countenance like the Buddha’s before, but now he looks horrible, like a demon. So, whether one is a Buddha or a demon all depends on one’s thoughts!”
Source: Tzu Chi Taiwan website
Extracted from Master Cheng Yen’s Daily Journals, Summer, 1998
Translated by the Tzu Chi Singapore translation team
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