Hidden Difference

I don't take your words merely as words. Far from it. I listen to what makes you talk; whatever that is; and me listen.

Shinkichi Takahashi, one of Japan's most prolific poets, was born in 1901 in the fishing village of Shikoku. His book Triumph of the Sparrows is Dadaism and surrealism poetry at its finest. The self-educated poet knew a lot about words. Words are filled with beliefs, perceptions and emotions. Words are not merely words as Takahashi points out. Words deceive us, relieve us and transform us. They sit in our minds and wait for the opportunity to give us something we need to express or need to know. What makes us use words to talk is the hidden difference that Takahashi called Zen.

Western minds don’t understand the word, Zen. The meaning of Zen is lost in the word. The word, Zen creates conflict, peace and mystery depending on our belief about it. Zen doesn’t exist in the word, but it transforms itself into the word. Zen becomes physical when we think about whatever it is. The word becomes part of us like all words do.

The hidden difference that makes us talk can be blocked by the words we believe to be true. Truth is a word that expresses an association with a belief. That energy is enough to block what we listen to. We only hear the word not what makes it talk.