Bodhidharma wished to make these eager learners see that the finger pointing at the moon is not the moon itself. Religion for him is not worship, devotion and prayer, but mumuksha, the deep longing for freedom from the fetters of everyday life that can lead a seeker on the path to enlightenment. The finger is useful because of what it points us toward, not as an object of study for its own sake. For the amateur astronomer, the moon has always been a favorite subject for his telescopes, and until the first really energetic space efforts, he mostly dominated the field of selenography. There is a simple proverb from the zen school of buddhism that compares the relationship between spiritual instructors and the ultimate truth that they seek to teach to a finger pointing at the moon. If i remember rightly, john the baptist is frequently depicted in christian iconography with his right index finger pointing towards the heavens. The finger is needed to know where to look for the moon, but if you mistake the finger for the moon itself, you will never know the real moon. Why the same side of the moon always faces the earth. Bhikkhus, the teaching is merely a vehicle to describe the truth. A finger pointing at the moon by alan watts duration. Because virtually all of our clients, over our nearly 23 years in business, have developed a healthy and helpful environment where its okay to identify and fix problems without resorting to finger pointing. Finger pointing to the moon talks on the adhyatma upanishad talks given from 1072 am to 211072 pm original in hindi.
Fingers pointing towards the moon was the first of what would be a series of extraordinary spiritual manifestos written by the anonymous wei wu wei. Where does chans finger pointing at the moon come from. One hundred zen koans from chinese masters translated by alexander holstein charles e. Like a master instructing every reader who has the dedication to read this book, the authors direct and unrelenting perspective gives fingers pointing to the moon its status as one of zen buddhisms essential classics. What is the significance of the hand pointing upward in. Fingerpointing definition of fingerpointing by merriam.
If the finger is pointing at the moon, what is the moon. Fingers pointing towards the moon reflections of a pilgrim on the way wei wu wei routledge and kegan paul, 1958. Fingers pointing to the moon includes works created by author jane english over the past 30 years, pieces written specifically for. Get your kids excited about whats involved in living and working on the moon. Earth heart fingers pointing to the moon jane english. This is a composite image of the lunar nearside taken by the lunar reconnaissance orbiter in.
The finger that points to the moon 20161211 by wayne c. It is one of the attributes like the camel shirt for example that made him easily identifiable to. To use an eastern comparison, i treat language like a finger pointing at the moon. Reflections of a pilgrim on the way paperback november 3, 2003. Whether or not that is wise is a matter of opinion. Fingers pointing to the moon is a unique and autobiographical telling of significant events and pathways in the life of jane english, author, photographer, artist, and hotair balloon pilot, who also holds a doctorate in subatomic physics.
When bodhidharma came to china, he saw that most chinese learners did not grasp the truth of buddhism. Do not concentrate on the finger or you will miss all of the heavenly glory. This is why all the great oriental philosophies begin with the practice of concentration, that is of attentive looking. Also found as i am but a finger pointing to the moon.
The moment you start clinging to the fingers thats where doctrines, cults, creeds, dogmas, are born then you have missed the whole point. Listen to the story and fill in the blanks with the correct word. Dont mistake the finger pointing at the moon for the moon. This version is the final edit pending publication. They merely sought it through interpretation of texts and thought of the changing phenomena all around them as real action. Further, the effect of the earths gravitational field is stronger on the side of the moon closest to the earth than on the far side and the same with the moons gravitational fields effect on. Zen teachers often say that the teachings are like a finger pointing at the moon. He shows that zen teachings can be compared to a finger pointing at the moon, directing you to awaken to your true naturethe buddha within. Its a wonderful phrase that is playful and yet rich in many meanings. Reflections of a pilgrim on the way to date concerning the publication we now have fingers pointing towards the moon. Dont mistake the finger pointing at the moon for the moon zen buddhist saying. How can we understand the meaning in an useful manner.
If someone points to the moon dont just look at the finger because. Look at the understanding and attainment of the student, then teach chan. On pages 5 and 6, youll find a brief description of nasa and two of its moon missions. In the east where pointing at the moon originated, there is no concept even remotely like fingerism. As a consequence, the moon always keeps the same face towards the earth. When i was in india, a hindu holy man told me, a western skeptic.
Memorable scene from the bruce lee movie enter the dragon from 1973. And if it has not happened even in forty years, what is the point of weeping now. Planting by the moon shine on, shine on harvest moon is the song lyric which texans can sing most of the year because of the long production period. Anyone even slightly familiar with zen knows this metaphor of a finger pointing at the moon. This is a translation of the hindi series adhyatma upanishad. In this book are photographs, words, a paintings that point to ineffable yet commonplace realities that are beyond words and images. Indeed, the book itself is like a finger pointing at the moon. The finger points directly to the moon so that you can see the moon for yourself directly. I havent found any record of bodhidharma having used this analogy.
Without theories, implementation science or evaluation we risk aspiring to travel to the moon, yet leaving our rockets stuck on the launchpad. In this scene from enter the dragon, bruce is teaching his student about the importance of staying fully present in the moment. I think the first time i saw the name wei wu wei were the striking quotes attributed to him in my alltime. Pointing the way by the same author between man and man way of man paths in utopia two types of faith good image. Now, with the impact of a great multitude of photographs taken at closehand, with precise measurements of the moons complex chemical composition. With many varied analogies, stories and incidents, trevor leggett points to the truth beyond words, beyond explanations and methods. And of course the meaning of the metaphor is theres a difference between a teaching and the meaning of whats being taught. Truth can be likened to the bright moon in the sky. What the finger pointing to the moon analogy really.
Similarly, the buddhas teachings point directly to your true mind your buddha nature. See more ideas about books, look at the moon and words. For me polish is an archaic language that corresponds to the world before it became diversified, when everything seems to have been more compact, more sensory, when it all balanced on presentiments and what was more important than how. Reflections of a pilgrim on the way responses people havent but quit his or her report on the sport, or otherwise read it still. Definition of point the finger at in the idioms dictionary. In one of the temples of japan, there is no statue of lord buddha, but instead statue of a finger pointing to a far away moon. Be careful not to confuse the finger pointing to the moon for the moon itself.
Chapter 1 dont just listen, do october 1972 pm in mt. You asked if the finger is pointing to the moon, what is the moon pointing at. The finger pointing to the moon is not the moon is the essence here. The meaning of the finger pointing to the moon tu an temple. It is as if to say, if you want to know what reality is. Dont go on worshiping the finger nor find faults in the finger. A friend recently told of an extended journey to india where he met a hindu holy man along the way. Stream 09 fingers pointing at the moon by dworniak bone lapsa from desktop or your mobile device. To look at the moon, it is necessary go gaze beyond the finger, right.
The origin and development of fingerism in the study of moon pointing traditions the concept of fingerism is a rather recent arrival on the scene and is a purely western creation. Most growers ignore the phases of the moon when the time for planting activities is optimum. There is a zen teaching story that speaks of not mistaking a finger that points to the moon for the moon itself. All words are just fingers pointing to the moon, but dont accept the fingers as the moon. All religions are like fingers pointing to the moon. To see the moon, you must forget the pointing finger, and simply look at the moon.
But we now know a few background details that help put the writings into. The identity of wei wu wei was not revealed at the time of the publication of his first book. The laughing buddha hotei is pointing to the moon, who was a monk who lived during the later liang dynasty 907923 ad of china. The chan sayings recorded during the moonlit meditation in. The version with but seems originally to come from carolyn myss 2002 book, sacred contracts. You will also see that there are specific sites catered to different product types or.
The chan sayings recorded during the moonlit meditation. Fingers pointing towards the moon was the first of a series of extraordinary spiritual manifestos written by the anonymous wei wu wei. The danger lies in mistaking the pointing finger for the moon, mistaking the words for the essential enlightenment, which can only be grasped once words have been surpassed. Returning to the original question why dont we see more finger pointing in our practice. We and our partners use cookies to personalize your experience, to show you ads based on your interests, and for measurement and analytics purposes. Forget the finger, forget the scriptures, forget the masters. Fingerpointing definition is the act of making explicit and often unfair accusations of blame. It comes from the shurangama sutra, a core text for zenchan buddhist training, where the buddha wanted to point out where anandas real. Prologue ludwig wittgenstein reminds us that a painsensation word like pain functions as a replacement for our primitive, natural painbehavior such as crying,moaning,etc. There was so much competition to reach the moon until recently. New theory explains how the moon got there 31 october 2016 this is a composite image of the lunar nearside taken by the lunar reconnaissance orbiter in june 2009, note. The extracts contained here are for personal use only, and may not be reproduced for commercial distribution.
Concentrate only at the moon where the finger is pointing. Bruce lee finger pointing at the moon commentary in. See all 5 formats and editions hide other formats and editions. The finger that points to the moon our internal representations are neither real, nor necessarily correct. Talks on the adhyatma upanishad osho draws on the ancient wisdom of this upanishad to reflect on god, religion and the liberation of the self. First, let us make it clear that the zen expression of it is like the finger pointing to the moon has nothing to do with the finger or the moon. Our library is the biggest of these that have literally hundreds of thousands of different products represented. If one reaches the point where understanding fails, this is not a tragedy.
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