Playing the Lute to a Cow

Although the melody of the qin is elegant, melodious, and pleasing to the ear, the ox, being foolish, initially fails to comprehend it, let alone appreciate it. This is because the ox of the manas (the mental faculty) is heavily burdened by ignorance. Since beginningless kalpas, throughout the cycles of birth and death, it has spent the vast majority of its time suffering retribution, lacking the opportunity to be exposed to the truths of both the mundane and supramundane worlds. Consequently, it has never understood the principle of liberation. Despite the Dharma being so sublime, the manas remains unaware and fails to grasp its meaning; it does not even seek the methods of liberation. The influence of consciousness (vijnana) upon the manas is like playing the lute to a cow.

At this point, consciousness must train itself in the skill of playing and patiently persist in playing for a long time. Eventually, one day, the ox of manas will come to understand the essence within the melody. Consciousness must intensify its training efforts to ensure that, no matter what tune is played, the ox of manas can comprehend it. This is extremely difficult and requires dedicated, arduous effort. Once the ox understands the tune, things become easier, and spiritual practice will proceed smoothly and unimpeded.