The self is pure: Meditation and Zen Practice: Purifying the Mind, Maintaining Mindfulness, Dispelling Worries, Healing Insomnia, Cultivating Wisdom

This book uses the metaphor of the Ten Oxherding Pictures to illustrate the ten stages of practice through meditation and Zen:

1. The oxherd walks with a rope, the ox’s harness, but the ox is nowhere to be found. The ox is his most precious possession, so the oxherd diligently seeks it. In the early stages of practice, a person hears about their inner Buddha-nature, their pure essence, but has never seen it. However, believing in the existence of this pure nature, the person diligently seeks it.

2. The oxherd does not see or find the ox, but discovers its tracks. The ox (mind) still lacks discipline and has a wandering, unstable nature. Seeing these tracks increases the oxherd’s confidence in the existence of the ox and its findability.

3. The oxherd sees the ox’s tail sticking out from behind a tree. He is delighted, but the ox is still not in his grasp.

4. The oxherd seizes the ox and binds it with the rope, but it remains wild and resistant. The ox wants to wander in the fields and graze.

5. The oxherd holds a whip and reins attached to the ox’s nose, leading the ox. This ox can now be considered tamed, but if the oxherd becomes lax and inattentive, it may stray.

6. The oxherd is playing a flute. He is too lazy to guide the ox, as it is familiar with the path. Here, practice is effortless. The six sensory organs of the person are purified. That is to say, when he comes into contact with things in the environment, no vexations arise.

7. The ox is gone, only the oxherd remains. The practitioner begins to practice as if going against the current.

8. In the eighth picture, there is neither ox nor man. At this stage, the ox represents Buddha-nature or one’s true nature, while the man represents the mind being cultivated.

9. The ninth picture is called “Returning to the Origin.” At this stage, the person returns to the world, and all visualizations are no different from those of ordinary people.

10. The tenth picture is of the awakened one returning to save sentient beings.