Shangpa Kagyu
There is a well known Zen painting of a monkey hanging by one arm from a tree, who is trying in vain to reach for a reflection of the moon in the water's surface below. This famous work illustrates the Zen kōan – “Zen is a finger pointing to the moon.” In other words, Zen is a mere means to attaining enlightenment, not an end. As the monkey tries to grasp the reflection on the water’s surface, it knows nothing of the existence of the real moon. Thus it is a symbol of the grasping unenlightened self. The image, which serves as a warning against misunderstanding the methods behind Zen teachings, is usually shown to Zen novices and therefore falls into the Zenga category i.e. simple Zen paintings with a didactic content for instructing beginners.
In this picture, a painting of the Shangpa Kagyu lineage tree hangs on my bedroom wall at the Palpung Centre in Wales as I perform certain Losar Buddhist practices leading up to the Tibetan New Year. Having just finished the Green Tara Sadhana, I look at the reflection of the Shangpa Kagyu tree thangka in a Green Tara picture hanging on the wall and wonder if I am like the monkey… Or whether I have truly realised that these practices are nothing more than a ‘finger’ pointing toward enlightenment.
Shangpa Kagyu
There is a well known Zen painting of a monkey hanging by one arm from a tree, who is trying in vain to reach for a reflection of the moon in the water's surface below. This famous work illustrates the Zen kōan – “Zen is a finger pointing to the moon.” In other words, Zen is a mere means to attaining enlightenment, not an end. As the monkey tries to grasp the reflection on the water’s surface, it knows nothing of the existence of the real moon. Thus it is a symbol of the grasping unenlightened self. The image, which serves as a warning against misunderstanding the methods behind Zen teachings, is usually shown to Zen novices and therefore falls into the Zenga category i.e. simple Zen paintings with a didactic content for instructing beginners.
In this picture, a painting of the Shangpa Kagyu lineage tree hangs on my bedroom wall at the Palpung Centre in Wales as I perform certain Losar Buddhist practices leading up to the Tibetan New Year. Having just finished the Green Tara Sadhana, I look at the reflection of the Shangpa Kagyu tree thangka in a Green Tara picture hanging on the wall and wonder if I am like the monkey… Or whether I have truly realised that these practices are nothing more than a ‘finger’ pointing toward enlightenment.