There’s something that can seem so elusive about Zen, a way of life which cannot be reached by words. What can be so confusing about this is that we use words to point to what cannot be reached by words. As soon as we hear them, the tendency is to try to think our way to the Zen of the moment.
But the phrase, “what cannot be reached by words” is a practical instruction. That is, just to forget about what the words mean and to reach experientially, beyond words. Only the direct experience of your life, in all its dimensions and qualities, from bodily sensation all the way to the quiet, still, open, fresh ground of present moment awareness in zazen, where nothing is hidden. In the office, at the sink, on the trail, under the moon, brushing your teeth, eating your spaghetti, putting air in the tires – nothing abstract, nothing hidden.
Mushin