The Eighth Picture | Ox Herding at Morgan's Bay

In the eight picture there is neither an ox nor a person. There is only a circle, the frame of a picture. At this stage, the ox represents Buddha nature, or self-nature, and the man represents the mind or the thought that is cultivating.

If there is one, then it follows that there are two. There can never be one; there can never be only a subject, only an object. A subject cannot exist without an object. All things exist in relationship to something else. If there’s an ox, then there is a person, and if there is a person, then there is an ox. Neither are in the eighth picture, neither exist. One is the subject, the other is the object. They must exist together. They cannot be without each other.

Who experiences this self-nature? It can only be experienced by someone who has left behind his self. If there is still self-nature to be experienced, that is not true self-nature. Self-nature is explained only to those people who haven’t experienced it. For the person who has experienced it, there really is nothing to speak of.

Let’s return to the analogy of the swimmer. When the swimmer is separate from the water, the water exists for him. But when he becomes one with the water, when he is the water, does the water exist for him? If he is the water, can the water have an existence of its own?

If “you” are “it”, is this one or two? On the surface it looks like one, because you are it, and it is it. There is only one “it.” But how can you know that there is “one” unless there’s a second entity observing it. As I said before, if there’s one, then there is definitely two.

“Before enlightenment” and “after enlightenment” are different. Before enlightenment you only know about self-nature. After enlightenment, you are self-nature. When you arrive at the mountain, you become
one with the mountain. Is there still a mountain to return to? No. At that point you don’t know where the mountain is. Why? Because you are it.

Maybe you think you can grab hold of yourself ─ you can grab your nose and say, “This is myself.” But if it were truly yourself, you wouldn’t be able to grab hold of it. It wouldn’t be separate from yourself, something other than yourself.

When you become one with self-nature there no longer is self-nature. There is no person who is cultivating and no cultivating that needs to be done. Since there is not one, of course there are not two. At this point, do you exist or not?

If there is a consciousness, then there are definitely two, because consciousness only manifests when it comes in contact with something else. There has to be relativity in order for consciousness to exist. There is no absolute consciousness.

There are no words to describe this experience, and there is no way to experience it with the mind. You cannot communicate it to others. If you use words to express it, then you’re already dealing with it relatively. It is also the same if you try to express it with the mind or with thoughts. At the eighth stage, there is no big and no small, no near and no far.

Even absoluteness is relative. Great unity, supreme absoluteness, all things like this are relative terms. If there is something that is absolute, then there must be something that is not absolute. If you experience a state of great unity, then you are at the level of “great self, ” not at the level of “no self.”

In other religions and philosophies, you do not find a solution to this puzzle ─ only in Buddhism: Nothingness is true existence.

Although the circle in this picture is empty, it would be better if there were no circle at all. Making the circle implies that something is still there ─ a great unity. In Ch’an there are instances where a disciple asks a question, and a Ch’an master makes a form of a circle, and then erases it. In doing so the master emphasizes that there is no absoluteness. If you have a circle, then attachment still exists, and that is not true enlightenment.

In the seventh picture, there is nothing left for the person to do. Now, in the eighth picture, not only is there nothing for the ox herder to do, there isn’t even an ox herder.

One could say that such a person has reached the highest level attainable in terms of eliminating vexations and achieving wisdom. In terms of wisdom, this stage and the stage of Buddhahood are the same.
The Ch’an sect often speaks of two types of wisdom. One is “root wisdom, ” or “fundamental wisdom, ” which eliminates the source of all personal vexations. At the same time, the Buddha has another kind of wisdom, called “acquired wisdom, ” which is wisdom that is used to help sentient beings.

When a person reaches the stage of the eighth picture, he doesn’t actually disappear from daily life. He does have an effect on things that occur around him. It is not like snow that has melted away, or water
that has turned to steam. If it were, it would not be the way of Buddhism. That line of reasoning would come under the heading of nihilism.

There are people who experience emptiness, and then adopt a negative attitude towards things, shying away from daily life, even thinking, “The sooner I die the better.” Such a mentality would definitely be a step off the Buddha path. I’ve seen quite a few people act this way.

One woman didn’t want to go back to her family or have anything to do with her husband. That is wrong. Another person was a chairman of the board of a company. He was ready to quit his position and give up everything, including his family. Sometimes people become suicidal. These people have serious problems. Such an experience of emptiness is especially dangerous for people with mental or emotional instability.

The eighth picture is not to be confused with nihilism. Also, at the eighth stage, the person enters directly into the stage depicted by the ninth picture.

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