Caifang Zhu

Track: Mystical Spirituality as a Link between World Religions

The Psycho-spiritual development model of Chan Buddhism: An Illustration of the Ten Oxherding Pictures

ITA Prague Indigenous Panel: “Indigenous traditions: explorations and applications”

In this panel, presenters will explore the impact of indigenous traditions, including cases from Africa, South America, Tibet, China and India. The panelists are experts on the respective traditions, and will present on the teachings and practices, with a major emphasis on the impact these have had beyond the respective local regions. The panel will allow time for discussion not only of the traditions themselves, but also of the ways in which these indigenous ways have been contributing to developments and research in Transpersonal Psychology.

Psychospiritual (Transpersonal) Development Model of Chan Buddhism

The Case of the Metaphoric Ten-Stage Ox-Herding

Caifang Jeremy Zhu, Ph.D.
International Transpersonal Association

Chan/Zen Buddhism is known for its steep path of realizing one's Buddha nature, the non-dual, non-discriminative state of mind of pure consciousness. Often the path is so steep especially in the Sudden School of Chan Buddhism that very few or simply no expedient means are given for the student to follow along in his/her understanding and practice. The metaphoric Ox-herding text with pictures is a rare exception. In the popular version of the Ten-Stage Ox-Herding there is clearly a developmental model that a Chan practitioner is likely to go through. The ten stages are (1) seeking the ox (symbol of the self-nature or Buddha nature), (2) seeing its traces, (3) seeing the ox, (4) getting hold of the ox, (5) herding the ox, (6） riding the ox to go home, (7) herder existing alone, ox merged or transformed,(8) both herder and ox being transformed into pure consciousness symbolized by a zero,(9) returning to the Source, (10) re-entering the world with helping hands. In the presentation of the ten-stage model of Chan Buddhism practice, comparisons and contrasts will be made with Ken Wilber's nine stage of consciousness development and John Welwoods' pre-personal, personal and transpersonal model.

key words: Chan Buddhism, Ten-Stage Oxherding, transpersonal, developmental model, psycho-spiritual, ITA

Caifang (alias Jeremy) ZHU is the co-founder of Beijing Meditation and Counseling Center. He has been developing the Meditation-Initiated Integrative Therapy (MIIT) model since 2009. From 1992 onward he has been practicing Chan Buddhism with Chan master Jinghui, Associate Chair of Chinese Buddhist Association until venerable Jinghui passed away in 2013. Dr Zhu is a Board member of International Transpersonal Association and sits on the Editorial Board of International Journal of Transpersonal Studies based in USA. He serves as an invited reviewer for the Journal of Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy. He is a counseling supervisor in China, a member of the sub-division Culture and Psychotherapy under the China Association of Mental Health, and a member of International Zen Therapy Institute. He received his master degree from Harvard Divinity School, and Ph.D. from California Institute of Integral Studies. He chaired Harvard Buddhist Community and was a teaching fellow with East Asian Studies while at Harvard from 2001-2004. He can be reached at jeremy_zhu2011@sina.com