The tenth Zen Ox-herding picture or the tenth stage on the road to enlightenment in Zen Buddhism is called “Entering the Marketplace with Helping Hands.” Hixon writes: “Carrying a gourd, he strolls into the market. He leads innkeepers and fishmongers in the Way of the Buddha. Bare-chested, barefooted, he comes into the marketplace. Muddied and […]
Seeing through the Trading Matrix: Return to the Source (Zen Ox-Herding Picture 9)
The ninth Zen Ox-herding picture or the ninth stage on the road to enlightenment in Zen Buddhism is called “Return to the Source.” Hixon writes: “This waxing and waning of life is no phantom or illusion but a manifestation of the Source. Why, then, is there a need to strive for anything? The waters are […]
Seeing through the Trading Matrix: Both Ox and Self Forgotten (Zen Ox-Herding Picture 8)
The eighth Zen Ox-herding picture or the eighth stage on the road to enlightenment in Zen Buddhism is called “Both Ox and Self Forgotten.” Hixon writes: “The final illusory barrier has evaporated: All delusive feelings have perished, and ideas of holiness, too, have vanished” (Coming Home: The Experience of Enlightenment in Sacred Traditions by Lex […]