Reflective thoughts about the Beauty Trap Strategy

In a war, it is difficult for the beauties to carry a sword to the battlefield, but they can win with the look of their eyes and their smiles. Beauty has always been a hot topic ever since. From the emperor to the poor, it is difficult for them to give up their beauty. Many monarchs died because of beauty, and the entire empire collapsed. Many heroic generals also failed on the battlefield or died frustrated because of beauty. Therefore, this is a deadly strategy. Although the beauty trap is so powerful, there are three cases where it will not work. The first case is to use male beauty instead of female beauty; the second case is that the beauty of the woman is not enough to impress the opponent; and the third case is for anyone who has given up lust.

The first case is to use a male beauty instead of a female beauty. There are some people who, despite being male, look very "manly". The body is muscular and stout, but actually they are quite feminine”. The person they like is not a woman, but a man. Here, if you use a beauty trap, you must use a male beauty. Although they have the blessing of being human, they do not have 100% of their own gender because, in the past, they did something unwholesome. Of course, we should not hate or discriminate against them, but spread our love to them and hope that they know how-to do-good deeds, know how to practise towards good and upward, and that in the next life they can be human and their sex will be perfect 100%.

The second case is that the beauty of the woman is not enough to impress the opponent. There are people who are considered beautiful by the majority based on a common standard. There are also beauties that are quite ordinary to the majority but appealing to one particular person. That's why there is so-called “love at first sight" or "lightning love”. 

It is often said that Thi No also has Chi Pheo. For Chi Pheo, Thi No can be seen as "the fairy under the moonlight". It is because on one moonlit night, she went to fetch water, overslept by the banana tree, and was lying down sensually. Yet, according to her, there was nothing “out of the ordinary”. She is considered the combination of absolute ugliness, from appearance to personality to family background. And Chi Pheo, a man who considers wine to be more precious than blood, found that wherever he went, there was only the cursing of people and the barking of dogs, yet he was still attracted to her.

In the Buddhist scriptures, in the section of the Sangha, the Buddha taught a great passage as follows:  I do not see a form, a sound, a scent, a taste, or a contact invading and dominating the mind of a man like the colour, sound, scent, taste, and touch of a woman. And I do not see a form, a sound, a scent, a taste, or any other touch that invades and dominates the mind of a woman like the form, sound, smell, taste, and touch of a man. So, it's not that the beauties don't work on the object, but the "bait" is not attractive enough. If the "bait" is attractive, it will still "work" the first time as usual. However, the constant contact will make a “normal bait” more attractive. 

The third case is the person who has given up sexual desire. This person sees everything as “neutral”. They have neither "liked" nor "dislikes". In Buddhism, there is a story about the Buddha's transformation of Nanda. After attaining enlightenment, the Buddha returned to his former homeland, where he converted many of his relatives to the noble path.

Among the relatives, Nanda is his half-brother. Nanda followed the Buddha when he had just married a beautiful wife. While meditating, he always remembered the image of a young and beautiful wife at home. When the Buddha knew, he used magical powers to take him to heaven, where he saw fairies.

He then realised that his wife, compared to these fairies, was like a scorched female monkey that hugged the trunk of a tree. He decided to put more effort into being born in heaven with the goddess and paid no more attention to his wife. 

However, after a while, he felt ashamed due to his inappropriate motive. He put aside all sinful thoughts, and his mind no longer had any impurity, no longer clinging and attaching to all things in the world.

He had awakened. The Buddha said: “Dear Bhikkhus, I do not see any other dharma that leads to the arising of unborn lust or to the growth of lust that has arisen like the pure form. Dear Bhikkhus, the pure form, if not properly attentive, leads to the arising of unborn lust and a dramatic increase in lust for lust that has arisen. The pure form here is what one person considers beautiful and likeable, such as appearance, melody, delicious food, etc., as Tran Thai Tong once wrote:

 "The tongue is attracted to the delicious taste, the ears are attracted to tune, 

The eyes follow the shape, and the nose follows the scent. 

Floating around as a guest forever  

Until the day is over; the homeland is ten thousand miles away". 

Thus, only those who have given up lust are safe from the “Beauty Trap". The enemy who attacks us does not always raise a flag and beat a drum to make us recognise it. They hide, rebel, and attack right in the stronghold. Inwardly, we are often silently attacked by the enemy. They are insiders, beauties, flatterers, rebels. etc., whose essence is greed, deception, sophistry, shamelessness and fear of sin. We are already warriors, so whether we want to die frustrated and humiliated in the arms of "beauties" is our choice.

Tâm Cửu

Translated into English by Thai Nhuoc Don