You Stop To Point At The Moon In The Sky

Taigu RyokanTaigu Ryokan

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You stop to point at the moon in the sky,
but the finger's blind unless the moon is shining.One moon, one careless finger pointing --
are these two things or one?The question is a pointer guiding
a novice from ignorance thick as fog.Look deeper. The mystery calls and calls:
No moon, no finger -- nothing there at all.
Taigu Ryokan
About the poet

Taigu Ryokan

1758-1831/JapaneseRyōkan was born in the village of Izumozaki in Echigo Province (now Niigata Prefecture) in Japan to the village headman. He renounced the world at an early age to train at nearby Sōtō Zen temple Kōshōji, refusing to meet with or accept chari…

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