In this picture, the rope has gone. The oxherder is sitting leisurely on the ox. The ox knows where to go without being told. This is an image of ease, leisure and freedom. Some people believe that Zen is very strict and serious or that to be spiritual one has to be gloomy or indifferent. On the contrary, as we advance in the practice we find it is about joy and creativity. As we slowly release the attachment and grasping which used to create so much tension, laughter bubbles within us. We begin to take ourselves less seriously and enjoy life so much more as we open to its changing and ever-fluctuating nature. We dance and sing with life. We have become friends with our body and mind.

This picture also shows us that there is a place for creativity in Zen. As we accept ourselves and the world our potential unfolds, fears and insecurities dissolve and we can express ourselves creatively. It might be through music, painting, poetry, cooking, gardening, being with children or old people. Everything we do can become an art, it is not a duty anymore, it is a way to express our true nature.

~ commentary from Zen, by Martine Batchelor.