The main thing about Zen stories is their ability to get us out of the box of our usual human problems. As long as we remain in the box, the solutions to the problems never quite appear. So, we have to be able to get out of the box.
Sachico Ohanks, "A Plunge into Zen Koans: An interview with Zoketsu Norman Fischer," Sangha News, San Francisco Zen Center, July 3, 2013.