4.16.26 | Lecture: The Ten Ox-Herding Pictures

The Ten Ox-Herding Pictures are an ancient allegory dating back to 11th or 12th century China, used to illustrate the path to enlightenment. We are going to look at the series of ten paintings through the lens of Jungian psychology. The connection with the individuation process as described by Jung over the course of 20 volumes of the Collected Works will be highlighted, noting the resonance between these 10 pictures and Analytical Psychology. These 10 images illustrate the journey of a young boy, the ox-herder, searching for his missing ox. In Zen terms, it is the search for Awakening and True Reality. In Jungian terms, it is the ego’s search for the archetypal Self. Come to the lecture to consider how East meets West by way of these amazing pictures.