Words do not express the fact.
Speech is not useful;
If attached to words, one should be mourned.
If mired in phrases, one becomes confused.

—Gateless Gate, Case 37, Wumen’s Verse

“Tell me, Muse, the story of a man, it’s many twists and turns, how many times he was led astray, having been at the destruction of Troy’s holy city…“ So begins The Odyssey. What is the mysterious source of the muse Homer calls upon? How does the muse sing, dance, sail, and fight?

I recently listened to a 2004 interview with the musician Neil Young, who spoke of the first time he heard his muse.

At 17, Young had formed a band and was writing and singing his own music, but he didn’t feel it was very creative and improvisational. One night, while playing in a small club, he recalled:

“I did something on my guitar where we started playing this song, and then we got into the instrumental, and I just basically went nuts. And I think it was the first time that ever happened. And I just kept playing. And I just kept going and going and grinding and just pounding away at this rhythmic thing and exploring little nuances of it…

And at that point, you know, I realized, well, there’s a place I can go. And I didn’t — I just kind of fell into it by accident. And I think I’ve spent the rest of my life trying to get there.”

Mapping the place where the muse resides has long been important work in the Chan-Zen tradition. And stumbling off course, getting lost, has always been part of the grand exploration. A young monk named Dragon Tooth (Longya) was once traveling around China seeking out many of the famous teachers of the time. He came to Virtue Mountain (Deshan) and asked:

“How is it when a student holding a sharp sword tries to take the teacher’s head?” The teacher Virtue stretched out his neck and uttered a grunt. Tooth exclaimed, “The teacher’s head has fallen.” Virtue smiled slightly and let it go at that.

Hmm, not quite yet. Despite his earnestness, Tooth could not yet accept Virtue’s invitation to directly enter the playfield of the Universe. He was still “attached to words” and “mired in phrases.”

Next, our friend Dragon Tooth went to the famous Cave Mountain (Dongshan).

Cave asked, “Where did you come  from?” Tooth said, “From Virtue Mountain.” Cave replied,  “What did he have to say?” Tooth recounted his story. Cave asked, “Yes, but what did he say?” Tooth said, “He had no words.” Cave replied, “Don’t say that he had no words. Instead try to take Virtue Mountain’s fallen head and show it to me.”

At this, Tooth realized he and all things were not two. The source of his muse was unknowable, but also, he did not need to know. Dragon Tooth burned a stick of incense and gazed toward Virtue Mountain in deepest thanks.

—Jon Joseph

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Jon Joseph Roshi, Director of San Mateo Zen Community