 The Ten Oxherding Pictures
1 ¢¸The Search for the Bull¢º
The bull never has been lost. What need is there to search?
Only because of separation from my true nature, I fail to find
him. In the confusion of the senses I lose even his tracks. Far
from home, I see many crossroads, but which way is the right
one I know not. Greed and fear, good and bad, entangle me.
2 ¢¸Discovering the Footprints¢º
Understanding the teaching, I see the footprints of the bull.
Then I learn that, just as many utensils are made from one
metal, so too are myriad entities made of the fabric of self.
Unless I discriminate, how will I perceive the true from the
untrue? Not yet having entered the gate, nevertheless I have
discerned the path.
3 ¢¸Perceiving the Bull¢º
When one hears the voice, one can sense its source.
As soon as the six senses merge, the gate is entered.
Wherever one enters one sees the head of the bull! This unity
is like salt in water, like color in dyestuff.
The slightest thing is not apart from self.
4 ¢¸Catching the Bull¢º
He dwelt in the forest a long time, but I caught him today!
Infatuation for scenery interferes with his direction.
Longing for sweeter grass, he wanders away.
His mind still is stubborn and unbridled.
If I wish him to submit, I must raise my whip.
5 ¢¸Taming the Bull¢º
When one thought arises, another thought follows.
When the first thought springs from
enlightenment, all subsequent thoughts are true.
Through delusion, one makes everything untrue.
Delusion is not caused by objectivity; it is the result of
subjectivity. Hold the nose-ring
tight and do not allow even a doubt.
6 ¢¸Riding the Bull Home¢º
This struggle is over; gain and loss are assimilated.
I sing the song of the village woodsman, and play the tunes
of the children.
Astride the bull, I observe the clouds above.
Onward I go, no matter who may wish to call me back.
7 ¢¸The Bull Transcended¢º
All is one law, not two.
We only make the bull a temporary subject.
It is as the relation of rabbit and trap, of fish and net.
It is as gold and dross, or the moon emerging from a cloud.
One path of clear light travels on throughout endless time.
8 ¢¸Both Bull and Self Transcended¢º
Mediocrity is gone. Mind is clear of limitation.
I seek no state of enlightenment.
Neither do I remain where no enlightenment exists.
Since I linger in neither condition, eyes cannot see me.
If hundreds of birds strew my path with flowers,
such praise would be meaningless.
9 ¢¸Reaching the Source¢º
From the beginning, truth is clear. Poised in silence,
I observe the forms of integration and disintegration.
One who is not attached to "form" need not be "reformed."
The water is emerald, the mountain is indigo, and I see that
which is creating and that which is destroying.
10 ¢¸In the World¢º
Inside my gate, a thousand sages do not know me.
The beauty of my garden is invisible.
Why should one search for the footprints of the patriarchs?
I go to the market place with my wine bottle and
return home with my staff. I visit the wineshop and the market,
and everyone I look upon becomes enlightened.
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