What is the secret of (Zen) wisdom?  

Hi VVroom, okay, anyone who burns books can not be enlightened (joke, poor one in light of your discussion but it was the first thing that came to my head). Having said that, my response to your discussions is as follows. The philosopher, if truly devoting himself to the study of Zen would realize that only by focusing on himself, through meditation and not seeking any external answers could he truly become enlightened. If one were to follow the true path of Zen teachings, then the written book would have no merit to attaining enlightment. So, if upon his enlightenment, he may have burned all his books as they were external influences. So in relation to everyday life, the answers we seek are within ourselves and not to let the external forces get in the way of our way of life.

:)) that thing about 'a man who attained enlightenment doesn't burn books' came to my mind too! nice synchronicity going on:)) recently I came across an interesting story that says just about what your zen story is saying. You can see it here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7icAFa8fdLY and here (it's in 2 parts) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yymdkfDVm-E
People carry too much baggage around. Wise men travel light, so their road is easy. Of course, at that point (enlightenment) you know you don't need anything, so it comes naturally to 'travel light'. It's harder for us, the others. We still need the books... even the zen master first studied (books and his own self) and THEN attained enlightenment.