The Ten Oxherding Pictures are a Zen Buddhist illustration of the path to enlightenment…which is the eighth picture. Pictures nine and ten were added later, to represent the path of the Bodhisattva; skilled in the art of staying in-body after enlightenment.

These eight pictures depict the shift in identity between one’s egoic self (the Person), and one’s true Self (initially represented as the Ox). The first picture represents a true spiritual seeker, which isn’t that common. The second picture shows the seeker finding evidence in the world (like psychic phenomena), which is common among seekers. The third represents a big step; an awakening, or temporary enlightenment experience (glimpsing the Ox), usually involving a guru (not that common among seekers). Four represents the destabilization of the egoic self when one’s own identity is now questioned.

Destabilization is exhausting, so it settles down relatively quickly. But the egoic self (your personal identity) is a difficult thing to surrender, so it continues to lead in picture five. Picture six represents the egoic self finally surrendering to the higher Self as a primary identity. Eventually, the egoic self is fully understood to be a tool rather than an identity, and that dichotomy dissolves, shown in picture seven. Then one is ready to transcend physical existence, represented by picture eight.