Finger Pointing At The Moon

It's like a finger pointing away to the moon... <slap>

Don't concentrate on the finger or you will miss all that heavenly glory.

: -- BruceLee, EnterTheDragon (1973)

Though a particular practice may not be perfect, the important thing to understand is the intention behind the practice. Once this is understood, it is possible to move beyond any particular practice to come closer to the ideal. Early criticisms of ExtremeProgramming have often focused on the finger.

A ParadigmShift can be thought of as a redefinition of which is the moon and which the finger. -- RobHarwood

Elaboration (Zen): http://www.csis.hku.hk/~bruce/zen02.html (short with pictures) and http://www.livingessence.com/psatsangs/Consciousness.htm (longer and more in depth) (broken link; now available at [http://web.archive.org/web/20030429150036/http://www.livingessence.com/psatsangs/Consciousness.htm])