Buddhism: Words

http://www.awakeblogger.com/2008/11/

What are words really? Words describe experiences.  An old Buddhist teaching compares words to a finger that points to the moon.  The finger is not the moon, but it indicates the moon.  The finger leads to what it is describing, just as words describe the actual experiences.

Words are just labels.  Words are cluttered with our own belief systems.  When we hear a word we have so many preconceptions, ideas, feelings, prejudices, or memories that go along with it.  For example, a big issue currently is the fear of Islam.  If you hear someone is Islamic you instantly think of terrorism and you remember 9/11, and, although it may be involuntary, many are struck with a sense of alarm.  But what is an "Islamic" person, really? They're just a  person, just like every other.  Islamic is just a label we put on them, and yet, it causes so much distress.