The Oxherding Retreat
with Sarah Bender, Roshi
September 16 - 20, 2026
“In the oxherding pictures the evolutionary process of taming the bull is very close to the Vajrayana view of the transmutation of energy.”
— Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche, Mudra
Ox painting by Max Gimblett
A young ox herder has lost the ox,
finds it, huge and untamed, in the wilds,
and tames, and is tamed by, this magnificent being,
until they are so intimately connected
as to disappear altogether
and find the beauty of this very world again,
awakened, beloved, and calling for love.
The Oxherding Pictures are a 12th-century Zen Buddhist series of drawings and poems. They tell an ancient and modern tale of enlightenment and endarkenment, waking up and growing up, through image, silence, verse, and practice.
For four days we’ll immerse ourselves together in this old dream and our modern one: in silence and conversation, stillness and motion, poetry and meditation.
The Oxherding Pictures offer a living map of the path: the search, the struggle, the intimacy, the vanishing, and the return to this very world with a heart made more available.
What to Expect
Each day will include periods of meditation, guided exploration, silence, conversation, gentle movement, and time for rest and integration.
Together we will enter these pictures and poems as living companions, emerging with hearts and minds refreshed, more at ease, and more ready to meet the beings and the times that we meet.
What to Get for the Retreat
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Recommended reading If possible, please get The Disappearing Ox: A Modern Version of a Classic Buddhist Tale before the retreat. A few copies may be available on site. |
Who May Attend
Open to all: new and experienced meditators, curious minds, searching hearts, and anyone looking for a pause, a fresh start, and gentle, precise guidance.
Cost
$460 to $980, depending on your lodging choice.
Pay in full or place a 40% deposit.
NEW! 30 & under and monastic discounts are available during registration. When early bird pricing is in effect, the higher discount will take precedence.
Generosity Policy
We want everyone to be able to attend retreats at Dorje Denma Ling. If you need additional assistance, please read more about our generosity policy.
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About the Leader
Sarah Bender, Roshi
Sarah Bender, Roshi is resident teacher for Springs Mountain Sangha, a Koan Zen practice community in Colorado Springs, Colorado, USA which is part of Cloud Gate Zen, an Open Source community in the line of Joan Sutherland, Roshi. SMS is in the Harada-Yasutani lineage of Zen Buddhism. Sarah began her practice of Zen Buddhism […]
Learn more about Sarah Bender, RoshiCategories : On-Land Programs & Events, Public Program