
“When a wise man points at the moon the imbecile examines the finger.”
Source: Fated
“When a wise man points at the moon the imbecile examines the finger.”
“And so, pointing fingers become pointing guns, because nobody listens to fingers.”
Source: Gods and Generals
Bruce Lee: Enter the Dragon (1973); In a training session with one of the temple students.
Variant: Its like a finger pointing away to the moon. Dont concentrate on the finger or you will miss all that heavenly glory.
Source: Striking Thoughts: Bruce Lee's Wisdom for Daily Living
My Life in Court (1961), p. 115.
Source: Why We Fail as Christians (1919), p. 53
My Reviewers Reviewed (lecture from June 27, 1877, San Francisco, CA)
“O but it is a fine thing to have a finger pointed at one, and to hear people say, "That's the man!"”
At pulchrum est digito monstrari et dicier "hic est".
Satire I, line 28.
The Satires
“3890. Point not at other's Spots with a foul Finger.”
Compare Poor Richard's Almanack (1750) : Clean your Finger, before you point at my Spots.
Introductio ad prudentiam: Part II (1727), Gnomologia (1732)
“No affirmation is more than a finger pointing to the moon.”
The World's Religions (1991)
Context: Signposts are not the destination, maps are not the terrain. Life is too rich and textured to be fitted into pigeonholes, let alone equated with them. No affirmation is more than a finger pointing to the moon. And, lest attention turn to the finger, Zen will point, only to withdraw its finger at once.