The Ox-Herder and the Good Shepherd: Finding Christ on the Buddha's Path

by Addison Hodges Hart

Overview

In the twelfth century, the Chinese Zen master Kakuan Shien produced the pictures, poems, and commentaries we know as the Ten Ox-Herding Pictures. They trace a universally recognizable path of contemplative spirituality, using the metaphor of a young ox-herder looking for his lost ox.

According to Addison Hodges Hart, the Ten Ox-Herding Pictures and the teachings of Christ, the Good Shepherd who guides us to God, share a common vision. Both show us that authentic spiritual life must begin with an inner transformation of one's self, leading to an outward life that is natural and loving. In The Ox-Herder and the Good Shepherd Hart shares the story that these pictures tell, exploring how this ancient Buddhist parable can enrich and illumine the Christian way.

Includes 10 color illustrations

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781467438988
Publisher:	Eerdmans, William B. Publishing Company
Publication date:	10/10/2013
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	126
File size:	4 MB

About the Author

Addison Hodges Hart is a retired pastor and college chaplain presently living in Norway.

Table of Contents

I Preliminary Remarks: Why a Christian Would Seek a Zen Buddhist Ox 1

II The Ten Ox-Herding Pictures: Their Origin 9

III The Ox, the Boy, and the Man 19

IV The Ox-Herder and the Good Shepherd 29

V Exploring the Ox-Herding Pictures 35

Editorial Reviews

The ox-herding pictures of Zen Buddhism, illustrations with accompanying poems intended to portray the development of enlightenment and meditative practice, are Hart’s (Knowing Darkness) main focus. The possibility of a common religious grammar leads the author, a retired chaplain and pastor, to seek Christ in alternative religions, believing that such an exploration would flesh out the nature of the Christian faith. The ox-herding pictures begin with a “fall” from paradise, from which its subject searches desperately for what was lost. Only with meditative, conscious practice and faith in the omnipresence and ordinariness of the divine in everyday life is it possible to regain what was lost. For Hart, this Buddhist enterprise is easily translated into Christian terms. The goal to find Christ on the Buddhist path is without pretension and is a respectful, honest endeavor to discover an underlying commonality in disparate religious systems. For the Christian who is not well-acquainted with the Zen Buddhist tradition, Hart’s book serves as an introduction to this Eastern religion/spirituality; it can also be a primer for how to approach non-Christian faiths from a compassionate and sympathetic point of view. (Aug.)

Publishers Weekly

Jim Forest
— author of Praying with Icons
"Various forms of Buddhism, not least Zen Buddhism, have played a part in the spiritual journey of many Christians, including Addison Hart. The ten ancient ox-herder drawings by the Chinese Zen master Kakuan Shien have helped Hart embrace core themes in the gospel and lightened his pilgrim’s backpack. . . . The Ox-Herder and the Good Shepherd is a refreshing introduction to what one might call Zen Christianity."

Publishers Weekly
"Hart’s goal to find Christ on the Buddhist path is without pretension and is a respectful, honest endeavor to discover an underlying commonality in disparate religious systems. For the Christian who is not well acquainted with the Zen Buddhist tradition, Hart’s book serves as an introduction to this Eastern religion/spirituality; it can also be a primer for how to approach non-Christian faiths from a compassionate and sympathetic point of view."

Fr. Richard Rohr, O.F.M.
— Center for Action and Contemplation
"I probably write two blurbs a week for various books, but many times merely skim the book and try to say something good, honest, and real about it. This book I read in its entirety in one sitting — because it is indeed very good, very honest, and very real. I vainly wished I had written it myself, but Addison is the authentic ox-herder that you need — and will remember."

From the Publisher

★ 09/01/2013
Zen Buddhism's classic Ten Oxherding Pictures originated with Chinese Chan Master Kakuan around 1200 CE and has served for centuries to illustrate Mahayana Buddhism's path to enlightenment. Hart (former college chaplain, Northern Illinois Univ.; Knowing Darkness: Reflections on Skepticism, Melancholy, Friendship, and God) first encountered the pictures in Paul Reps's Zen Flesh, Zen Bones (1957) and here continues to draw upon their treatment including in D.T. Suzuki's Manual of Zen Buddhism (1960) and Philip Kapleau's Three Pillars of Zen (1965). Encouraging Christians to find Jesus and God via the contemplative tradition implicit in this iconic set, Hart presents copies of the ten original drawings as well as his reworking of Kakuan's accompanying poems and commentary. He then offers his own simple, clear, even elegant explication of embedded Christian meaning with references to the works of such Western writers as St. John of the Cross and Martin Buber as well as to Dante's The Divine Comedy, The Philokalia, and the Bible. VERDICT Most highly recommended for all seekers no matter their preferred path.—James R. Kuhlman, Kentucky Wesleyan Coll., Owensboro

Library Journal