Detailed List of Retreats

The Ten Ox-herding Stages are a delightful and profound part of the ancient Chinese Taoist philosophical tradition that traces the trajectory of one's life as one searches for meaning and fulfilment. These depictions were eagerly adopted by Zen Buddhism which gave them its own special flavour. The pictures show a man coming to terms with the antics of his ox (his stubborn mind; his confused sense of self) blundering around in a world he finds bewildering and fickle; finally arriving at a stage where he feels at ease with his "True Nature" as it flows effortlessly along with the "Ten Thousand Things". Louis painted his own version of the pictures almost 30 years ago in the style of traditional Chinese brushwork (sumie). He will use these to demonstrate each stage of this journey of self-discovery.