| by Ishara de Silva
( May 20, 2013, London, Sri Lanka Guardian) A strange occurrence came up when I was only a teenager and first trying to get into journalism. I was invited to BBC World on a placement, which I took on earnestly. But, again, a strange thing happened. I began discussing problems in Sri Lanka, and there was a bit of a disagreement with the Editor.
I had asked the Editor there, why the media had failed to report the fate of Sri Lankan Tamils properly, despite a media ban there at the time, and despite the later allegations of war crimes investigations after the war, something I disagree with.
Better to reconcile and unify than waste time on the past. Thinking about the past, only leads to repeating history, as Ajahn Brahm, head monk of the Buddhist society of Western Australia, so succinctly points out.
Forgiveness, as all ways, is a much wiser option.
But, getting back to the point, when asking about the BBC’s reluctance to get to the truth, and instead remain independent, a peculiar thing happened. Now, to my surprise, the Editor had pointed out that disfigurement of staff employees, was the problem. Now that may sound a bit odd if not for Buddha and Plato.
Plato had said that poor looks or ugliness was the personification of evil, whereas some Buddhist literature says it comes from anger in a previous life. But the crucial point is this: Disfigurement can be overcome if future lives is true, something, Rebirth, that is, western science is beginning to accept.
Nonetheless, other Buddhists say good looks comes from kindness, again, from a previous life. Which means, all of us can be good looking in future lives if we are kind now.
So, let us help, rather than harm people suffering from poor looks!
To do this, the following model might help.
If both material reality and mind are moving to the end of suffering, Buddha’s purpose for mind, then that would equal Heaven- where good looks would be at the pinnacle. But, achieved, to include Buddhism and Hinduism, achieved over life episodes!
The thing to do, for those suffering from poor looks, if this model is suitable, is to say however much I suffer, I will continue to act in a way that is generous, kind, compassionate etc, and then do it, like Gandhi did in the Indian independence movement.
Now Changing Faces, the charity that deals with disfigurement in the UK, said they understood where I was coming from, but couldn’t comment on philosophy. Thankfully, their task, they said, was to help people who suffer from it, either at birth or after a fatal accident or through cancer, and help them get on with their lives and cope with their feelings, a much needed service.
But this long-term perspective, offered by Buddhism, is also useful.
For it shows that the moral factor in the philosophy of beautiful looks is not fatalistic, but that there is hope for those suffering from disfigurement or poor looks, to overcome their agony, and to do so over the life episode process particularly.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR :Ishara de Silva edited the UK national newspaper, The Asian Times, and was invited by Opinion Leader (UK), a market research company specializing in the views of opinion formers, to participate in leadership research.
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