The Oxherd Series – Perceiving the Ox – Modern Koans
The Oxherd Series is a collection of 10 images and commentary on the quest for enlightenment. Its source is the Zen tradition. What you're reading here is a satirical, but not all together purposeless, treatment of these so called stages. Using excerpts from one of my favorite cartoons, Bob's Burgers, I hope to bring this old story into the present.
The Oxherd Series – Number Three – Perceiving the Ox
In the third Oxherd image, the seeker catches a glimpse of the ox. This is when we actually hear the message of the enlightened ones. We’ve had a reckoning with our struggles in life. There is resolution to do something about it. We’ve tried a few things (the search), maybe had a few false starts (traces) and finally something clicks (perceiving).
It looks different for each person. I’m not sure if anyone has discovered their true self while watching Bob’s Burgers or catching a glimpse of a cow in a blond wig. But who knows? In the Vedic wisdom, we can come to terms with suffering in any number of ways. A good summary of the options is in the various Yoga traditions:
Raja Yoga – a well defined regimen of practices similar to the eight fold path, this includes meditation, hatha yoga, and other practices.
Karma Yoga – doing good works
Bhakti Yoga – devotion to something (a guru, a Buddha, so on)
Jnana Yoga – the wisdom path of the sage or scholar
Tantra Yoga – experiencing the divine in everything we do
Meditation can sometimes be an expedient introduction. Let’s try it.
Read this brief meditation and then give it a whirl.
InstructionsFind a comfortable seat somewhere.
Settle your hip bones onto the chair and relax into an even balance of your spine.
Over the course of three breaths, inhale a little deeper and with each exhale deepen your relaxation.
Maintain a gentle awareness of how the body feels with each breath.
Close your eyes.
As each breath comes and goes, simply feel it and it’s nuances.
Do this for 10 breaths and then you’re done.
Did you catch a glimpse?
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?
Next: Catching the Ox
I'd love to hear your thoughts in the comments below.
Modern Koans is an ongoing series that recognizes that good questions are often more important then their answers.
The riddles of God are more satisfying than the solutions of man. ― G.K. Chesterton
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