na tu kaamaan manas tasya
kena cij jagRhe dhRtiH
triShu kaaleShu sarveShu
nipaato 'stir iva smRtaH
12.10
Because of his sensuality, however, his mind
Was still by no means gripped by the kind of constancy
Which is shown, in all three times,
By the received usage of the irregularity which is "being."
COMMENT:
Linda Covill notes that the word in the fourth line asti, which means “being” or “existing,” is considered an example of an indeclinable particle; i.e., an irregular particle whose form is supposed to remain constant.
Nanda does not yet show that kind of constancy. He is more like a dog on a walk which hasn't yet been trained to keep its energy directed in the direction of the walk. A dog like that, before it has been rehabilitated, suffers from conflicting impulses, because it is led not only by the human being who is supposed to be deciding the direction of the walk, but also by its own canine senses; and so the dog keeps disrupting the flow of the walk by wishing to stop to sniff this and that scent.
Ashvaghosha in this section seems to be taking pains to avoid painting a simplistic, one-sided picture of Nanda's condition. If he describes with one breath the sudden dramatic improvement that Nanda has realised simply by giving up an idea, Ashvaghosha describes with the next breath a remaining obstacle in Nanda’s way. Thus, in 12.18 also, while recognizing the beginnings in Nanda of ultimate good, the Buddha sees that Nanda's senses are still set against such growth.
The tale of Handsome Nanda is a tale of real individual growth, of the kind that can’t be hurried. The shock that Nanda has just received is not akin to the shouts, whacks with sticks, et cetera, that were supposed to shock people into the kind of sudden enlightenment (so-called 'satori') that is celebrated in Zen romanticism. The scene is rather being set for Canto 13, in which the Buddha, "knower of the gradual path," will discuss at length how victory over the senses is to be won, through a certain constancy.
I am not sure whether in the fourth line Ashvaghosha is intending to suggest a deeper meaning in addition to the literal one -- a meaning that might make sense not only to Sanskrit grammarians but also to people who are devoted to the simple way of being which is traditional sitting practice. I am not sure whether nipaata, irregularity, expresses not only the irregular form of an indeclinable particle but also the fact that a moment of present existence never has, never does, and never will conform to human rules.
But what I can report assuredly from experience, relating to constancy, is this: When a man is in the groove of living the simple life, enjoying the experience of energy being directed primarily into sitting practice, another man looking on is liable to wonder at the first man’s constant discipline. But the first man is not at all conscious of being disciplined; he is just wishing to keep enjoying his simple life. He is no more conscious of constant discipline than is a happy dog being walked by a good dog-walker.
EH Johnston:
But steadfastness in respect of the past, present and future did not grip his mind in any way because of passion, just as asti is said to be used as a particle of all three times.
Linda Covill:
But because of passion, constancy, which resembles the indefinite particle "existing" in that it pertains to the past, the present and the future, did not in any way take hold of his mind.
VOCABULARY:
na: not
tu: but
kaamaat (ablative of kaama): because of desire, longing, sensuality
manas: the mind
tasya: of him
kena cit: by any means, in any way
jagRhe = perfect of grah: to arrest , stop ; to catch , take captive , take prisoner , capture , imprison ; to take possession of ; to seize ,
dhRtiH = nominative, singular of dhRti: f. holding , seizing , keeping , supporting , firmness , constancy , resolution
triShu (locative): three
kaaleShu = locative, plural of kaalu: time
sarveShu (locative): all
nipaataH = nominative, singular of nipaata: (in gram.) irregular form , irregularity , exception ; a particle
asti: (indeclinable particle) sometimes used as a mere particle at the beginning of fables; existent , present
iva: like, as
smRta: mfn. remembered , recollected , handed down , taught , prescribed , (esp.) enjoined by smRti or traditional law , declared or propounded in the law-books (na smRtam = " not allowed " , " forbidden ")
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