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Ten Bulls or Ten Ox Herding Pictures (
Chinese
Chinese can refer to:
* Something related to China
* Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity
**''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation
** List of ethnic groups in China, people of ...
: ''shíniú'' 十牛 ,
Japanese
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* Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia
* Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan
* Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture
** Japanese diaspor ...
: ''jūgyūzu'' 十牛図 ,
korean
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People and culture
* Koreans, ethnic group originating in the Korean Peninsula
* Korean cuisine
* Korean culture
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**Korean alphabet, known as Hangul or Chosŏn'gŭl
**Korean dialects and the Jeju language
** ...
: ''sipwoo'' 십우) is a series of short poems and accompanying drawings used in the
Zen
Zen ( zh, t=禪, p=Chán; ja, text= 禅, translit=zen; ko, text=선, translit=Seon; vi, text=Thiền) is a school of Mahayana Buddhism that originated in China during the Tang dynasty, known as the Chan School (''Chánzong'' 禪宗), and ...
tradition to describe the stages of a practitioner's progress toward
enlightenment,
and their return to society to enact wisdom and compassion.
History
Scriptural origins
The calf, bull, or ox is one of the earliest similes for meditation practice. It comes from the Maha Gopalaka Sutta (
Majjhima Nikaya 33). It is also used in the commentaries, especially the one on the Maha Satipatthana Sutta (
Digha Nikaya
Digha is a seaside resort town in the state of West Bengal, India. It lies in Purba Medinipur district and at the northern end of the Bay of Bengal. It has a low gradient with a shallow sand beach. It is a popular sea resort in West Bengal.
Hi ...
22) and the Satipatthana Sutta (Majjhima Nikaya 10). As Buddhism spread throughout South-East Asia, the simile of the bull spread with it.
Chinese pictures
The well-known ten ox-herding pictures emerged in China in the 12th century.
D.T. Suzuki
, self-rendered in 1894 as "Daisetz", was a Japanese-American Buddhist monk, essayist, philosopher, religious scholar, translator, and writer. He was a scholar and author of books and essays on Buddhism, Zen and Shin that were instrumental in s ...
mentions four Chinese versions of the Oxherding Pictures, by Ching-chu (Jp. Seikyo)(11th century), Tzu-te Hui (Jp. Jitoku)(1090-1159), an unknown author, and
Kuòān Shīyuǎn (Jp. Kaku-an) (12th century).
Early versions
The first series was probably made by Ching-chu in the 11th century, who may have been a contemporary of Kuòān Shīyuǎn.
There are only five pictures in Ching-chu's version and the ox's colour changes from dark to white, representing the gradual development of the practitioner, ending in the disappearance of the practitioner.
Tzu-te Hui (自得慧暉, Zide Huihui, Jp. Jitoku) (1090-1159) made a version with six pictures. The sixth one goes beyond the stage of absolute emptiness, where Ching-chu's version ends.
Just like Ching-chu's version, the ox grows whiter along the way.
A third version by an unknown author, with ten pictures, was the most popular in China. It derives from the Ching-chu and Tzu-te Hui series of pictures, and has a somewhat different series of pictures compared to Kuòān Shīyuǎn's version.
The 1585-edition contains a preface by Chu-hung, and it has ten pictures, each of which is preceded by Pu-ming's poem, of whom Chu-hung provides no further information. In this version the ox's colour changes from dark to white.
Famous versions
The best known version of the oxherding pictures was drawn by the 12th century Chinese
Rinzai
The Rinzai school ( ja, , Rinzai-shū, zh, t=臨濟宗, s=临济宗, p=Línjì zōng) is one of three sects of Zen in Japanese Buddhism (along with Sōtō and Ōbaku). The Chinese Linji school of Chan was first transmitted to Japan by Myōan ...
Chán
Chan (; of ), from Sanskrit '' dhyāna'' (meaning " meditation" or "meditative state"), is a Chinese school of Mahāyāna Buddhism. It developed in China from the 6th century CE onwards, becoming especially popular during the Tang and ...
(Zen) master Kuòān Shīyuǎn (廓庵師遠, Jp. Kaku-an Shi-en), who also wrote accompanying poems and introductory words attached to the pictures. In Kuòān Shīyuǎn's version, there is no whitening process, and his series also doesn't end with mere emptiness, or absolute truth, but shows a return to the world, depicting Putai, the laughing Buddha. In Japan, Kuòān Shīyuǎn's version gained a wide circulation, the earliest one probably belonging to the fifteenth century.
Liaoan Qingyu (了菴清欲, Jp. Ryōan Seiyoku) (1288-1363) made another version with five pictures.
Kuòān Shīyuǎn's Ten Bulls
Verses by Kuòān Shīyuǎn; translation by Senzaki Nyogen (千崎如幻) (1876–1958) and Paul Reps (1895-1990);
paintings traditionally attributed to Tenshō Shūbun (天章周文) (1414-1463).
File:"Looking for the Ox", by Tenshō Shūbun.jpg, 1. In Search of the Bull
In the pasture of the world,
I endlessly push aside the tall
grasses in search of the Ox.
Following unnamed rivers,
lost upon the interpenetrating
paths of distant mountains,
My strength failing and my vitality exhausted, I cannot find the Ox.
File:Oxherding pictures, No. 2.jpg, 2. Discovery of the Footprints
Along the riverbank under the trees,
I discover footprints.
Even under the fragrant grass,
I see his prints.
Deep in remote mountains they are found.
These traces can no more be hidden
than one's nose, looking heavenward.
File:Oxherding pictures, No. 3.jpg, 3. Perceiving the Bull
I hear the song of the nightingale.
The sun is warm, the wind is mild,
willows are green along the shore -
Here no Ox can hide!
What artist can draw that massive head,
those majestic horns?
File:Oxherding pictures, No. 4.jpg, 4. Catching the Bull
I seize him with a terrific struggle.
His great will and power
are inexhaustible.
He charges to the high plateau
far above the cloud-mists,
Or in an impenetrable ravine he stands.
File:Oxherding pictures, No. 5.jpg, 5. Taming the Bull
The whip and rope are necessary,
Else he might stray off down
some dusty road.
Being well-trained, he becomes
naturally gentle.
Then, unfettered, he obeys his master.
File:Oxherding pictures, No. 6.jpg, 6. Riding the Bull Home
Mounting the Ox, slowly
I return homeward.
The voice of my flute intones
through the evening.
Measuring with hand-beats
the pulsating harmony,
I direct the endless rhythm.
Whoever hears this melody
will join me.
File:Oxherding pictures, No. 7.jpg, 7. The Bull Transcended
Astride the Ox, I reach home.
I am serene. The Ox too can rest.
The dawn has come. In blissful repose,
Within my thatched dwelling
I have abandoned the whip and ropes.
File:Oxherding pictures, No. 8.jpg, 8. Both Bull and Self Transcended
Whip, rope, person, and Ox -
all merge in No Thing.
This heaven is so vast,
no message can stain it.
How may a snowflake exist
in a raging fire.
Here are the footprints of
the Ancestors.
File:Oxherding pictures, No. 9.jpg, 9. Reaching the Source
Too many steps have been taken
returning to the root and the source.
Better to have been blind and deaf
from the beginning!
Dwelling in one's true abode,
unconcerned with and without -
The river flows tranquilly on
and the flowers are red.
File:Oxherding pictures, No. 10.jpg, 10. Return to Society
Barefooted and naked of breast,
I mingle with the people of the world.
My clothes are ragged and dust-laden,
and I am ever blissful.
I use no magic to extend my life;
Now, before me, the dead trees
become alive.
Influence and cultural legacy
The ox-herding pictures had an immediate and extensive influence on the Chinese practice of
Chan Buddhism
Chan (; of ), from Sanskrit '' dhyāna'' (meaning "meditation" or "meditative state"), is a Chinese school of Mahāyāna Buddhism. It developed in China from the 6th century CE onwards, becoming especially popular during the Tang and So ...
. According to
Chi Kwang Sunim, they may represent a Zen Buddhist interpretation of the
ten Bodhisattva bhumi, the ten stages on the
Bodhisattva
In Buddhism, a bodhisattva ( ; sa, 𑀩𑁄𑀥𑀺𑀲𑀢𑁆𑀢𑁆𑀯 (Brahmī), translit=bodhisattva, label=Sanskrit) or bodhisatva is a person who is on the path towards bodhi ('awakening') or Buddhahood.
In the Early Buddhist schools ...
-path.
The pictures first became widely known in the West after their inclusion in the 1957 book, ''
Zen Flesh, Zen Bones: A Collection of Zen and Pre-Zen Writings'', by
Paul Reps
Paul may refer to:
*Paul (given name), a given name (includes a list of people with that name)
*Paul (surname), a list of people
People
Christianity
* Paul the Apostle (AD c.5–c.64/65), also known as Saul of Tarsus or Saint Paul, early Chri ...
and
Nyogen Senzaki
Nyogen Senzaki (千崎 如幻, 1876–1958) was a Rinzai Zen monk who was one of the 20th century's leading proponents of Zen Buddhism in the United States.
Early life
Details of Senzaki's early life are unclear. Town records in Fukaura, Aom ...
.
Alan Watts
Alan Wilson Watts (6 January 1915 – 16 November 1973) was an English writer, speaker and self-styled "philosophical entertainer", known for interpreting and popularising Japanese, Chinese and Indian traditions of Buddhist, Taoist, and Hindu ...
included a description of the Ten Bulls in ''The Spirit of Zen''. The pictures went on to influence the work of
John Cage
John Milton Cage Jr. (September 5, 1912 – August 12, 1992) was an American composer and music theorist. A pioneer of indeterminacy in music, electroacoustic music, and non-standard use of musical instruments, Cage was one of the leading fi ...
, particularly in his emphasis on rhythmic silence, and on images of nothingness. The pictures, especially the last one ('In the Marketplace'), have provided a conceptual umbrella for those Buddhists seeking a greater engagement with the post-industrial global marketplace.
Cat Stevens
Yusuf Islam (born Steven Demetre Georgiou; ), commonly known by his stage names Cat Stevens, Yusuf, and Yusuf / Cat Stevens, is a British singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. His musical style consists of folk, pop, rock, and, later in ...
' sixth studio album ''
Catch Bull at Four'' is a reference to the 4th step towards enlightenment. On the album, the song ''Sitting'' refers to meditation, and the apprehensions that may result from the experiences resulting from enlightenment. ''Catch Bull at Four'' was commercially successful and spent 3 weeks at number one in the
Billboard album charts
''Billboard'' (stylized as ''billboard'') is an American music and entertainment magazine published weekly by Penske Media Corporation. The magazine provides music charts, news, video, opinion, reviews, events, and style related to the musi ...
in 1972.
In the 1989 South Korean film ''
Why Has Bodhi-Dharma Left for the East?
''Why Has Bodhi-Dharma Left for the East?'' ( 달마가 동쪽으로 간 까닭은? – ''Dalmaga dongjjok-euro gan ggadakeun?'') (1989) is a South Korean film written, produced and directed by Bae Yong-kyun, a professor at Dongguk University in ...
'', an ox escapes into the forest and one of the protagonists, a young boy, attempts to hunt it down through the bushes. During the opening scene of
Apichatpong Weerasethakul
Apichatpong Weerasethakul ( th, อภิชาติพงศ์ วีระเศรษฐกุล; ; ) is a Thai independent film director, screenwriter, and film producer. Working outside the strict confines of the Thai film studio system ...
's 2010 film ''
Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives
''Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives'' ( th, ลุงบุญมีระลึกชาติ; ) is a 2010 Thai drama film written, produced, and directed by Apichatpong Weerasethakul. The film, which explores themes of reincarnation, ...
'', a
water buffalo
The water buffalo (''Bubalus bubalis''), also called the domestic water buffalo or Asian water buffalo, is a large bovid originating in the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia. Today, it is also found in Europe, Australia, North America, So ...
stands tied to a tree before breaking loose and wandering into a forest.
Ten Elephants
An equivalent series of stages is depicted in the ''Nine Stages of Tranquility'',
used in the
Mahamudra
Mahāmudrā (Sanskrit: महामुद्रा, , contraction of ) literally means "great seal" or "great imprint" and refers to the fact that "all phenomena inevitably are stamped by the fact of wisdom and emptiness inseparable". Mahāmudr ...
tradition, in which the mind is represented by an elephant and a monkey.
This formulation was presented by
Asaṅga (4th CE), delineating the nine mental abidings in his ''Abhidharmasamuccaya'' and the ''Śrāvakabhūmi'' chapter of his ''
Yogācārabhūmi-śāstra'' It is also found in the ''
Mahāyānasūtrālaṅkāra'' of
Maitreyanātha, which shows considerable similarity in arrangement and content to the Bodhisattva-bhūmi-śāstra. In this scheme, ''śamatha'' practice is said to progress through nine "mental abidings" or ''Nine stages of training the mind'' (S. ''navākārā cittasthiti'', Tib. ''sems gnas dgu''), leading to śamatha proper (the equivalent of "access concentration" in the Theravāda system), and from there to a state of meditative concentration called the first ''
dhyāna'' (Pāli: ''jhāna''; Tib. ''bsam gtan'') which is often said to be a state of tranquillity or bliss.
[Wallace, A: 'The Attention Revolution', Wisdom Publications, first ed., 2006, p.]
An equivalent succession of stages is described in the Ten oxherding pictures of
Zen
Zen ( zh, t=禪, p=Chán; ja, text= 禅, translit=zen; ko, text=선, translit=Seon; vi, text=Thiền) is a school of Mahayana Buddhism that originated in China during the Tang dynasty, known as the Chan School (''Chánzong'' 禪宗), and ...
.
The Nine Mental Abidings as described by
Kamalaśīla
Kamalaśīla (Skt. Kamalaśīla; Tib. པདྨའི་ངང་ཚུལ་, Pemé Ngang Tsul; Wyl. pad+ma'i ngang tshul) (c. 740-795) was an Indian Buddhist of Nalanda Mahavihara who accompanied Śāntarakṣita (725–788) to Tibet at th ...
are:
[''Meditative States in Tibetan Buddhism'' By Lati Rinpoche, Denma Locho Rinpoche, Leah Zahler, Jeffrey Hopkins Wisdom Publications: December 25, 1996. pgs 53-85]
# Placement of the mind (S. , Tib. - ) occurs when the practitioner is able to place their attention on the object of meditation, but is unable to maintain that attention for very long. Distractions, dullness of mind and other hindrances are common.
# Continuous placement (S. ''samsthāpana'', Tib. - ''rgyun-du ‘jog-pa'') occurs when the practitioner experiences moments of continuous attention on the object before becoming distracted. According to B Alan Wallace, this is when you can maintain your attention on the meditation object for about a minute.
# Repeated placement (S. ''avasthāpana'', Tib. བླན་ཏེ་འཇོག་པ - ''slan-te ’jog-pa'') is when the practitioner's attention is fixed on the object for most of the practice session and she or he is able to immediately realize when she or he has lost their mental hold on the object and is able to restore that attention quickly. Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche suggests that being able to maintain attention for 108 breaths is a good benchmark for when we have reached this stage.
# Close placement (S. ''upasthāpana'', Tib. ཉེ་བར་འཇོག་པ - ''nye-bar ’jog-pa'') occurs when the practitioner is able to maintain attention throughout the entire meditation session (an hour or more) without losing their mental hold on the meditation object at all. In this stage the practitioner achieves the power of mindfulness. Nevertheless, this stage still contains subtle forms of excitation and dullness or laxity.
# Taming (S. ''damana'', Tib. དུལ་བར་བྱེད་པ - ''dul-bar byed-pa''), by this stage the practitioner achieves deep tranquility of mind, but must be watchful for subtle forms of laxity or dullness, peaceful states of mind which can be confused for calm abiding. By focusing on the future benefits of gaining Shamatha, the practitioner can uplift (gzengs-bstod) their mind and become more focused and clear.
# Pacifying (S. ''śamana'',Tib. ཞི་བར་བྱེད་པ་ - ''zhi-bar byed-pa'') is the stage during which subtle mental dullness or laxity is no longer a great difficulty, but now the practitioner is prone to subtle excitements which arise at the periphery of meditative attention. According to
B. Alan Wallace
Bruce Alan Wallace (born 1950) is an American author and expert on Tibetan Buddhism. His books discuss Eastern and Western scientific, philosophical, and contemplative modes of inquiry, often focusing on the relationships between science and Buddh ...
this stage is achieved only after thousands of hours of rigorous training.
# Fully pacifying (S. ''vyupaśamana'',Tib. རྣམ་པར་ཞི་བར་བྱེད་པ་ - ''nye-bar zhi-bar byed-pa''), although the practitioner may still experience subtle excitement or dullness, they are rare and the practitioner can easily recognize and pacify them.
# Single-pointing (S. ''ekotīkarana'',Tib. རྩེ་གཅིག་ཏུ་བྱེད་པ་ - ''rtse-gcig-tu byed-pa'') in this stage the practitioner can reach high levels of concentration with only a slight effort and without being interrupted even by subtle laxity or excitement during the entire meditation session.
# Balanced placement (S. ''
samādhāna'',Tib. མཉམ་པར་འཇོག་པ་བྱེད་པ་ - ''mnyam-par ’jog-pa'') the meditator now effortlessly reaches absorbed concentration (ting-nge-‘dzin, S. samadhi.) and can maintain it for about four hours without any single interruption.
# Śamatha, Tib. ཞི་གནས་, shyiné - the culmination, is sometimes listed as a tenth stage.
The ''Dharma Fellowship'', a
Kagyu
The ''Kagyu'' school, also transliterated as ''Kagyü'', or ''Kagyud'' (), which translates to "Oral Lineage" or "Whispered Transmission" school, is one of the main schools (''chos lugs'') of Tibetan (or Himalayan) Buddhism. The Kagyu lineag ...
(Mahamudra) organisation, notes that the practice starts with studying and pondering the dharma, where-after the practice of meditation commences.
See also
*
Buddhist Paths to liberation
The Buddhist path (''marga'') to liberation, also referred to as awakening, is described in a wide variety of ways. The classical one is the Noble Eightfold Path, which is only one of several summaries presented in the Sutta Pitaka. A number of ...
*
Bodhi
*
Five Ranks
The ''Five Ranks'' (; ) is a poem consisting of five stanzas describing the stages of realization in the practice of Zen Buddhism. It expresses the interplay of Two Truths Doctrine, absolute and relative truth and the fundamental Monism#Buddhism, ...
*
Monomyth
In narratology and comparative mythology, the hero's journey, or the monomyth, is the common template of stories that involve a hero who goes on an adventure, is victorious in a decisive crisis, and comes home changed or transformed.
Earlie ...
*
Nirvana
( , , ; sa, निर्वाण} ''nirvāṇa'' ; Pali: ''nibbāna''; Prakrit: ''ṇivvāṇa''; literally, "blown out", as in an oil lampRichard Gombrich, ''Theravada Buddhism: A Social History from Ancient Benāres to Modern Colombo.' ...
*
Spiritual bypass Spiritual bypass or spiritual bypassing is a "tendency to use spiritual ideas and practices to sidestep or avoid facing unresolved emotional issues, psychological wounds, and unfinished developmental tasks". The term was introduced in the mid 1980s ...
Notes
References
Sources
Printed sources
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Web-sources
Further reading
;Background
*
*
;Commentaries
*
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External links
;General
Terebess Online, ''Oxherding Pictures Index'' huge collection of resources on the oxherding pictures
;Zide Huihui (Jp. Jitoku Keiki) (1090-1159) version (six pictures)
;Chinese Pu-Ming (Jp. Fumyō) version (ten pictures)
;Kuòān Shīyuǎn (12th century) version (ten pictures)
*
ttp://www.buddhistdoor.com/OldWeb/passissue/9710/sources/art9.htm Reverend Eshin, ''Ten Oxherding Pictures''John M. Koller, ''Ox-herding: stages of Zen-practice''
;Extended commentaries
Commentary by Shodo Harada
Commentary by Ruben HabitoCommentary by Martine BatchelorCommentary by Chögyam Trungpa
;Taming the Elephant
*
ttp://skyflowerdharmactr.tripod.com/mah.htm Skyflower Dharmacenter, ''Mahamudra Tranquility and Insight''
;Other
A comparison between the Zen Buddhist Ten Oxherding Pictures and the Theory of Positive Disintegration
{{Zen, state=collapsed
Zen texts
Stage theories
Kōan
Zenga
Buddhist paintings
Buddhist poetry