78 – The Ten Oxherding Pictures: Stages of Practice When You're Going Nowhere

The Ten Oxherding pictures are a Zen teaching, but many Buddhist practitioners are familiar with the experience of trying to motivate yourself to practice without the rewards of explicit, tangible goals or markers of progress. The oxherding pictures describe - rather than prescribe - stages of practice we go through over a lifetime. They can be inspiring and encouraging as long as you don't try too hard to evaluate which stage you're in, or strive to get to the next stage.