Finger Pointing to the Moon
QUESTION: What does the “Finger Pointing to the Moon” Zen analogy mean?
Zen doesn’t speak in syllogisms, but in poetry. Zen is not what it says. Zen is what it shows. Listen and look. Don't say anything. What do you see? Nothing! That is Zen.
Buddha said, ‘Be a light unto yourself’. Buddha’s message is the greatest message in the whole history of humanity, yet Buddha was only pointing to the way. Buddha’s finger points to the moon, but you have to look to the direction his finger is pointing. You have to be silent and listen within yourself, and then follow unquestionably, non-argumentatively, without any thinking, just looking and following your gaze.
Don't cling to the finger pointing to the moon. Don’t cling to the moon that the finger is pointing to. Look at the moon. The finger is not the moon. Finger and moon are only words, very arbitrary; they mean nothing. What is the whole fuss about then? It is just a finger pointing to the moon. If you question the meaning of the finger pointing to the moon, you miss the whole point. If you start arguing about the finger, or about the moon as if the finger is in some kind of conspiracy with the moon against you, you become lost in your mind’s thinking. The finger doesn't say what the moon is or what the moon isn’t. The finger is a neutral pointer, pointing at the direction. The whole point of a finger is that it can direct your vision towards the moon. But the moon and the finger individually are irrelevant. What is relevant is the existence, and the moon is only a portal to your consciousness. The moon and the finger are just thoughts detaching you from the real, and therefore distorting your perception. Look at the finger, look at the moon and stay in the middle point, neutral, receptive, and consciously open to see, experience, and know the point. That’s where the meeting is, right Now, melting and merging with the whole of you.
The finger is not saying anything about the moon. That is where the danger is. Unconscious people may start clinging to the finger and start praising and worshiping the moon. This attachment has happened in almost all religions around the world. People are holding onto their holy scriptures, their dogma, their beliefs. There are millions of people who go on thinking about the finger, and there are millions of people who are worshiping and praying to the moon.
You see, you might think that I am pointing to something, and your thinking is absolutely right, because there is something to be included in your mind’s knowledge, but from the point of consciousness, I am pointing to Nothing, I am pointing to that space between two objects, in between two thoughts. What is in the middle? Nothing! Only when you face nothing, do you ever come to something.
Don't start thinking about my finger! I am not holding the truth for you, but I can point to it. Just look at the moon, for God’s sake, and totally drop your mind. All words about spiritual principles and values are just indications. Don't attach your consciousness onto thoughts and words. The mind is not reality. Thoughts and words are just indicators. My finger is not talking about the moon, it is just pointing to the moon—it is only a hint. The whole point is about pointing. Do you understand? Look at the moon. What is the point of looking? Looking is the whole point!
Zen is a flash of consciousness. Zen is one of the purest spiritual experiences. Zen is uncontaminated by the mind and its thoughts, theology, assumptions, beliefs, and speculations. The whole point of Zen is about no point at all. Zen simply is. Now simply Is, so Zen means Now.
Ivan Rados, Transcripts - A collection of Spontaneous Discourses on The Middle Point, Tantra, Yoga, Yantra, Mantra, Zen..., to disciples and friends in Port Coquitlam, Toronto, Vancouver, and Los Angeles.