Zen Model/Path: Ten Oxherding Pictures
This is the basic model zen buddhists have traditionally used to teach zen (beginning with mastery of meditation). Different teachers have a different number of images and different details that they focus on but the basic elements (& most commonly used model) is as follows;
Key: The Cow or Ox represents the mind. The Person is you or the one seeking to learn about the mind, beginning with the regular practice of meditation, and experience zen (which is a mental experience). You can imagine the cow/ox as a bicycle or a car and get an idea of the learning process these series of images seek to explain.
1
The first picture, called 'the Searching of the Cow,' represents the cowherd wandering in the wilderness with a vague hope of finding his lost cow that is running wild out of his sight. The reader will notice that the cow is likened to the mind of the student and the cowherd to the student himself.
"I do not see my cow,
But trees and grass,
And hear the empty cries
Of cicadas."
But trees and grass,
And hear the empty cries
Of cicadas."
The person is unaware of his or her mind except as a word or something they have been told they “possess”.
One is embedded in communal life, following societies norms of what’s right and wrong. Including what one should hope for, think or dream about i.e. following what they are told without any thought except where allowed by society itself. The person reacts to life instinctively like an animal in its natural habitat.
One is embedded in communal life, following societies norms of what’s right and wrong. Including what one should hope for, think or dream about i.e. following what they are told without any thought except where allowed by society itself. The person reacts to life instinctively like an animal in its natural habitat.
2
The second picture, called 'the Finding of the Cow's Tracks,' represents the cowherd tracing the cow with the sure hope of restoring her, having found her tracks on the ground.
"The grove is deep, and so
Is my desire.
How glad I am, O lo!
I see her tracks."
Is my desire.
How glad I am, O lo!
I see her tracks."
Here one begins to learn about the mind (themselves). You figure out what you mind is composed of by what you react to in fear, pain or pleasure. You learn that all senses feed the mind with information. You know you can think logically about stuff and thus logic is an aspect of the mind. In other words, one learns about their mind by learning what sorts of behaviours, thoughts and actions count as mental activity. These are the footprints of the mind.
3
The third picture, called 'the Finding out of the Cow,' represents the cowherd slowly approaching the cow from a distance.
"Her loud and wild mooing
Has led me here;
I see her from afar,
Like a dark shadow."
Has led me here;
I see her from afar,
Like a dark shadow."
The more you study the philosophy of the mind or engage in discussions about the mind and it’s attributes, the clearer becomes your understanding of it.
Being able to see your cow means you are beginning to get an idea of what your mind is. In other words, the mind is getting to know itself.
Being able to see your cow means you are beginning to get an idea of what your mind is. In other words, the mind is getting to know itself.
4
The fourth 'picture, called 'the Catching of the Cow,' represents the cowherd catching hold of the cow, who struggles to break loose from him.
"Alas! it's hard to keep
The cow I caught.
She tries to run and leap
And snap the cord."
The cow I caught.
She tries to run and leap
And snap the cord."
You seek to take control of the mind. You understand you have to silence it but it keeps chattering on. You discover trying to grab ahold of the mind with the mind is like a snake eating it’s tail (a catch-22 situation). It’s like how difficult it is to quiet the mind when you first learn how to meditate.
5
The fifth picture, called 'the Taming of the Cow,' represents the cowherd pacifying the cow, giving her grass and water.
"I'm glad the cow so wild
Is tamed and mild.
She follows me, as if
She were my shadow."
Is tamed and mild.
She follows me, as if
She were my shadow."
You have begun to gain control of your mind. You can sit in meditation for a while. You can change bad habits into good habits. You can flow when working (or fighting if a Samurai) or doing any activity to some extent. You move smoother and your reflexes are faster. You have a mind that you have some control over.
6
The sixth picture, called 'the Going Home Riding on the Cow,' represents the cowherd playing on a flute, riding on the cow.
"Slowly the clouds return
To their own hill,
Floating along the skies
So calm and still."
To their own hill,
Floating along the skies
So calm and still."
You have a complete grasp of zen philosophy and practice. You have attained “the flow’. You can do your meditation easily and it feels as if no time passes because you’re enjoying it. You can fight (or engage in your profession) without thinking, having become an expert. You can change your mind, in accord with circumstance, instantly. Habits are easy to change.
7
The seventh picture, called 'the Forgetting of the Cow and the Remembering of the Man,' represents the cowherd looking at the beautiful scenery surrounding his cottage.
"The cow goes out by day
And comes by night.
I care for her in no way,
But all is right."
And comes by night.
I care for her in no way,
But all is right."
One has mastered zen in daily life and can now do all the daily activities and chores that is normal to everyday life as if one were on vacation. You just do what needs to be done.
8
The eighth picture, called 'the Forgetting of the Cow and of the Man,' represents a large empty circle.
"There's no cowherd nor cow
Within the pen;
No moon of truth nor clouds
Of doubt in men."
Within the pen;
No moon of truth nor clouds
Of doubt in men."
You attain the supreme flow of zen where both you and your mind don’t exist. You just live in the world as if it were an extension of you.
Here you see beyond the categories and labels created by your mind to explain things. Everything just is.
Rather than using the mind to control the mind one just lets go. Without the mind to create a conception of the self, the self no longer exists. Without the mind creating labels to structure observation (the impressions from the senses) there is no external world. The external world has no meaning, it’s an illusion.
Here you see beyond the categories and labels created by your mind to explain things. Everything just is.
Rather than using the mind to control the mind one just lets go. Without the mind to create a conception of the self, the self no longer exists. Without the mind creating labels to structure observation (the impressions from the senses) there is no external world. The external world has no meaning, it’s an illusion.
9
The ninth picture, called 'the Returning to the Root and Source,' represents a beautiful landscape full of lovely trees in full blossom.
"There is no dyer of hills,
Yet they are green;
So flowers smile, and titter rills
At their own wills."
Yet they are green;
So flowers smile, and titter rills
At their own wills."
Your consciousness is irrevocably changed by the meditative experience but as you come down from your state of meditative ecstasy you discover that nothing has changed. the world is the same as it was before. There is no deep meaning to life or events.
10
The tenth picture, called 'the Going into the City with Open Hands,' represents a smiling monk, gourd in hand, talking with a man who looks like a pedlar.
"The cares for body make
That body pine;
Let go of cares and thoughts,
O child of mine!"
That body pine;
Let go of cares and thoughts,
O child of mine!"
As human beings we tend to be communal in nature and the full experience of learning comes when we cease to become the student and become the teacher. In other words we complete a natural human cycle of learning a skill and passing it on to the next generation. Once a person learns zen one teaches zen. That is the path.
We have come full circle in this simpler and more natural path of learning about zen, how to dissociate from the world and the labels we impose on it to returning back to the world.
We have come full circle in this simpler and more natural path of learning about zen, how to dissociate from the world and the labels we impose on it to returning back to the world.
