ZEN IRODALOM ZEN LITERATURE
« Zen index
« Home
Ten Ox Herding
Pictures
by Andrew Binkley
http://the22magazine.wordpress.com/2011/03/11/andrew-binkley-ten-ox-herding-pictures/
http://artmaui.com/2009/06/artwork-2009-allan-freeland-cole/
http://www.andrewbinkley.com/
Digital
c-print photograph
42.5" x 106.25"
Drawing
upon my experience as a Buddhist monk, my work appropriates ancient traditions,
whether they be spiritual or artistic traditions, and especially where the
two merge.
The 'Ten Ox Herding Pictures' is an appropriated piece based on a 12th Century
Taoist and Buddhist depiction of the ten steps one takes towards enlightenment.
Each piece in the series speaks of a certain stage and level of progression
on this path. This search is an age-old quest in which early Taoists depicted
one's nature, or mind, as a wild ox hidden from sight. Once found, this ox
would give a formidable struggle before being able to be trained and ridden
home and beyond. This guide has been an inspiration and method of teaching
for almost a thousand years, as well as sparking a tradition of depicting
its example. In keeping with this tradition and resonating from the classic
ink paintings of old, I assemble various photographs from different times
and places throughout my travels in China, to comprise a single image. This
process of addition and subtraction allowed the piece to emerge, reminiscent
of my background as a painter and brought about a translation of this ancient
work.
The following are brief descriptions on each of the stages.
1. The
Search for the Ox
The
ox has traditionally been a representation of one's true-nature or of the
mind. In this stage a man is lost, confused, can neither see where he is nor
where he's going. He searches for the ox, yet is caught in a web of his conditioning
and in a state of suffering. Yet this is the first stage; recognizing you
are caught and seeking a way out.
2.
Discovering the Footprints
The man discovers the markings left by the ox. This may come in the form of
hearing from others, reading words, experiencing the presence of someone or
something, which opens your eyes. It may also come from becoming aware of
the traces of the mind and its reactions. But this understanding is still
on an intellectual and conceptual level.
3. Perceiving the Ox
This
is where one sees the ox directly, no longer through theory, but through direct
experience. Through reflection the ox is perceived, and with this realization
there is now no turning back, it has penetrated into your entire perception
of the world and self. The ox swims freely, an island unto itself.
4. Catching the Ox
Confronting
the self can be like dealing with a raging ox. The ox has been trained for
so long to follow its desires, going here and there never quite satisfied.
It wants greener grass, its restless and can't stay still. But now one sees
things in a new way, yet the mind is used to its old ways of dealing with
situations and has its built up ideas of security. So when the ox is caught
and its foundation is rocked a tremendous struggle ensues.
5. Taming the Ox
The
man has seen the ox manifesting all the time now and realizes the root of
all suffering lies with the mind. An ox herder uses a whip to keep the ox
from wandering, just as one must use mindfulness to keep the mind from wandering.
As a result the ox becomes gentler and follows its master, but we see in the
distance there is still an ambiguous road ahead full of high peaks and low
valleys veiled in clouds, still we can see home.
6. Riding the Ox Home
Harmony
with oneself and all things. Neither resisting nor controlling, the real effort
is to have no effort and allow the ox to follow its own nature home. The practice
becomes natural, like planting a seed and allowing it to grow. It may take
a month to reach home, it may take a lifetime, but this is not his concern;
he's just riding.
7. The Ox Transcended
The
ox never belonged to the man; he discovered it and let it go. But we tend
to hold on to it and think of it as me and mine, it is just nature.
8. Both Ox and Self Transcended
Letting
it all go. Letting go of time, the world, the ox, mind, other, self, all conceptsÂ…
It is the space where no thing exists. In 'Riding the Ox Home' we had the
knower and the mind, in 'The Ox Transcended' there is the knower, in this
stage there is simply knowing.
9. Reaching the Source
One
quote from an unknown poet says, "Out of Emptiness appears that which IS.
Poised in mystic selflessness, there is no self in anything particular: The
10,000 things arise and pass away."
10. In the World
This,
the final stage, has been interpreted by some to mean that the enlightened
person then goes out and saves the world. For myself, I have always felt that
enlightenment is being at peace with the world just as it is. Accepting things
just as they are with no attachment or desire for this moment to be any other
way, is true liberation.
ABOUT
ANDREW BINKLEY:
Andrew Binkley is an American artist, born in Omaha, Nebraska, 1979. In 1996
he attended The Kansas City Art Institute with a major in painting under the
guidance of Warren Rosser, and after two years left school in order to travel
throughout China searching for places to practice Chan (Zen) Buddhism. Living
in China for one year and studying the art, language and philosophies of the
Far East eventually led him to Thailand where he ordained as a Theravadan
Buddhist monk. Andrew went on to stay for two years following the strict practice
of the Thai Forest Tradition, living a life of simplicity and meditation.
After leaving the monastic life, Andrew moved to the island of Maui, Hawaii
where he designed and built his own home. Since that time Andrew has been
dedicating himself to the practice of art, and has just recently moved to
Oahu.