the second concept I’d like to turn to is reflection – looking into a mirror or self-contemplation. Burn It gives us the line “there’s someone in the mirror that you don’t know” followed by countless instances of facing oneself, speaking to oneself.

even “the sound within me” is a reflection of the sound we are hearing, the voice speaking back, the shadow mocking and holding you hostage.

in the Madhyamika school of Buddhism, mirrors were used as a metaphor of the mind which becomes dirtied as a mirror collects dust, where the self cannot transfer to the mirror as the inner nature cannot transfer.

we are then looking always at a stranger, all its natures and our natures simply a mirage – “the weakness, hatred, loathing, and even rage - / them, too, are rather futile / perhaps, they are, yeah, just a mirage”

you develop, through the burdens you carry, into a stranger from the person you once were, into a state where the mirror is so distorted that your own image is unrecognisable.

reflection in Buddhism is also the beginning of purification, of letting go as seen in the instructions to Rahula and in the Zen sect, it is often encountered as a metaphor for the mind which requires polishing.

in those ways, a mirror is a teacher, there to show us weaknesses, negative qualities. to know what we want to burn away, to know that it is time to burn something away, a mirror is necessary, whether that means a literal mirror or prolonged self-reflection within yourself.

if we turn to Jungian psychology, a mirror makes one see themselves, the personas and shadows, all of the self. it is the main instrument that reflects the ego into the alter ego, dividing the human figure, and therefore the only way to achieve self-awareness.

there is a certain amount of power imbued in recognising that the person in the mirror is also not the self, to recognize the stranger. if we cannot, we end up losing ourselves like Narcissus.

something else I would like to draw attention to is the mirror in Korean mythology – the bronze mirror being one of the three objects composing the proof of descent in Dangun mythology.

the mirror therein is also symbolic of authority, as well as in religious ceremonies and was often worn around the neck to reflect the sunlight, literally illuminating the heart. illuminating the heart therein suggested going into the inner world.

integrating light and the darkness both, as well as advancing towards the gods by gaining enough courage to recognize and integrate the darkest aspects.

“I face you in the deepest place” and “there’s someone in the mirror that I don’t know” carry the same form of weight within this concept, but so does “let’s go back to the past days, to the times that destroyed me”

to reflect means to look at everything that no longer serves you and everything that does, to clean up the mirror and accept that you might not feel like the person in it, then choose (or not) to give up the parts of yourself which seem wrong.

lastly, I would like to turn to the concept of the beginner’s mind, also imbued with Buddhist significance. the beginner’s mind or shoshin refers to an attitude of openness, lack of preconceptions and originates from Zen Buddhism.

it is characterised well by the saying “in the beginner’s mind there are many possibilities, in the expert’s mind there are few”. but yoongi uses the phrase in a different context.

rather than a technique for success, the beginner’s mind is weaponized by his shadow self, using the emotions he had as a beginner “to pressure you to be passionate” therefore he warns “be careful of the word ‘beginner’s mindset’, don’t be afraid”

he takes the concept and expands it into something more dangerous because to him, as to many, to tell himself to become a beginner is to be vulnerable in that same way, sacrificing all of himself for success.

while burning everything up might be considered attempting to reach beginner’s mindset, it is rather letting go of it. the choice to burn is a result of experience, and there is an insinuation that your experience, your bank of ash, will stay with you.

even if you burn up fully, there will be something remaining, it will not be a completely new struggle of a beginning, rather a fresh start with existing foundation.

as always, these are solely my own interpretations! I’m open to any kind of feedback, discussion or criticism. the translations are from doolset bangtan. https://doolsetbangtan.wordpress.com/2020/05/22/burn-it-feat-max/

I used the following sources to inform my research:

Burning for the Buddha by James A Benn

Symbolism of Mirrors as the First Step of Individuation and Self-Awareness by Lee Yeo Reum

The Mirror as a Pan-Buddhist Metaphor-Simile by Alex Wayman

Relationship, The Great Mirror by Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpochej