10 Steps to Peace - Buddhist Teachings & Zen Stories for Sleep

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Tonight, we will journey through ten ancient stages of peace that Zen masters have passed down for over a thousand years. These are based on a series of profound pictures, known as the Ten Bulls, that together reveal the complete path to inner peace, from the first stirrings of spiritual seeking to the joyful return to ordinary life, transformed.

We will follow a young seeker named Ren as he discovers what countless practitioners have learned before him: that the peace we desperately search for was never truly lost. Each stage offers timeless Buddhist wisdom about taming the restless mind, letting go of what no longer serves us, and awakening to the freedom that exists in this very moment.

Gentle narration is paired with crackling fire sounds and calming ambient music, designed to quiet your busy thoughts and release the weight of the day. These Zen teachings and Buddhist stories can help guide you through the stages of seeking, glimpsing, struggling, surrendering, and finally returning home to the simplicity that was always here.

The paintings of the Ten Bulls are commonly named:
Stage 1 - The Search
Stage 2 - The Footprints
Stage 3 - Perceiving the Ox
Stage 4 - Catching the Ox
Stage 5 - Taming the Ox
Stage 6 - Riding the Ox Home
Stage 7 - The Ox Transcended
Stage 8 - Both Self and Ox Transcended
Stage 9 - Reaching the Source
Stage 10 - Return to Society

Breathe deeply and let centuries of wisdom carry you into profound rest. Your healing sleep awaits. Thank you for joining us here at Sleepy Monk. 🙏✨