The Venerable Myokyo-ni is one of today's most distinguished teachers in the Rinzai Zen tradition. In Gentling the Bull she offers an insightful explanation of the Ten Ox-Herding Pictures, showing how they are a metaphor of both one's Zen training and spiritual journey. The Ten Ox-Herding Pictures, also known as the Ten Bull Pictures, are believed to have been drawn by Kakuan, a twelfth-century Chinese Zen master, but became widely used as a means of Zen study in fifteenth-century Japan. They are used in formal Zen training to this day to show the stages of one's realization of enlightenment. Each of the ten pictures is presented here with a preface and general foreword to the series by Chi-Yuan, a monk in the direct line of Kakuan. Myokyo-ni provides a lucid introduction that sets the pictures in their historical context and shows their relevance to modern Zen training. In her own comments on each picture, she discusses how they are representative of our own search for "oneness"spiritual fulfillment.

Gentling the Bull: The Ten Bull Pictures, a Spiritual Journey : Comments Taken from Talks by the Venerable Myokyo-Ni

Myokyo-Ni

Religion & Spirituality

Tuttle Pub

The Wisdom of the Zen Masters

The Wisdom of the Zen masters

Buddhism

Sheldon Press

From Library Journal\nMyokyo-ni is the Buddhist name of Dr. Irmgard Schloegl, who directs the Zen center Shobo-an in London. Here she seeks to describe Zen and Zen practice from a few different approaches, presenting basic Buddhist thought as well as an overview of the life of the historical Buddha. She gives a section on training in a Japanese Rinzai Zen monastery-perhaps the most unique feature of the book, although her presentation is rather impersonal. Her final section, "Fundamentals," is rambling and might have benefited from further organization and subdivision. The author's style throughout is decidedly Western, with a psychological, philosophical tone that does not sit comfortably with some of the more esoteric writings in the field. For an introduction to the subject, there are better sources, such as Robert Aitken's Taking the Path of Zen (Farrar, 1982). For serious students of Zen, there are valuable insights hidden in the sometimes difficult but heartfelt analyses scattered through the book. Recommended only for libraries collecting comprehensively in this area. 
Mark Woodhouse, Elmira Coll. Lib., N.Y. 
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

The Zen way

Irmgard Schloegl

The Zen Centre

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