Ten Stages of Zen

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ten_Bulls

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24/4/2010--Chennai:
Man under goes 10 different stages of enlightenment before fully realizing the Self (Self
means Atman here). The Ox depicted in pictures down below is your Atman, which you try to
realize and control.Read more about Buddhism to break out of the Human sufferings.

Last week (April 14-18, 2010), I was there at the Buddhist retreat "Bodhi Zendo" at
Kodai-kanal. It is a good experience.The Master AMA.Samy is a Jesuit Priest but teaches Zen
Buddhism. One good thing about him is that he does not criticize Hinduism. See more about his
life history in my web site.

http://sites.google.com/site/induscivilizationsite/bodhi-zendo/zen-master

Because of atheist ideas , we have not developed a proper perspective about any religious
value. But, it is very dangerous to live without any kind of guide lines to mind. Certain minimum
kind of principles are necessary to complete this life. Out of all religious principles, i find that
Buddha has given the best guidance and we should learn it to lead a successful life and finally a
peaceful life. Try to read some Buddhist principles. Wish you all the best. ---Jeyakumar
Ten Bulls(by Tokuriki Tomikichiro, 1902-1999).

The Search for the Bull

Ten Bulls or Ten Ox Herding Pictures jūgyū,Chinese: shíniú) is, in the

tradition of Zen Buddhism, a series of short poems and accompanying
pictures that are intended to illustrate the stages of a Mahāyāna
Buddhist practitioner's progression towardsenlightenment, as well as his
or her subsequent perfection of wisdom. The pictures first appeared in
their present form, as drawn by the Chinese Chán (Zen) master Kuòān
Shīyuǎn (廓庵師遠), in the 12th century, and may represent a Zen
Buddhist interpretation of the ten stages experienced by
a Bodhisattva as outlined in various Mahāyāna sūtras, most particularly
the Avataṃsaka Sūtra.

Each picture is accompanied by commentary in prose and verse. The

pictures and texts are believed to be based on the work of an
earlier Daoist scholar. They 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 and Nyogen Senzaki.

The pictures, poems and short pieces of prose tell how the student
ventures into the wilderness in his search for "the Bull" (or "Ox"; a
common metaphor for enlightenment, or the true self, or simply a
regular human being), and how his efforts prove fruitless at first.
Undeterred, he keeps searching and eventually finds footprints on a
riverbank. When he sees the bull for the first time he is amazed by the
splendour of its features ('empty and marvellous' is a well known phrase
used to describe the perception of Buddha nature). However, the student
has not tamed the bull, and must work hard to bring it under control.
Eventually he reaches the highest Enlightenment, returns to the world
and 'everyone I look upon becomes enlightened'.

Taming the Bull

Common titles of the pictures in English, and common themes of the

prose, include:

1. In Search of the Bull (aimless searching, only the sound of cicadas)

2. Discovery of the Footprints (a path to follow)
3. Perceiving the Bull (but only its rear, not its head)
4. Catching the Bull (a great struggle, the bull repeatedly escapes,
discipline required)
5. Taming the Bull (less straying, less discipline, bull becomes gentle
and obedient)
6. Riding the Bull Home (great joy)
7. The Bull Transcended (once home, the bull is forgotten, discipline's
whip is idle; stillness)
8. Both Bull and Self Transcended (all forgotten and empty)
9. Reaching the Source (unconcerned with or without; the sound of
cicadas)
10. Return to Society (crowded marketplace; spreading enlightenment
by mingling with humankind)

[edit] See also

• Nirvana
• Bodhi
• Monomyth
 • Spiral Dynamics - although it is not evidenced on this page the
actual book mentioned on the page has striking similarities to an
absolute/relative mindset

[edit]External links
Wikimedia Commons has media relate
herding pictures
• Text and Pictures, from Zen Flesh, Zen Bones: A Collection of Zen
and Pre-Zen Writings (1957).
• Oxherding Picture Gallery at Zen Mountain Monastery's website
• Readings in Eastern Philosophy, An Open Source Text
• [1], Ten Ox-herding Pictures with the Verses Composed by KAKUAN
Zenji

Categories: Zen texts