Herding the Ox: Martial Arts as Moral Metaphor

Take an entertaining and enlightening journey into the search for a deeper meaning in the martial arts with Herding the Ox. Using the 10 ox-herding pictures of Zen as a springboard, it discusses the spiritual and ethical dimensions of martial arts training. Go beyond the physical concepts through thought provoking analysis of some of Japan’s greatest warriors.

You’ll see the relationship between Zen concepts and real-life experience illuminated through your martial arts training. Written by Dr. John J. Donohue, educator and martial artist, the 10 steps of herding the ox is an allegory for the search of our own true nature. Find yours through this mystical Zen journey.

Isshin: Singleheartedness. Herding the uses the Ten Oxherding Pictures of Zen as a springboard to discuss the spiritual and ethical dimensions of martial arts training. By combining historical vignettes about some of Japan's greatest warriors with thought provoking analysis, it illuminates the relationship between Zen concepts and real-life experience in the martial arts. Written by a martial artist who is also a professional educator, Herding the Ox takes the reader on an entertaining and enlightening journey into the search for a deeper meaning in the martial arts.