Ten Bulls or Ten Ox Herding Pictures is a series of short poems and accompanying drawings used in the Zen tradition to describe the stages of a practitioner's progress toward enlightenment, and his or her return to society to enact wisdom and compassion.
History
The calf, bull or ox is one of the earliest similes for meditation practice. It comes from the Maha Gopalaka Sutta. It is also used in the commentaries, especially the one on the Maha Satipatthana Sutta and the Satipatthana Sutta. As Buddhism spread throughout South-East Asia, the simile of the bull spread with it. The well-known ten ox-herding pictures emerged in China in the 12th century. D.T. Suzuki mentions four Chinese versions of the Oxherding Pictures, by Ching-chu, Tzu-te Hui, an unknown author, and Kuòān Shīyuǎn . The best-known of these is the version by Kuòān Shīyuǎn. Probably the first series was made by Ching-chu , who may have been a contemporary of Kuòān Shīyuǎn. In Ching-chu's version only five pictures are being used, and the ox's colour changes from dark to white, representing the gradual development of the practitioner, ending in the disappearance of the practitioner. Tzu-te Hui made a version with six pictures. The sixth one goes beyond the stage of absolute emptiness, where Ching-chu's version ends. Just like Ching-chu's version, the ox grows whiter along the way. A third version by an unknown author, with ten pictures, was most popular in China. It belongs to the Ching-chu and Tzu-te Hui series of pictures, and has a somewhat different serie of pictures compared to Kuòān Shīyuǎn's version. The 1585-edition contains a preface by Chu-hung, and it has ten pictures, each of which is preceded by Pu-ming's poem, of whom Chu-hung furtherwise provides no information. In this version too the ox's colour changes from dark to white. The best known version of the oxherding pictures was drawn by the 12th century Chinese Rinzai Chán master Kuòān Shīyuǎn, who also wrote accompanying poems and introductory words attached to the pictures. In Kuòān Shīyuǎn's version there is no whitening process, and his series also doesn't end with mere emptiness, or absolute truth, but shows a return to the world, depicting Putai, the laughing Buddha. According to Chi Kwang Sunim, they may also represent a Zen Buddhist interpretation of the ten Bodhisattva bhumi, the ten stages on the Bodhisattva-path. In Japan, Kuòān Shīyuǎn's version gained a wide circulation, the earliest one probably belonging to the fifteenth century. 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. Liaoan Qingyu made another version with five pictures.
Kuòān Shīyuǎn's Ten Bulls
Verses by Kuòān Shīyuǎn; translation by Senzaki Nyogen and Paul Reps ; paintings traditionally attributed to Tenshō Shūbun .
The ox-herding pictures had an immediate and extensive influence on the Chinese practice of Chan Buddhism.
Western reception
In the West, Alan Watts included a description of the Ten Bulls in The Spirit of Zen. The pictures were eventually to influence the work of John Cage, particularly in his emphasis on rhythmic silence, and on images of nothingness. At the same time, through the last picture especially – 'In the Marketplace' – they have provided a conceptual umbrella for those Buddhists seeking a greater engagement with the post-industrial global marketplace. Cat Stevens' sixth studio albumCatch Bull at Four is a reference to the 4th step towards enlightenment. On the album, the song Sitting refers to meditation, and the apprehensions that may result from the experiences resulting from enlightenment. Catch Bull at Four was commercially successful and spent 3 weeks in 1972 at number one in the Billboard album charts.
Ten Elephants
An equivalent series of stages is depicted in the Nine Stages of Tranquility, used in the Mahamudra tradition, in which the mind is represented by an elephant and a monkey. The Dharma Fellowship, a Kagyu organisation, notes that the practice starts with studying and pondering the dharma, where-after the practice of meditation commences.
