The Meaning, the Words and Music

An online friend posted this quote today which got me musing and contemplating:-

The fish trap exists because of the fish. Once you've gotten the fish you can forget the trap. The rabbit snare exists because of the rabbit. Once you've gotten the rabbit, you can forget the snare. Words exist because of meaning. Once you've gotten the meaning, you can forget the words. Where can I find a man who has forgotten words so I can talk with him? ~ Chuang Tzu

Here's where I've reached thus far...

The words are the vehicle for the meaning -
When a man has forgotten the words, does he retain the meaning?
If he forgets the words through lack of attention (and retention) has he ever had the meaning in the first place? -
If I have found the meaning and someone seeks me out to talk with me, in order to convey the meaning to him will I need words to transmit or convey that meaning? -
If this is so and I have forgotten the words, where will I find them?

And so it is thus, there are more questions than answers!

In applying the Chuang Tzu quote to music, we realise that the meaning is hidden in the relationship between the notes, the silences, the rhythm, the tempo.
And if the meaning is thus hidden, can we always re-generate that meaning using the same exact relationships? Or are those identical musical notational relationships also dependent upon our perceptive filters and interpretations and state of mind?
Furthermore this leads to the performer of the musical notations, and HIS understanding of the meaning, and also his changing states of mind.

So my conclusions (at this moment in time you understand!) are that - for an understanding AND conveyance of meaning, words and music are equally important. And, the better we use them, the more meaning we can receive and impart.

I genuinely feel that music is a non-verbal language, and actually conveys more meaning at higher levels than words do.