Ox-herding 3

The Ten Oxherding Pictures are a classic Zen story-telling device about the search for enlightenment. The following commentary by Martine Batchelor is excerpted from her book, Principles of Zen (Thorsons/HarperCollins), as published in Tricycle magazine in the spring 2000 issue. With bows to Martine Batchelor, we continue with #3. 

The short poems beside each picture are by Master Kusan, illustrations are by Master Jikihara from the collection of Zen Mountain Monastery.

3. Seeing the Ox
Lightly edited by Lynn Kelly

Among willow branches swaying in the spring breeze an oriole is singing.

How can the sparrow experience his joy in calling to his mate?

Isn’t the moonlight glimmering in the forest my home?

(Martine) Here, the oxherder finally sees the ox half-hidden among the trees. This image represents the stage where finally we decide to really do something. We are not totally sure yet what is the best method and what exactly we need to do. So we try various things. One week we visit a temple, another week we talk with a teacher. We continue to read books to find a good way to practice.

Finally, we might try meditation and as soon as we sit down for a while we experience some peace. We realize that this is something we can do ourselves and it is beneficial. We might also try to cultivate the precepts and be more harmless, generous, disciplined, honest, and clear. We see the point; we become familiar with the ideas not only at an intellectual level but also at an experiential level. We think that we have found something and we get very excited about it.

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(Lynn) For some of us, this period of seeking can last for years. One significant sign post is that we look at other people in a new way – is she enlightened? We meet people whom our heart responds to; we resonate with them on the level of spiritual companions, mentors, or teachers.

It’s also worth mentioning that most people when they sit down to meditate for the first or second time do not experience peace, but instead are horrified by a new awareness of how out-of-control our minds are. Part of the problem here is our expectation that meditation will create an instant change, that something recognizable will happen right away. If we instead approach with the idea that this may be difficult, but it is worth pursuing, we are likely to meet with progress sooner rather than later. When we make it past the barrier of  “I can’t do this”, we are well on the way.