Parable of the Ox-herder, Okryeongam Hermitage

Okay, I admit it:  I’m a Korean temple junky.  Big or small, I get a kick out of visiting Buddhist temples over here.   Maybe It’s because they’re something excotic we don’t have back home (and no, Yogaville doesn’t count) or just that I find them very relaxing places to be.   But whatever your religious preferences,  Buddhist temples here are a pretty unique expression of Korea’s traditional culture and spiritual heritage.  

Donghwasa Temple, Palgongsan Nat. Park

If you’ve visited a temple or two in Korea you may have noticed some of them have paintings on the side of a little guy with an ox, like at Donghwsa Temple near Daegu or Beomeosa Temple in Busan.  These are part of a series of well-known paintings known as the “Parable of the Ox Herder” (심우도) and are a very common motif for decorating Buddhist temples in Korea. 

Parable of the Ox-herder, Sujeongsa Tmeple

Although thought to be quite ancient and possibly Taoist in origin, the Ox-herder images date back to about the 12^th century C.E in their current form.  The ten different panels of the series are actually allegories for different stages of Seon, or 선 (Jap. “Zen,” Chin. “Chan”), meditation and realization.  In print, they usually accompanied by several verses or commentaries and a lot has been written on them.  Not being Zen master myself, I’ll try my humble best to summarize the images as I understand them.  

Ox-herder image #2, Sujeongsa Temple

In the Parable of the Ox-herder, the boy represents the meditation practitioner and the ox represents his own mind or ego.  In the first and second images, the ox-herder is searching aimlessly in the forest where upon he soon sees tracks of the ox, or traces of his own mind.  In panels 3 through 5 the boy finds, catches and tames the ox (ie taming his mind through meditation).  The boy then is able purify the ox from brown to white and ride it in harmony.   

Ox-herder images #3 & 4, Sinseonsa Temple

By the 7^th panel the ox disappears altogether, as the practitioner realizes that the mind is only a construction of itself and does not objectively exist.  In the 8^th image all conceptions of mind, self and reality in general are transcended through elightenment. The next picture then returns to origional nature without either the boy or the ox.  Finally, in the last panel, the boy has become a man and returns to society as an enlightened individual to live and train others in meditation. 

Ox-herder Images #7 & 8, Sinseonsa Temple

Don’t mean to get too heavy here; this is just a blog after all (besides, a true Zen master might have more than a few issues with my interpretation).   If you’re curious to find out more about Zen meditation, contact your local neighborhood Zen master.  If that doesn’t work out, I suggest signing up for a Korean temple-stay program or perhaps a ten day Vipassana meditation retreat.  In any case, now you too can wow your friends with your knowledge of Zen parables the next time you visit a Korean temple. 

Ox-herder images #8, 9 & 10 (right to left), Seongwangsa Temple

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