Importance of a beautiful heart

By Lakmal Welabada

[email protected]

"She seems to be nice," said my friend. "How do you know,?" I asked.

"She looks refined and beautiful," replied the friend.

"Are you sure?" I asked not knowing what sort of a person she would be.

"Yes, Can't you guess by her ways?"

I kept quiet.

Can we come to a conclusion by somebody's outer appearance. What are the points you can use to place someone in a 'category'? I simply doubt if this is possible as a person who is 'nice' to me might not be that 'nice' to you.

The Buddha said every infant who is born to this world has a radiant, crystal clear, pure, mind. But his or her mind begins to get impure once he/she starts to mingle with society. We meet people who are 'beautiful' as well as people who are 'not beautiful'. We get attracted to or charmed by those who are 'beautiful' or 'handsome' thinking their hearts too are beautiful. But, pause a while and reminisce. Has it happened this way all the time? I doubt so.

'Beauty' is something that is skin deep. Some assume a 'fair' complexion is beautiful and some prefer a 'tan' or 'dark' skin. "We cannot look at a man or woman, and come to the conclusion at once that so and so is either 'good' or 'bad'. We have to mingle with people and get to know them from experience and instinct," says one of my elderly colleagues.

We spend thousands and thousands of our 'precious salaries' for facials, plastic surgeries and gyms (or exercise apparatus) to make ourselves prettier and fitter. But, how many 'seconds' do we spend from our 'precious time' to look at our own selves; how we feel and what sort of thoughts we are engulfed in. We go for many extra classes to learn how to arrange the dinning table and then to keep our house nice and tidy. We follow courses in interior decor and horticulture.

By all these we tend to show ourselves to be more refined people in society. But how much have we ever spent to buy a book that would give us food for thought - be it on religion, philosophy or simple proverbs or fables that would help us to live as good human beings?One would say that you are not falling in to the category of pretty or handsome people. You may also feel so.

But this is through the eyes of society. If you can be happy about your feelings that come from your 'beautiful' heart, that would be the most important thing of all. And take my word, no matter how you look from outside, people around you would definitely feel the fragrance that spread from your heart.

Friendships and relationships that emerge through 'beautiful' hearts will never die and may sometimes continue even after death until we remain in this Sansara. So, while trying to be smart and nice in your outer appearance, try to be a refined person from your heart and in your thoughts as well.