An important text associated with the Oxhead School is the
Jueguan lun 絶觀論, the
Treatise on the Transcendence of Cognition (alternatively, the
Treatise on Cutting Off Contemplation). According to Robert Sharf, this work is "the single most extensive surviving document associated with Ox Head Ch’an." The text consists of a dialogue between two hypothetical characters, Professor Enlightenment and his student, Conditionality. The
Jueguan lun opens the dialogue between Enlightenment and Conditionality with the following exchange: "What is the mind? What is it to pacify the mind (an-hsin 安心)?" [The master] answered: "You should not posit a mind, nor should you attempt to pacify it—this may be called 'pacified.'" According to Whalen Lai, this is to be taken as a jab at the
East Mountain School, which was known to have taught a practice called "pacifying the mind" (
anxin 安心). Sharf also observes that the Oxhead text known as the
Wuxin lun (Treatise on No-Mind) seems to be "uninterested in techniques for quieting or discerning the mind; such energy is misplaced since there is no mind to discern." For Sharf, such Oxhead texts offer an alternative to "mindfulness," and critique the reification of mind on both philosophical and soteriological grounds. Delusions are not to be eradicated, as the
Jueguan lun points out in the conclusion to its first section:Emmon: “How can delusions of sentient beings be eradicated?”Nyuri: “As long as one sees delusions and their eradication, one cannot shed them.”Emmon: “Is it possible to be at one with the Way without having eradicated the delusions?”Nyuri: “As long as one thinks of being at one with and not being at one with, one is not free of delusions.”Emmon: “What should one do then?”Nyuri: “Not doing anything—that’s it!” According to Kuno, the Oxhead School was opposed to Northern School contemplative practices, such as "maintaining [awareness of] the mind" (
shouxin 守心). Sorensen also notes the reference to, and rejection of, the Northern School practice of
shouxin in the short Oxhead text, the
Xin Ming (Mind Inscription). This work says, "By grasping the mind and maintaining stillness, one will still not be able to leave behind the sickness (of clinging)." Similarly, Faure observes that the
Xinxin Ming (Faith-Mind Inscription), traditionally attributed to the third patriarch
Sengcan though likely a product of the Oxhead School, exhibits criticism of the Northern School practice known as "maintaining the one" or "guarding the one" (
shou yi 守一): "If there is even a trace of 'is' or 'is not,' the mind will be lost in confusion. Although the two comes from the One, do not guard even this One." On the other hand, McRae's view is that the Oxhead School did not fundamentally disagree with the Northern School in terms of mental contemplation and the need for constant practice, but differed in its extensive use of negation. McRae also understands the Oxhead School as having had a transitional nature which sought to transcend the divide between Northern and Southern Chan. Yanagida saw the Oxhead School as a protest movement against the Northern School, but which lacked the factionalist spirit of the Southern School. In his accounts and critiques of the various schools of
Tang-era Chan,
Zongmi describes the axiom of the Niutou (Oxhead) as "cutting off and not leaning on anything," and its practice as "forgetting feelings" (
wangqing), which Zongmi associates with the
Madhyamaka praxis of being unfixed and without support. Sharf also observes that Oxhead monks were influenced by the
Sanlun School of Chinese Madhyamaka. Both Oxhead and Sanlun accepted the
Buddha-nature of insentient things, such as grasses and tiles, as well. ==Writings==