ZEN IRODALOM ZEN LITERATURE
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十牛圖 Shiniu tu [Jūgyūzu]
The Ten Oxherding Pictures
Verses by 廓庵師遠 Kuoan Shiyuan [Kakuan Shien], 12th century
Illustrations by 崎山智水 Sakiyama Tisui (Japan)
Poems on the Ten Ox-Herding Pictures
Translated by John Balcom (Chinese name: 陶忘機)
In: After Many Autumns: A Collection of Chinese Buddhist Literature
edited by John Gill, Susan Tidwell, Buddha's Light Publishing, 2011
MASTER KUOAN SHIYUAN
Master Kuoan Shiyuan was a twelfth century monastic most popularly known for his work “Poems on the Ten Ox-Herding Pictures.” The images, each accompanied by a short poem, depict the stages of spiritual development by using an ox as an extended metaphor for the practitioner's mastery of the mind.
The tradition of depicting the unruly nature of the mind as an ox stretches back to the Buddha, and while there were likely other sets of ox pictures and poems, Kuoan Shiyuan's have become the most copied and prominent.
I. Searching for the Ox
Hurriedly parting the brush searching for it
Water wide, mountains far away, road long;
Tired and exhausted, still it eludes me.
The chirr of evening cicadas in the maple trees is all that is heard.
II. Spotting the Ox's Tracks
Its tracks can be seen under the trees along the river,
Parting the brush, do you see it?
Even in such a remote place deep in the mountains,
How can the vast sky hide its nose?
III. Seeing the Ox
An oriole calls from a green bough—
Warm sun, gentle breeze, willow-lined river;
No place left to hide
Its head and horns, there, real to life.
IV. Capturing the Ox
With all my effort, I take hold of it;
Strong and stubborn, it is hard to control.
One minute it is on the high plateau,
The next in a place deep among the clouds.
V. Herding the Ox
Never be without whip and tether
Or it might stray in the world.
Herded properly it will become tame,
Untethered it will follow unforced.
VI. Riding the Ox Home
Riding the ox, meandering homeward;
Seeing off the evening clouds, playing a flute,
Clapping and singing so happily—
Knowing well, why speak of it?
VII. Ox Forgotten, the Man Remains
Having ridden home on the ox
Both man and ox are free.
Though the sun is high, still the man seems to dream;
Whip and tether lie unused in his thatched hut.
VIII. Man and Ox Both Forgotten
Whip and tether, man and ox all empty;
The vast blue sky difficult to fathom.
How can a snowflake survive inside a fiery stove?
Now I join the enlightened ones of the past.
IX. Returning to the Source and Origin
It is a struggle to return to the source and origin,
Nothing surpasses this. Without sight or sound,
Unable to see the tree from the woods;
The water vast, the flowers red because it is so.
X. Entering the World, Hands Free
Barechested and barefoot entering the world
Covered with dust and ashes, smiling broadly;
There's no need for magic spells
To make the barren branch bloom.
