Appearance and Essence

Xuefeng

Appearance refers to the surface phenomena of an object, which belong to its material structure. Essence, on the other hand, refers to the true nature of things, belonging to the object's nonmaterial structure. For example, the seven orifices, hair, limbs, bones, internal organs, etc., are the appearance of a living being, while thoughts, consciousness, mind, and soul are the essence of a living being. Similarly, the mountains, rivers, animals, plants, and weather of the Earth are its appearance, while the laws, deities, and other forces that cause these appearances are the essence of the Earth.

Appearance and essence are two aspects of a thing; they are complementary and form a unified whole. Therefore, the appearance of something truthfully reflects its essence. The appearance changes with the evolution of the essence, and the essence reveals its true nature as the appearance changes. Hence, to understand the essence of a thing, one needs to start with its appearance; by seeing through the appearance, one can recognize the essence.

No matter how varied the appearance may be, it still reflects the essential characteristics of the thing. If one fails to see the essence of something through its appearance, it is not because the appearance is misleading but because of negligence in observation, insufficient data collection, or bias in analyzing the phenomena.

In Bewilderment, Jiaoe Celestial asks: "Can the appearance and surface phenomena of things reflect the truth or falsity of the inner essence of things?" My answer is: Yes, absolutely. The reason why a person feels pain inside but shows a smile on the outside is due to a temporary distortion of their true nature, reflecting the essence of human cunning. This is not the original nature of a person but a devilish technique learned later in life.

When a child is hungry, they cry; their appearance and essence are perfectly unified. However, in certain situations, even if an adult is very hungry, they might say they are not hungry at all or show no signs of hunger. This is a phenomenon where true nature has been distorted, a result of improper education, and a sign of humanity's decline.

Although a person can lie and disguise their true nature, causing others to be misled, with careful observation, their essence can still be discerned from their appearance. By analyzing their speech, behavior, complexion, expressions, and actions over time, one can perceive their true nature.

A person can deceive for a time but cannot deceive forever. A person can deceive some people but cannot deceive everyone. A person can deceive humans but cannot deceive deities. Even if someone extremely cunning and treacherous deceives everyone at all times, they cannot deceive themselves. Therefore, their overall appearance still reflects their essence.

Humans can continually learn from experience and discover laws from countless appearances. Once it is found that appearance does not match essence, it is possible to understand the alienation of the essence from this discrepancy. Although lying may seem to cover up the essence, it actually truthfully reflects the essence after human nature has been distorted. Buddhism teaches us to recognize our mind and see our true nature, while Taoism teaches us to return to simplicity and truth. The idea is for our appearance and essence to perfectly integrate, so we can become celestial beings and achieve Buddhahood.