I believe this blog title to be roughly a title of a Zen document written years ago. I was just thinking about it now and I must admit I have never read the original treatise; however, it occurred to me that the Dhamma is much the same as someone pointing at the moon.

If you do not walk into the brightness of the Full Moon then you shall never know the brightness of the Dhamma. There are shadows and dark places where you should fear to tread, but the Moon can light your way home.

The Moon sheds it’s brightness no matter where you are in the world, and it sheds it’s brightness no matter what situation you are in. Pointing at the Moon shows the way you must travel, but you are the person who has to take that first step. If you do not walk into the light then you will forever live in the darkness of ignorance and suffering.

The Moon waxes and wanes just as our desires and emotions do, yet it still shines it’s light. Even on the darkest of days, when the Moon is new, it is still there, in the background, waiting to come forth in it’s radiance and showing the way home to who, and what, we truly are.

The Moon shows the nature of our practice, waxing and waning, progressing and slowing. When our practice seems to run dry, all we need is patience and perseverance; our practice will flourish once again; maybe in a day, maybe in a week, but progress will once again be achieved and we shall travel along our journey once again.

The Dhamma is as reliable as the Moon, and our practice will wax and wane, just as the moon does; so be patient and persevere… The way home is lit, all you need do is stay on the path that is lit before you!

May all being live without fear!

Dhamma is not something you do; it is not something you experience; it is not something you think; Dhamma is something that is!

Dhamma is… It is what is… You have to live the Dhamma to understand it. It’s like taking a ride on a roller-coaster. You never know what the experience will be like until you sit in that seat, have the brace folded down in front of you, and you take the ride, with all it’s ups and downs, then come out the other end, that much more excited and that much more educated. Such is the Dhamma.

True Dhamma comes from the heart. You do not have to think, you do not have to formulate, you just speak. The Four Noble Truths stand as the bulwark of any speech and stand as the backbone of any ministry. The Dhamma just is! And the Dhamma will suffice under any circumstances.

The Dhamma is not complex, although looking at the recorded teachings of the Buddha, it may seem so. The basic tenets are simple to follow and non-invasive to your normal day-to-day living. Do not lie, do not kill, do not be divisive, do not steal, do not abuse intoxicants. That doesn’t sound too bad does it? A simple set of precepts to live by, and they will all benefit everyone, even those who do not live by them because you will be a better person for it and therefore you will have a beneficial influence on others lives.

I try to live by those precepts but often fail, it is the fact that I am trying that is what matters. We will rarely be perfect in our lives, but it is the intent to try to follow the precepts that matters. Intent is important, more important than you may be aware, because it is intent that affects Kamma, and Kamma affects your rebirth. The human realm is a blessing for all those who encounter it, because we have the opportunity to learn the Dhamma from the Tathagata. Such a blessing is beyond comparison and should be held close to the heart. Few are those who have such an opportunity, and even fewer are those who take advantage.

May all who encounter the Dhamma be blessed. May all sentient beings live in peace.