Ten Bulls

Ten Bulls or Ten Ox Herding Pictures is a series of short poems and accompanying pictures used in the Zen tradition to illustrate the stages of a practitioner's progression towards the purification of the mind and enlightenment, as well as his or her subsequent return into the world while acting out of wisdom. The well-known ten ox-herding pictures emerged in China in the 12th century. The calf, bull or ox is one of the earliest similes for meditation practice. In the West, Alan Watts included a description of the Ten Bulls in The Secret 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.

1. In Search of the Bull

In the pasture of the world,

I endlessly push aside the tall

grasses in search of the Ox.

Following unnamed rivers,

lost upon the interpenetrating

paths of distant mountains,

My strength failing and my vitality exhausted, 

I cannot find the Ox.

2. Discovery of the Footprints

Along the riverbank under the trees,

I discover footprints.

Even under the fragrant grass,

I see his prints.

Deep in remote mountains they are found.

These traces can no more be hidden

than one's nose, looking heavenward.

3. Perceiving the Bull

I hear the song of the nightingale.

The sun is warm, the wind is mild,

willows are green along the shore -

Here no Ox can hide!

What artist can draw that massive head,

those majestic horns?

4. Catching the Bull

I seize him with a terrific struggle.

His great will and power

are inexhaustible.

He charges to the high plateau

far above the cloud-mists,

Or in an impenetrable ravine he stands.

5. Taming the Bull

The whip and rope are necessary,

Else he might stray off down

some dusty road.

Being well-trained, he becomes

naturally gentle.

Then, unfettered, he obeys his master.

6. Riding the Bull Home

Mounting the Ox, slowly

I return homeward.

The voice of my flute intones

through the evening.

Measuring with hand-beats

the pulsating harmony,

I direct the endless rhythm.

Whoever hears this melody

will join me.

7. The Bull Transcended

Astride the Ox, I reach home.

I am serene. The Ox too can rest.

The dawn has come. In blissful repose,

Within my thatched dwelling

I have abandoned the whip and ropes

8. Both Bull and Self Transcended

Whip, rope, person, and Ox -

all merge in No Thing.

This heaven is so vast,

no message can stain it.

How may a snowflake exist

in a raging fire.

Here are the footprints of

the Ancestors.

9. Reaching the Source

Too many steps have been taken

returning to the root and the source.

Better to have been blind and deaf

from the beginning!

Dwelling in one's true abode,

unconcerned with and without -

The river flows tranquilly on

and the flowers are red.

10. Return to Society

Barefooted and naked of breast,

I mingle with the people of the world.

My clothes are ragged and dust-laden,

and I am ever blissful.

I use no magic to extend my life;

Now, before me, the dead trees

become alive.