Introducing Before Words: reflections on practice

Before Words is Dohasa's journal of reflections on practice. The name Before Words was inspired by the Korean term hwadu (화두, 話頭) - “head of speech” or “source of spoken words.” It refers to the moment before a single word arises, before the mind divides the world into subject and object, self and other, this and that. It points to the source from which all thought and language flow, the awareness prior to discrimination. In short, it points to our own inherent buddha nature.

To call this journal Before Words is, of course, a contradiction. Writing draws us into the world of distinctions, concepts, and discriminations. It is a movement away from what hwadu points to. But stepping into the world of language, when done carefully, can ultimately guide us to that which words can never fully express.

This journal is meant as a place of reflection, small attempts to let practice speak through language. If these writings serve any purpose, I hope they point us back toward that source, toward the bright and wordless awareness that gives rise to everything we call our life, toward the place before words.