The nun Wu Jincang asked the Sixth Patriarch Hui Neng, "I have studied the Mahaparinirvana sutra for many years, yet there are many areas I do not quite understand. Please enlighten me."
The patriarch responded, "I am illiterate. Please read out the characters to me and perhaps I will be able to explain the meaning."
"You cannot even recognize the characters. How are you able then to understand the meaning?" the nun responded.
"Truth has nothing to do with words. Truth can be likened to the bright moon in the sky. Words, in this case, can be likened to a finger. The finger can point to the moon’s location. However, the finger is not the moon. To look at the moon, it is necessary to gaze beyond the finger, right?"
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