1.

Without haste or hurry, the herdsman rides home on the back of the bull.

Far through the evening mist carries the sound of his flute,

Note for note, tune for tune, all carry this boundless mood;

Hearing it, not need to ask how the herdsman feels.

2.

Pointing ahead towards the dyke where his home is,

He appears out of mist and fog, playing his flute.

Then suddenly the tune changes to the song of return.

Not even Bai-ya’ masterpieces can compare with this song.

3.

In bamboo hat and straw coat he rides home through the evening mist,

Sitting back to front on the bull, with joy in his heart.

Step by step along in the cool, gentle breeze,

The bull no longer looks at the once irresistible grass.

 

(Gentling the Bull: The Ten Bull Pictures by Myokyo-ni, pub. Zen Centre, London)

…………………………….

 

In this podcast:

 

• The mysterious and ‘divine’ nature of the bull.
• The difference in understanding ‘mind’ between Western and Buddhist psychology.
• Relating to the ‘ineffable’.
• The importance of the right relationship to the mystery of the Dharma.
• The end of the Arhat path and the emergence of the Bodhisattva path.