Finger Pointing at the Moon: It All Connects Here
Work Like a Monk: A Book Excerpt
Work Like a Monk: How to Connect, Lead and Grow in a Noisy World is a new book by Japanese Buddhist monk Shoukei Matsumoto. He has published more than five books in Japanese, including A Monk’s Guide to a Clean House and Mind which has been translated into over fifteen languages. He was nominated as a member of Young Global Leaders 2013 at the World Economic Forum.
This excerpt from Chapter One of the new book Work Like a Monk is reprinted with permission from the publisher. You can find more information on Simon & Schuster India
Listening First
Just as I stood up to leave, the temple priest caught my eye.
‘Welcome, and thank you for visiting. I am the head priest of this temple. If you have any questions, please feel free to ask.’
I was a bit taken aback by this direct invitation to ask questions. I had always pictured a monk’s sermon as a long, one-way lecture, so this open, interactive approach surprised me.
‘I have talked by myself for long enough. The teachings of Gautama Buddha often arose from people’s questions.
Indeed, while the Buddha gave many talks to guide people, his approach, sometimes called “tailored dharma“, meant adapting the teaching to each listener’s needs and conditions. Just as a doctor first listens to a patient and uses a stethoscope to hear and understand their body’s signals, the Buddha, known as the Great Physician, also began by listening. He would listen before he spoke.’
Even today, in business, we talk about the importance of listening.
‘However, there is much we don’t know about what the Buddha’s teaching sounded like, 2,500 years ago. What language, what words, did he use to address people from so many different backgrounds? Without microphones, how did he make himself heard by thousands?’
That is a mystery indeed.
‘There’s a fascinating idea called the “One Sound Doctrine”. In the Vimalakirti Sutra, it is said, “The Buddha spoke in one sound, and each person understood it in their own way.”‘
In my work as a corporate coach, I’ve seen how the same message can be understood differently by each person, depending on their mindset and situation.
‘One way to explain this “One Sound Doctrine” is that the Buddha may have repeated the same content over and over.’
Because people’s understanding and growth depended on their own state of mind, the same repeated teaching could act like a ‘tailored dharma’ for each individual. A message can resonate differently with an individual at different times.
‘Another, more daring interpretation suggests that the Buddha may not have spoken ordinary language at all. Instead, he might have contin-uously chanted the sacred sound “om” (“aum”).’
This is an intriguing thought. Imagine that, instead of using everyday language, the Buddha conveyed his message through a single sacred sound. Each listener would then interpret this pure sound based on their own nature and circumstances. Without being limited by words, the sound itself would become the teaching, allowing anyone to receive
it regardless of the language they speak.
‘The Buddha’s teachings have been passed down as countless sutras. Many begin with the phrase, “Thus have I heard”, and some sutras even seem to contradict each other.’
This could mean that the Buddha tailored his teachings to each listener, or that people heard the same message differently and shaped it into diverse teachings. The idea that the world is shaped by the observer’s perception connects with certain Western philosophical ideas as well.
‘Without modern technology, Buddha’s disciples turned his spoken teachings into written texts. When we monks chant these sutras today, we are trying to revive the Buddha’s original voice.’
In the past, when I heard sutras chanted at funerals, I wondered why they were all in Classical Chinese – a language I, and many others, cannot understand. But if the essence lies in the sound rather than their literal meaning, my perspective on this changes. I had seen the words as a barrier, instead of a conduit through which to listen to the sound.
‘In Buddhism, direct oral transmission from teacher to student has always mattered because some things cannot be captured by written words alone. Humans cannot live alone; we are relational beings, a concept we call interbeing. Buddhism teaches us wisdom on how to live together with others, even when we cannot fully understand them. Practising Buddhism is not something done in isolation in the mountains. It always involves living companions.’
Mindful Listening
‘Our temple follows the Nen Buddhist path.
And what is Nen Buddhism, you ask?
At its heart lies the practice of ‘mindful listening’. This does not mean just using our ears; it’s about leaning in with our hearts and giving our full attention to the person in front of us and to the moment itself. It means having an open, understanding attitude that lets us sense the Buddha’s voice and the voices of others. Through this, we discover our own true voice as well.
I would sum up the spirit of Nen Buddhism like this: “Listen mindfully, then the voice will be heard.”
The character “念” (Nen) is formed from parts meaning “now” and “heart”. By speaking and listening fully in this present moment, we guide our hearts towards the voice.
Through “mindful listening”, we tune our hearts to the Buddha’s voice. As we listen to our own voice and sense its direction, the voice of Buddha begins to be heard.’
Listening not just with the ears, but with the heart. In Japanese, there is a phrase, ‘listening to fragrance’, which encourages an opening up of the senses, beyond their physical limitations. The English word ‘scent’ comes from the Latin sentio, meaning ‘to feel’. Which means that, whether smelling or listening, you need to concentrate your attention towards the object with all of your five senses.
‘Traditionally, Japanese culture has encouraged an openness that doesn’t divide perception into separate senses. People took in everything as a whole, not isolating sight, hearing or smell. That’s why when we say Buddha listened, it goes beyond just our physical senses.’
To lean in and feel the ‘here and now’ means to watch, to listen and to sense. In Japan, this way of receiving comes naturally. Gently observing, sensing emotions beyond words, understanding the mood without explicit explanation – these are all ways we stay present, focused on subtle shifts around us.
‘In Nen Buddhism, we sum up this attitude in the word “listening” (聞). In Buddhism, the path to awakening often involves three steps: Listen, Contemplate and Meditate. First, you listen quietly. Then you reflect on what you’ve heard. Finally, you internalise these insights through practice.
The first of the three steps is listening. By listening to the Buddha’s voice and noticing how it resonates within you, you begin to hear the polyphony of “interbeing” – the harmony created when all existence resonates together with an open heart. Once you truly listen, contemplation and meditation follow naturally. This is what we call “mindful listening” in Nen Buddhism.’
So, how does ‘mindful’ listening differ from ‘active’ listening?
‘Mindful listening is not just a technique; it’s a way of being. While you are still listening closely to the words, you’re not only picking up the content of what is said; you’re also sensing the speaker’s feelings, reading their facial expressions, feeling their energy, noticing pauses and even listening to the silences you share. Mindful listening includes all of this.’
Listening to silence, to stillness. It reminds me of John Cage’s piece 4′ 33″, a composition performed entirely in silence. Mindful listening is bringing that concept, the value of meaningful silence, into our everyday lives.
‘At first, this way of listening may feel tiring. But over time, you will realise that devoting yourself fully to listening means fully opening up to the world. Listening goes beyond personal intention. When you truly listen, you naturally begin to hear. Perhaps you will find that you grow into a vessel that can receive both explicit and implicit voices. And listening with a calm heart can also soften the inner noise bubbling within us.’
Listen until you begin to hear. I always thought ‘listening’ and ‘hearing’ were the same, but the temple priest seems to distinguish between them carefully.
Ambient Buddhism
A deep gong sounded from the temple bell. I looked over my shoulder and noticed that the people who had been sitting in the back row had gone. Now, it was just me and the temple priest. Including the Buddha statue, we were three. The light shining through the paper screens behind the Buddha had a reddish tint.
I closed my eyes softly and listened.
The rustle of leaves in the trees outside. The gentle trickle of a nearby stream. The rhythmic knock of a shishi-odoshi bamboo fountain. The hum of insects. The distant sound of a conch shell, blown by a mountain ascetic.
These sounds had been present all along, but I had not heard them.
It was like my favourite ambient music. Brian Eno, who pioneered ambient music, said it can be ‘as ignorable as it is interesting’. ‘Ambient’ means the surrounding environment, so ‘ambient temperature’ is the room temperature around us. Eno’s Music for Airports was meant to blend into the environment at the airports, enhancing the atmosphere without demanding attention.
My eyes were still closed as the temple priest spoke again in a gentle, clear voice.
‘In Japan, nature has never been something separate from us. Long ago, we used the term jinen to refer to nature, meaning things as they naturally are. It suggests that nothing exists alone – everything is interconnected, an inter-being. The meaning of jinen is close to “habitat” or “umwelt”.
In the philosophy of interbeing, we don’t see ourselves as isolated individuals. We understand that we are fundamentally connected to other humans and also to the wider world. This sense of interbeing, shaped by our surroundings (habitat) and our daily ways of being (habits), forms part of daily life and is the essence of our People’s Buddhism – to listen wholeheartedly to everything that makes up our everyday environment. And to be aware that I, as an inhabitant of this world, am part of this ambience.’
When mindfulness isn’t limited to set times or places, but becomes part of daily life, this is what we might call Ambient Buddhism. Everything connects. This means listening to what’s not visible, looking towards sounds we can’t quite hear, sensing beyond usual perception. It also means allowing the past and future to join with the present moment. I remember reading an article in which Brian Eno described this feeling as the ‘Long Now’.
The Finger Pointing at the Moon
‘Even if we try to listen to Buddha’s voice, at first we will not understand what he is saying or what it means.’
Through the act of listening, maybe something ‘Buddha-like’ can seep into our daily lives. But at first it may feel like grasping at fleeting pieces of happiness, something near yet hard to hold.
‘If you have only one puzzle piece from a complex image, you have no idea what it forms a part of. Two pieces, three pieces, still no clear picture. It’s frustrating. But if you keep listening, keep gathering pieces, sooner or later they start to connect, and that moment feels joyful. As you continue listening, you begin to sense an outline of what the final picture might be, making the process itself enjoyable.
The Buddhist path is often compared to a finger pointing at the moon. The moon you seek cannot be grasped directly; you only have the finger as a guide. As you live mindfully and listen to the Buddha’s voice, the puzzle’s shape emerges and the moon’s outline becomes clearer. At that point, the puzzle itself is no longer the focus. The puzzle pieces are like the finger pointing to the moon, revealing its shape in the empty spaces. We sense the moon appearing where once we saw only puzzle pieces.’
I didn’t expect to hear Bruce Lee’s famous line from Enter the Dragon here: ‘Don’t think. Feel! It is like a finger pointing away to the moon. Don’t concentrate on the finger, or you will miss all that heavenly glory.’ But it all connects. All paths, indeed, converge.
After the temple priest’s dharma talk, I headed out of the temple and down the path, aware that I had received something beyond words.
For more do check out the book, Work Like a Monk by Shoukei Matsumoto, published by Simon & Schuster.
