Rumi

Rumi the poet was a scholar also.
But Shams his friend, was an angel.
By which i don't mean anything patient or sweet.
When i read how he took Rumi's books and threw them
            into the duck pond,
I shouted for joy. Time to live now,
Shams meant.
                          I see him, turning away
casually toward the road, Rumi following, the books
floating and sinking among the screeching ducks,

oh, beautiful book-eating pond!

- Mary Oliver

There's a wonderful series on in the U.K. on BBC2, called 'The Retreat'.
Its about a group of muslims and non-muslims on a 'classical islam' retreat in Spain.
The main teachers are from the Sufi tradition, and its interesting to watch how they introduce the concept of 'presence' to those who have little life experience of 'being present', and to those who get too wrapped up in the words and formulas their tradition uses.

Words and books are useful but when they get in the way, throw them in the pond.
Zen? Sufism? etc? etc? Time to live now.
The zen of Zen...