When I Point to the Moon, Don't Stare at My Finger
"When I point to the moon, don't stare at my finger." This small piece of advice is attributed to Gautama Buddha. In fact, like most of the sayings of the Buddha, it is small only in the sense of the number of words it contains. In scope, it is very large. The poetic language of Buddhist teachings is metaphoric and multi-layered, so that within a few words lies profound wisdom. To illustrate this point, I will analyze this small teaching of the Buddha to demonstrate that it speaks of three principle characteristics of Buddhism. I will show that it describes the role of the Buddha in Buddhism. Further, I will show that it addresses the fundamental idea of Anatta or Non-Self by answering the implied question which is imbedded in the phrase, i.e. why shouldn't we look at his finger? Finally, I will show that it points out to a practitioner where he or she should look for answers.
After the Buddha achieved enlightenment under the Bodhi tree, he continued his meditation for some time, enjoying the "supreme bliss of his revelation."[1] He initially had no intention of sharing his revelation with anyone, but was convinced by the god Brahma Sahampati that, for the good of humanity, he must teach what he had come to experience. His first sermon was preached at Isipatana to the five ascetics with whom he had earlier been travelling when he himself was practicing asceticism.[2]
At his first sermon, the Buddha preached the Middle Way, an ideal mode of living that he had found between the extremes of self-indulgence and self-mortification. He also taught the Four Noble Truths:
1. Life is suffering
2. Suffering is caused by attachment and desire
3. Suffering can be overcome
4. The way to end suffering is through following the Eight-Fold Path
According to Snelling, the Buddha's Four Noble Truths define the path to liberation by showing the steps we must follow to create the conditions within which enlightenment can be achieved.[3] The eight steps are as follows:
1. Right Understanding
2. Right Thought
3. Right Speech
4. Right Action
5. Right Livelihood
6. Right Effort
7. Right Mindfulness
8. Right Concentration
This is the essence of the teaching of the Buddha. He laid out the cause for human suffering, and he set out the steps that must be followed in order for each person to overcome it, i.e. to achieve for himself what the Buddha had achieved -- enlightenment. In other words, the Buddha was a teacher who provided others with the benefit of what he had experienced, so that they might experience these truths for themselves.
There is much evidence in Buddhism to support the view that the Buddha is seen as a teacher, and not as a deity of any sort who grants liberation or enlightenment. This is illustrated in Garuda IV as follows:
The Buddhist tradition is essentially non-theistic. It is not based on worship of an external entity but rather on an interaction of three principles, often called the "three jewels": buddha, dharma and sangha. The buddha principle is one of example -- Buddha's example that human beings can work on themselves, discover basic truths and actually transcend confusion.[4]
In other words, the Buddha is someone to learn from and to emulate as a fellow human being. Hamilton-Merritt, in writing of her experiences with Buddhism as a western woman, explains it as follows:
In the midst of all my mental confusion, there was one note of hope for me. The Buddha did not demand from his followers a blind faith in his teachings. Instead, he taught that everyone must explore these teachings for him or her self so that the individual may come personally to see and to know the truth...How different is this Buddhist idea from those religions that decree that faith alone will bring understanding![5]
In his statement, "when I point to the moon, don't stare at my finger", the Buddha is reinforcing this point. He is saying that his teachings can point the way to liberation, or to the goal as represented by the moon. He is a great teacher, but "even Buddhas do but point the way."[6]
The Buddha spoke of three marks of existence: Dukkha - uneasiness, Anicca - impermanence, and Anatta - non-self. Dukkha or suffering was addressed above. Anicca points to the notion that nothing in the world is permanent, or that everything is in a state of constant change or flux. Everything that exists in this world was formed from something that existed before it, and it will disintegrate to form other matter which will follow it. From this idea of impermanence, comes the notion of Anatta or 'non-self,' one of the most profound ideas in Buddhism. This doctrine teaches that a person has no constant, unchanging self. There is no ego or "I" in Buddhism, and the common notion which we have of self is an illusion. This was one of the insights experienced by the Buddha while he sat under the Bodhi tree in meditation. Snelling speaks of this insight when he states the following:
We might suggest that Siddhartha [the Buddha] now finally saw through his "I" or ego, saw that in an ultimate sense it was an illusion, a creation of thought rather than anything with a more solid existence....Siddhartha must also have become aware that the world of manifestation was an apparent outpouring of energy from a mysterious, unlimited source. During deep meditation, his mind perfectly still and quiet, he could feel the presence of this source, in totality, in his own heart-core. It was similarly in all other beings. Thus it was the true nature of all things.[7]
Accordingly, no one has any permanent self other than that part that comes from this universal source of energy. In other words, an individual's true self is a part of and interdependent with all of nature, or "one with the universe." As Hahn explains, "people normally cut reality into compartments, and so are unable to see the interdependence of all phenomena. To see one in all and all in one is to break through the great barrier which narrows one's perception of reality, a barrier which Buddhism calls the attachment to the false view of self."[8]
The fact that the Buddha recognized that his ego was an illusion is significant here. He recognized during his enlightenment experience that he had no "I". From that, it is logical to assume that there is also no "he" for other people in reference to the Buddha. "He" is also an illusion. In this light, it would make absolutely no sense to worship the Buddha, or to "stare at his finger" because the Buddha is not absolute any more than anyone else. He is not any sort of deity. The Buddha was a human who attained enlightenment or wisdom of "ultimate reality", which he chose to share with others in order to be of service to them. In this sense, he can "point to the moon" (the goal of liberation) by sharing his experiences, but he himself cannot represent that experience to others. He can show the way to liberation, but he cannot be anyone else's liberation.
One might be tempted to argue here that, since the Buddha's self was an illusion, his teachings or the enlightenment experience itself might also be illusory. It must be remembered, however, that the enlightenment experience of the Buddha allowed him to recognize his true nature, or that part of himself which is not illusory or transitory, i.e. his relationship to the universe and to all other beings. He saw "the presence of the reality of one-ness" in his own self, and saw that his own life and the life of the universe are one.[9] This is the "breaking through the barrier of the attachment to the false view of self" to which Hahn refers.[10]
So we see that a practitioner should not look to the Buddha for answers. Where, then, should one seek answers? The Buddha makes it clear that a practitioner must not look outside of himself for answers, but should look within for all that must be known. That is, one needs to experience these truths firsthand. The Buddha expressed this himself in many ways. Humphreys notes that "...the Buddha as recorded in the Pali scriptures, ...refused to answer in words a question which could only be answered by experience.[11]
As noted earlier, the Buddha taught the principle of the Four Noble Truths. The second Noble Truth states that suffering is caused by attachment, which includes attachment to the illusion of self. "Attachment to the false view of self means belief in the presence of unchanging entities which exist on their own."[12] Because all things are impermanent, one shouldn't be attached to anything, including the self or other people. This must, therefore, also mean that there should be no attachment to the Buddha. In other words, the Buddha cannot be seen as the source of enlightenment. Buddhism therefore teaches that a practitioner has to turn inward, into his self, to discover the great truths through meditation.[13] In other words, the Buddha can point to the moon (the goal of enlightenment) only. One should not stare at the finger (look to the Buddha) because the Buddha cannot take one to the goal. It is a journey which each person must make on his own. He will find the answers he seeks solely within himself.
The idea that one should look inside himself for "the truth" may seem paradoxical in light of the fact that Buddhism also teaches that the self is an illusion. Again, it must be emphasized that the self which one must come to understand and explore is not the temporary, illusory self, but that higher self which is the true nature. This is the self that comes from the universal source of energy, and this is the self towards which one must turn for answers.
"When I point to the moon, don't stare at my finger" explains a great deal in Buddhism as I have shown. It says that the role of the Buddha is that of a great teacher, who can share his experience with Buddhist practitioners to help guide them on their own path to enlightenment. It also answers the question, "why shouldn't one look to the Buddha for answers?" One shouldn't look to the Buddha because he is just like other humans, albeit an enlightened one. He is an example of what resides in all humans, and of the process by which everyone can come to recognize his own true nature. Finally, it tells Buddhists where to look for answers, and the path that must be taken to experience enlightenment. One must look inside the self.
As I have shown, "when I point to the moon, don't stare at my finger" is a very small piece of advice which carries a very large message. Although meagre in words, it is dense with wisdom and meaning.
Endnotes
1 John Snelling, The Buddhist Handbook (Rochester, Vermont: Inner Traditions, 1998) 29.
2 Snelling 29.
3 Snelling 55.
4 Chogyam Trungpa, Rinpoche, ed., Garuda IV (Berkeley and London: Shambhala, 1976) 69.
5 Jane Hamilton-Merritt, A Meditator's Diary (New York: Harper and Row, 1976) 24.
6 Christmas Humphreys, The Search Within (London: Sheldon Press, 1977) 1.
7 Snelling 27-28.
8 Thich Nhat Hanh, The Miracle of Mindfulness (Boston: Beacon Press, 1976) 48.
9 Hahn 48.
10 Hahn 48.
11 Christmas Humphreys, Concentration and Meditation (New York: Penguin Books, 1968), 204.
12 Hahn 48.
13 Hamilton-Merritt 60.
Works Cited
Hamilton-Merritt, Jane. A Meditator's Diary New York: Harper and Row, 1976.
Hanh, Thich Nhat. The Miracle of Mindfulness Boston: Beacon Press, 1976.
Humphreys, Christmas. Concentration and Medititation New York: Penguin Books, 1968.
Humphreys, Christmas. The Search Within London: Sheldon Press, 1977.
Snelling, John. The Buddhist Handbook Rochester, Vermont: Inner Traditions, 1998.
Trungpa, Chogyam, Rinpoche, ed. Garuda IV Berkeley and London: Shambhala, 1976.