The Ox Herder picture story is a series of ten pictures that depict a story of a man, and his various actions in his path to enlightenment in life. The first of the pictures depicts the man setting out in search of a bull. He then proceeds to follow the bull by following the bull's footprints in the snow. He then finds the bull, and gets ready to catch it. After the man is ready, and his plan is set, he accomplishes the task of capturing the bull.
He leads the bull home, most likely attempting to tame his new captive. The sixth of the ten pictures depicts the man riding the bull, while playing a trumpet. This picture most likely is depicting that the man has successfully tamed the bull, and has made peace with it. The following picture shows the man alone, sitting down, left behind once the bull had transcended.
The next picture frame shows nothing, suggesting that both the bull and man had transcended. The ninth of the ten pictures shows a tree, most likely depicting paradise that the man has achieved through his conquering of the bull. The last of the pictures shows him teaching his methods to others, showing to them how they too can accomplish what he had.
The picture story is a symbol for a person's path to enlightenment. The ox is a metaphor for the man's struggle finding his inner self. He is in search of who he really is, and once he finds this he sets out in coming to terms with who he is. The taming of the ox in the story is a depiction of the man coming to terms with who he is and accepting the man he has turned out to be, allowing him to advance in the path to enlightenment. Once he has fully fulfilled his objectives in life, he transcends into enlightenment. He sees it as his obligation henceforth to teach his ways to others, aiding them in their path to enlightenment as well. Now that he had succeeded, he wants to see to it that others succeed in addition to himself.
