City Center dokusan room; figurine of the sixth of the oxherding pictures – Riding the Ox Home. Photo by Chris Shelton.
6. Riding the Bull Home
Mounting the bull, slowly
I return homeward.
The voice of my flute intones
through the evening.
Measuring with hand-beats
the pulsating harmony,
I direct the endless rhythm.
Whoever hears this melody
will join me.
—Commentary by the 12th century monk Guo-an Shi-yuan