When you are deluded and full of doubt,

Even a thousand books of scripture are still not enough. 

When you have realized understanding, 

Even one word is already too much. 

Zen is communicated personally, 

Through mental recognition. 

It is not handed on directly by written words.

                                                             - Fenyang ( courtesy of Daily Zen)

Finding the answers in a book. There are a number of wise and articulate people out there who write books about life. Strategies for coping with stress and philosophies on ways to relate to ourselves and each other. Yet the truth cannot be experienced on any of those pages. Truth is lived, truth is the experience of life in each moment. Truth is the next in-breath. I find comfort in a well written book or article. The language resonates with my unconscious mind such that I have the experience of how it all makes sense to me. The trick is to keep that separate from the moment at hand. All the phrases and paragraphs pass quietly when my attention is on the breath. That is when the truth is at hand.