The expression “人无完人,事无完事” in Professor Foo Keong Tatt’s painting (above) intrigues me. It is a variant of the Chinese idiom (成语) “金无足赤,人无完人” (There is no pure solid gold, no perfect person.) The saying suggests imperfection, rather than perfection, is the norm.

The ancient Greeks considered perfection as a requisite for beauty and high art. Pythagoras and his followers believed perfection was the “right proportions and the arrangements of harmonious parts.” However, in traditional Japanese aesthetics, wabi-sabi (侘寂), the idea of aesthetics is very different. This Eastern worldview centres on accepting imperfection and transience. This oriental aesthetic expression embodies the essence of beauty in “imperfection, impermanence, and incompleteness.” So, beauty is indeed in the eyes of the beholder. Beauty is also in the collective visions of culture.

Wabi-sabi originated from Taoism in China during China’s Song dynasty (960-1279). Monks brought the ideas of wabi-sabi to Japan, and these ideas subsequently became part of Zen Buddhism. The original form of wabi-sabi can be described as an austere, simple, and restrained form of appreciation. Wabi has no English equivalent and means (roughly) “the beauty of humble simplicity,” while Sabi (also with no English equivalent) means “the passage of time and deterioration.”
Western aesthetics is about perfection. The Japanese value the imperfect because wabi-sabi leaves something unfinished or incomplete for the play of imagination. Wabi-sabi aesthetics include asymmetry, roughness, simplicity, economy, austerity, modesty, intimacy, and the appreciation of natural objects and nature’s forces. If an object or expression brings a sense of serene melancholy and a spiritual longing, then that object has wabi-sabi – nothing lasts, nothing is finished, and nothing is perfect.

Wabi-sabi trains us to find basic, natural objects interesting, fascinating and beautiful. It changes our basic perception of the world – even a crack (imperfection) in a plate makes it more interesting. The defect gives the object more meditative value. Similarly, things such as wood become more interesting when they change with age (impermanence).
If and when we accept the essence of wabi-sabi, we can easily understand why anti-heroes are more realistic and likable to many people. Heroes are those we admire that exemplify idealism, courage, and morality. Anti-heroes lack many of the virtues we’ve expected of traditional heroes. However, anti-heroes do the right things. Despite their flaws in bad decisions and questionable moral codes, anti-heroes are ultimately guided by good intentions.
Finally, accepting the imperfect forms the basis of self-compassion. Self-kindness is having compassion for ourselves. We show the same kindness to our friends when they face difficulties, life struggles, personal mistakes, failures, and inadequacies. When we are self–compassionate, we recognise and accept our humanness. We do not judge ourselves harshly as we are imperfect individuals in an imperfect world. The more open we are to this reality, the more we can accept and adapt ourselves.

If we can accept imperfection in ourselves, we can accept imperfection in others—lower our expectations and standards. Striving for perfection often drives us and others crazy.
Wabi-sabi is more than Japanese aesthetics. It can be a way of looking at ourselves, others, and the world – imperfect, transient, and incomplete.