Ten Bulls

Shyun.[web 3]
Probably the rst series was made by Ching-chu ( ,
Jp. Seikyo) (11th century),[web 4] who may have been a
contemporary of Kun Shyun. In Ching-chus ver-
sion only ve pictures are being used, and the oxs colour
changes from dark to white, representing the gradual de-
velopment of the practitioner, ending in the disappear-
ance of the practitioner.[web 3]
Tzu-te Hui ( , Zide Huihui, Jp. Jitoku) (1090-
1159)[web 4] made a version with six pictures. The sixth
one goes beyond the stage of absolute emptiness, where
Ching-chus version ends. Just like Ching-chus version,
the ox grows whiter along the way.[web 3][note 1]
A third version by an unknown author, with ten pic-
tures, was most popular in China.[web 3] It belongs to the
Ching-chu and Tzu-te Hui series of pictures,[web 3] and
has a somewhat dierent serie of pictures compared to
Kun Shyuns version.[web 5] The 1585-edition con-
tains a preface by Chu-hung, and it has ten pictures,
each of which is preceded by Pu-mings poem, of
Vietnamese water puppet depicting a scene in the parable.
whom Chu-hung furtherwise provides no information.
In this version too the oxs colour changes from dark to
Ten Bulls or Ten Ox Herding Pictures ( ; Japanese: white.[web 3][note 1]
jgy, Chinese: shni) is a series of short poems and ac-
companying pictures used in the Zen tradition to illustrate The best known version of the oxherding pictures was
drawn by the 12th century Chinese Rinzai Chn (Zen)
the stages of a practitioners progression towards the pu-
rication of the mind and enlightenment, [web 1]
as well as master Kun Shyun ( , Jp. Kaku-an Shi-en), who
also wrote accompanying poems and introductory words
his or her subsequent return into the world while acting
out of wisdom. attached to the pictures.[web 3] In Kun Shyuns version
there is no whitening process, [web 3] and his series also
doesn't end with mere emptiness, or absolute truth, but
shows a return to the world, depicting Putai, the laugh-
1 History ing Buddha.[web 3] According to Chi Kwang Sunim, they
may also represent a Zen Buddhist interpretation of the
ten Bodhisattva bhumi, the ten stages on the Bodhisattva-
The calf, bull or ox is one of the earliest similes for
path.[web 6]
meditation practice. It comes from the Maha Gopalaka
Sutta (Majjhima Nikaya 33). It is also used in the com- In Japan, Kun Shyuns version gained a wide cir-
mentaries, especially the one on the Maha Satipahna culation, the earliest one probably belonging to the f-
Sutta (Digha Nikaya 22) and the Satipahna Sutta (Ma- teenth century.[web 3] They rst became widely known in
jjhima Nikaya 10).[web 2] With the spread of Buddhism the West after their inclusion in the 1957 book, Zen Flesh,
throughout South-East Asia, the simile of the bull also Zen Bones: A Collection of Zen and Pre-Zen Writings, by
spread.[web 2] Paul Reps and Nyogen Senzaki.
The well-known ten ox-herding pictures emerged in Liaoan Qingyu ( , Jp. Ryan Seiyoku) (1288-1363)
China in the 12th century. D.T. Suzuki[web 3] men- made another version with ve pictures.[web 7]
tions four Chinese versions of the Oxherding Pictures,
by Ching-chu (Jp. Seikyo)(11th century),[web 4] Tzu-te
Hui (Jp. Jitoku)(1090-1159),[web 4] an unknown author,
and Kun Shyun (Jp. Kaku-an) (12th century).[web 3]
The best-known of these is the version by Kun

1
2 3 RECEPTION
2 Kun Shyuns Ten Bulls
Verses by Kun Shyun;[web 4] translation by Senzaki
Nyogen ( ) (18761958) and Paul Reps (1895-
1990);[web 4] paintings traditionally attributed to Tensh
Shbun ( ) (1414-1463).[web 8]
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 nd the Ox.
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 ones nose, looking heavenward.[web 1]
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?[web 1]
4. Catching the Bull
I seize him with a terric 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.[web 1]
5. Taming the Bull
The whip and rope are necessary,
Else he might stray o down
some dusty road.
Being well-trained, he becomes
naturally gentle.
Then, unfettered, he obeys his master.[web 1]
6. Riding the Bull Home
Mounting the Ox, slowly
I return homeward.
The voice of my ute intones
through the evening.
Measuring with hand-beats
the pulsating harmony,
I direct the endless rhythm.
Whoever hears this melody
will join me.[web 1]
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.[web 1]
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 snowake exist
in a raging re.
Here are the footprints of
the Ancestors.[web 1]
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 ones true abode,
unconcerned with and without -
The river ows tranquilly on
and the owers are red.[web 1]
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.[web 1]
Cite error: There are <ref group=web> tags on this
page, but the references will not show without a {{re-
ist|group=web}} template (see the help page).
3 Reception
3.1 Chan Buddhism
The ox-herding pictures had an immediate and extensive
inuence on the Chinese practice of Chan Buddhism.[1]
3.2 Western reception
In the West, they were eventually to inuence the work
of John Cage, particularly in his emphasis on rhythmic
silence, and on images of nothingness.[2] At the same
time, through the last picture especially - 'In the Mar-
ketplace' they have provided a conceptual umbrella for

those Buddhists seeking a greater engagement with the
post-industrial global marketplace.[3]
4 Ten Elephants
An equivalent series of stages is depicted in the Nine
Stages of Tranquility,[web 2] used in the Mahamudra tra-
dition, in which the mind is represented by an elephant
and a monkey.[web 9][web 10][note 2][note 3] The Dharma Fel-
lowship', a Kagyu (Mahamudra) organisation, notes
that the practice starts with studying and pondering
the dharma, where-after the practice of meditation
commences.[web 11]
5 See also
Buddhist Paths to liberation
Bodhi
Five Ranks
Monomyth
Nirvana
Spiritual bypass
6 Notes
[1] See Terebess Asia Online, Three Oxherding Versions Com-
pared
[2] This formulation originates with Asaga (4th CE),
delineating the nine mental abidings in his Abhid-
harmasamuccaya and the rvakabhmi chapter of
his Yogcrabhmi-stra. It is also found in the
Mahynastrlakra of Maitreyantha, which shows 9 Further reading
considerable similarity in arrangement and content to the
Bodhisattva-bhmi-stra.
[3] Piya Tan gives a full description of these stages; see Piya
Tan (2004), The Taming of the Bull. Mind-training and
the formation of Buddhist traditions, dharmafarer.org
7 References
[1] Jinwul 2009, p. 139.
[2] Pritchett 1996, p. 60-69.
[3] Goodman 1999, p. 352.
3
8 Sources
8.1 Printed sources
Goodman, R. A. (1999), Modern Organizations and
Emerging Conundrums, Lexington Books
Jinwol (2009), Seon Experience for Ecological
Awakening. In: Religion, Ecology & Gender,
pp.131-146, LIT Verlag Mnster
Pritchett, J. (1996), The Music of John Cage, Cam-
bridge University Press
8.2 Web-sources
[1] :
[2] Piya Tan (2004), The Taming of the Bull. Mind-training
and the formation of Buddhist traditions, dharmafarer.org
[3] D.T. Suzuki, The Ten Oxherding Pictures
[4] Terebess Online, Oxherding Pictures Index
[5] Terebess Asia Online, Three Oxherding Versions Com-
pared
[6] Venerable Chi Kwang Sunim, Ten Bulls, Ten Bhumis,
Buddhist Summer Scholl 2013
[7] terebess, Five Oxherding Verses
[8] therebess, Harada Shd commentary
[9] Dharma Fellowship, Deepening Calm-Abiding - The Nine
Stages of Abiding
[10] Skyower Dharmacenter, Mahamudra Tranquility and
Insight
[11] Dharma Fellowship, Deepening Calm-Abiding - The Nine
Stages of Abiding
[12] Reverend Eshin, Ten Oxherding Pictures
Background
Rahula, Walpola (1978), Zen and the Taming of the
Bull: Towards the Denition of Buddhist Thought,
Gordon Fraser Book Publishers
Tan, Pia (2004), The Taming of the Bull. Mind-
training and the formation of Buddhist traditions
(PDF)
Commentaries
Yamada, Mumon (2004), Lectures On The Ten Ox-
herding Pictures, University of Hawaii Press
4 10 EXTERNAL LINKS

Samy, AMA (2005), Zen: Awakening to Your Orig- Skyower Dharmacenter, Mahamudra Tranquility
inal Face, Cre-A and Insight
Shibayama, Zenkei (2012), A Flower Does Not Talk: Comparison of the Elephant and the Ox
Zen Essays, Tuttle Publishing
Daido Loori, John (2013), The Eight Gates of Zen: Other
A Program of Zen Training, Shambhala Publications
A comparison between the Zen Buddhist Ten Ox-
herding Pictures and the Theory of Positive Disin-
10 External links tegration

Dward Muzika, Awakening versus Liberation

General

Terebess Online, Oxherding Pictures Index, huge

collection of resources on the oxherding pictures

Zide Huihui (Jp. Jitoku Keiki) (1090-1159) version

(six pictures)

Terebess Asia Online, The Six Oxherding Pictures by

Zide Huihui (Jitoku Keiki), 1090-1159

Chinese Pu-Ming (Jp. Fumy) version (ten pictures)

Terebess Asia Online, The Ten Oxherding Pictures

by Puming (Fumy), an unknown author

Kun Shyun (12th century) version (ten pictures)

Paul Reps (1957), Zen Flesh, Zen Bones: A Collec-

tion of Zen and Pre-Zen Writings
Reverend Eshin, Ten Oxherding Pictures
John M. Koller, Ox-herding: stages of Zen-practice

Extended commentaries

Commentary by D.T. Suzuki

Commentary by Shodo Harada
Commentary by Sheng Yen
Commentary by Ruben Habito
Commentary by Martine Batchelor
Commentary by Chgyam Trungpa
Commentary by Je Shore and Bernadette Roberts

Taming the Elephant

Dharma Fellowship, Deepening Calm-Abiding - The

Nine Stages of Abiding
5
6 11 TEXT AND IMAGE SOURCES, CONTRIBUTORS, AND LICENSES

11 Text and image sources, contributors, and licenses

11.1 Text
Ten Bulls Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ten_Bulls?oldid=663918360 Contributors: Menchi, Paul A, Ogress, Hattrem,
Woohookitty, Saposcat, BD2412, Py, Hmains, Davigoli, Bluebot, Ceoil, Newone, PurpleChez, Outriggr, Ekajati, Ekabhishek, Leolaursen,
Magioladitis, Rentwa, JaGa, CommonsDelinker, 1000Faces, Enix150, STBotD, Billinghurst, ImageRemovalBot, Sfan00 IMG, W., Tomas
e, Thingg, Addbot, Yoenit, Devadatta, Luckas-bot, Yobot, Eumolpo, Makeswell, Dash m, FrescoBot, D'ohBot, Walthersell, Lotje, Emaus-
Bot, Mzilikazi1939, ZroBot, Fred Gandt, Jacobisq, , Porelbiencomun, Vanished 1850, Helpsome, Dream of Nyx, MT Editor, Joshua
Jonathan, Vegetarianiwow9, Dilara.adim, Amitrochates, Rubberjustice, Samboglia, Music&MovieLuvah and Anonymous: 20

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