31st May '06
Finger and Moon
I point my finger at the moon and my
dog looks at "it". "It," however, as in my finger, not the moon. He
sees not that beyond my finger. I move my finger and he jumps
around with it. He only needs to see where my finger leads to to
see the moon. But he misses it. So close yet so far away! This is
the good old Zen analogy-The finger is the Sutras and teachings
that point to the Truth (the moon). The finger is just a guide to
the moon. The finger is not the moon. The teachings are not the
Truth-they are about the Truth. I think there is a dog in each of
us dancing around the finger of Truth. Being "played" by the finger
by our own ignorance and attachment to words-missing the real thing
all this while. The Truth is between the lines, beyond the lines,
beyond form. Be freed by the holy scriptures,
not trapped by them!
