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There are many rivers to the one ocean, many paths to the same truth.
When I went to Queensland to undertake my Komyo ReikiDo Training in October 2017 with Japanese Buddhist Monk Sensei Hyakuten Inamoto we talked about the Zen concept of enlightenment.
I wanted to learn this Japanese or perhaps I should say more Buddhist style of Reiki, understanding that it was more about the spiritual side of Reiki, so I went with an open mind.
I am not religious but would say I am more spiritual. I was raised Anglican, and loved the teachings, but have studied many religions since, and found truths in all, however I often felt that religion was more about politics and control when looking at the historical uses all over the world. In this way I have always taken what resonates with me from each of these religions and looked for the common threads and what “feels right”. This serves me, and I always encourage my students to listen to everything but to find their own truth.
Buddhism for me holds so many truths and ways at looking at our life through a different lens of non-judgement and non-attachment, and I was once told by a Buddhist monk, way back when we owned and operated fitness centres, that I was a reincarnation of Green Tara, a bodhisattva (in Mahayana Buddhism) a person who is able to reach nirvana but delays doing so through compassion for suffering beings.
Throughout my life I have had many mystical experiences, even before I was on the Spiritual path, and have been into the light several times, and let me say that is the most loving and peaceful energy i have ever encountered. I have never felt this depth of love and truth before or since in my daily human life, and I KNOW that we are more than just these bodies, living this human life. There is so much more.
Enlightenment is not just something that happens once and we stay in that state of satori forever, it is a process that continues to bring us closer and closer to our true nature. It is something that once we have had a glimpse of, we spend the rest of our lives trying to reconnect and find our way back home. That “feeling of Oneness” and wholeness is something that we continually strive for once we’ve had a glimpse of it, but having experienced it, we live our lives differently, knowing that nothing can really hurt us, nor can we die. As Einstein says, energy cannot be destroyed, it can only be transmuted.
Here is the famous parable Hyakuten told us during our training. I love sharing this story.
The Zen parable of “Finding the Ox” symbolises the seeker’s journey towards enlightenment — a process of remembering one’s true nature. Originating in 12th-century China, the ten pictures were drawn by Zen master Kakuan Shien, each accompanied by a poem and commentary.
In Zen Buddhism, enlightenment isn’t about becoming something new — it’s about remembering what we already are.
The famous Ten Ox-Herding Pictures (or Ten Bulls) offer a poetic map of that awakening journey. Created by the 12th-century Chinese Zen master Kakuan Shien, these ten scenes illustrate the seeker’s gradual path from confusion to clarity, and finally, to effortless harmony with all of life.
The ox represents our true nature – the pure awareness beyond ego, the awakened mind, or enlightenment itself.
The herder symbolises the mind or ego-self that seeks to rediscover itself, searching for what was never truly lost.
Each stage is not a rigid step, but a reflection of an inner process — we may revisit, skip, or cycle through them many times as our understanding deepens.
Below is a summary of the ten stages, showing the gradual refinement from seeking to awakening, and finally, returning to the world in compassion.
The journey begins with longing — the seeker senses that something is missing. Life feels incomplete, and the mind turns inward to seek meaning and truth. This is the stage of spiritual restlessness and questioning.
A stirring within the heart says, “There must be more than this.”
This is the stage of yearning — when the soul begins to awaken and seek truth beyond the noise of the world.
We feel lost, yet this longing is the first glimpse of remembrance.
“When the student is ready, the path appears.”
Reflection: What is your soul seeking right now? What questions keep whispering in your heart?
Signs appear — glimpses of truth, a fleeting stillness in meditation, or a moment of clarity. The seeker begins to realise that the answers are not “out there,” but within. The teachings leave traces pointing the way.
Moments of stillness appear — an insight, a dream, a coincidence that feels divine.
We sense the presence of something sacred guiding us. The tracks show that truth exists, though we haven’t yet grasped it.
The footprints of the ox appear in every teaching, in every breath.
Contemplate: When have you felt the presence of something greater, even for a moment?
A breakthrough occurs. The seeker experiences direct awareness, perhaps fleetingly, and understands what has been sought. However, it is still unstable — the mind resists and old habits pull back.
A sudden glimpse — awareness awakens!
We realise we are not the thoughts that come and go. The ego trembles as truth flashes through. Yet the vision fades; the ox runs into the tall grass again.
A flash of moonlight upon the river — and then, ripples.
Practice: Notice each time you awaken from a thought and rest in pure awareness. That still space is the ox.
Through discipline and presence, the practitioner begins to tame the unruly mind. This is the struggle between ego and awareness — between the conditioned self and the awakened essence.
The struggle begins. The ox resists the rope.
We face our habits, desires, and fears — the illusions that kept us bound. Through mindfulness, discipline, and compassion, we begin to calm the restless mind.
The wild heart learns the rhythm of the breath.
Reflection: What pattern in your life resists taming? Can you meet it with kindness instead of control?
The seeker learns to harmonise with the inner nature. Meditation deepens; compassion and wisdom begin to guide life naturally. The ox now moves peacefully alongside the herder.
The ox grows gentle; we no longer fight ourselves.
Meditation deepens. Inner peace arises not from effort but from surrender. We begin to live in harmony with what is.
The rope slackens. The song of the flute fills the evening air.
Practice: Each day, pause to breathe and simply allow. See how life flows when you stop trying to steer it.
The seeker and the ox become one. Joy and ease flow effortlessly. There is laughter, music, and serenity. The spiritual path is no longer a struggle — it is lived with grace.
The herder plays the flute — laughter and joy return.
The seeker and the ox are one; awareness flows through daily life. The spiritual path becomes natural, light, even playful.
Riding the ox, I sing of the mist and the moon.
Contemplate: What moments lately have felt effortless and aligned? That is life carrying you home.
The ox (symbol of enlightenment) disappears, for there is no longer a separation between seeker and sought. The mind is quiet; there is only pure being.
There is no longer separation between the seeker and the sought.
The ox dissolves into emptiness — pure being. The spiritual self merges into the infinite.
The river returns to the sea.
Reflection: Can you sense the quiet stillness that has always been here, beneath every experience?
Even the idea of enlightenment falls away. Duality dissolves — no self, no ox, no seeker, no goal. The practitioner abides in the great emptiness, the void that is full.
Even the idea of enlightenment vanishes.
There is no “you” to awaken, only the vastness of what is. The great mystery remains, silent and radiant.
The moon reflects in ten thousand rivers — yet the moon is one.
Practice: Let go of striving. Rest in the awareness that observes all.
In the stillness beyond attainment, the world is seen as it truly is — sacred, whole, and unbroken. The ordinary becomes extraordinary; every act is a reflection of the divine.
From the silence, compassion blooms.
We see the sacred in everything – the wind, the breath, the laughter of a child. The world has not changed, but our vision has.
The dew drop reflects the entire sky.
Contemplate: What in your daily life can you see now as holy?
The enlightened being returns to daily life, carrying the fragrance of wisdom. There is no preaching, no superiority — only gentle presence, laughter, and kindness. This stage represents the integration of enlightenment into the human experience.
The enlightened being returns to ordinary life — laughing, sharing, loving.
There is no sermon, no desire to appear wise. Only kindness, presence, and joy.
This is the stage of embodiment: bringing heaven into the marketplace.
Barefoot and smiling, he mingles with the crowd.
Reflection: How can you bring more peace and compassion into your everyday encounters?
In the Indian parable of the blind men and the elephant, each man touches a different part of the animal – the trunk, leg, ear, or tail – and insists he knows the whole. One believes the elephant is like a pillar, another a rope, another a wall.
One feels the trunk and says, “It’s like a snake.”
Another feels the leg — “It’s a pillar.”
Another touches the ear — “It’s a fan.”
Each man is partly right — and completely wrong.
Only by uniting their understanding could they grasp the truth.
The lesson is that each perception is partial, limited by one’s viewpoint. Only by stepping beyond individual perspectives – through humility, stillness, and insight – can one see the whole truth.
This story mirrors the ox-herding journey. Each “blind man” is a stage of awakening.
Every seeker touches a fragment of reality until, through experience, surrender, humility and direct experience, the whole is finally known – not through analysis, but through awakening.
Both teachings remind us that enlightenment is not found outside ourselves, or by adding something new, but by remembering what has always been.
It is the rediscovery of our innate wholeness – the ox that was never truly lost, the elephant that was always whole though seen in parts.
It is a homecoming — the rediscovery of the light that has never been lost.
When we quiet the mind and open the heart, we realise that the ox, the elephant, and the seeker were never separate.
“To study the self is to forget the self. To forget the self is to be enlightened by all things.” — Dōgen Zenji
Perhaps, as you gaze upon the ox-herding pictures or the image of the blind men with the elephant, you’ll sense that these are not stories of others, but mirrors of our own journey – each step, each glimpse, each return, guiding us home to what we already are.
Take a few moments to reflect:
I hope you enjoyed this article as it has helped me many times, and even with my encounter with breast cancer twice, and healing bone cancer, I always knew that I would be alright. Nothing is meant to hurt us, everything is meant to help us heal and find our meaning for life and our true nature. Everything can serve us. Everything is our teacher. The way is the WAY!
Look back on this story from time to time when you lose your way, and know that even feeling “lost” can cause us to reflect on the nature of our own reality, and help us reconnect with our own true essence, which is that of love.
You must find you own path, but stories can help us see the signposts.
Reiki has been one of my pathways for almost 30 years, but so has meditation, self-hypnosis, movement and pain, for everything we experience as souls is a part of what motivates and grows us to search for something higher.
May your path be gentle, your heart steady, and your awareness ever bright, as you remember that you were never truly lost, only dreaming.
Namaste Dear Ones,
Carol 
carolmacrae.com
P: 0413346637
Change Your Mind – Change Your Life!
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