sarva-duHkh'-aapahaM tat tu
hasta-stham amRtaM tava
viShaM piitvaa yad agadaM
samaye paatum icchasi
= - = = - = = -
= = - - - = - -
- = = = - - - =
- - = = - = - -
12.25
But that which prevents all suffering,
The nectar of deathlessness,
you have in your hands:
It is an antidote which, having drunk poison,
You are going in good time to drink.
COMMENT:
Nanda, in 12.16, expresses his belief to the Buddha that "it is your most excellent teaching that is the eradicator/destroyer/terminator (kShaya-kare) of all suffering." Here is the Buddha's response: what not so much terminates but repells or prevents all suffering is not only abstract teaching or even eternal law. Dharma is real preventive medicine, like liquid nectar that can be cupped in the hands here and now, and drunk. Neither is this nectar of immortality a matter only of the gods; its real substance might be a drop of the bodhi-mind which, the Buddha seems to be saying, neither belongs exclusively to me nor exists out there: you already have it, in the midst of your shame, as you stand devoutly listening, with head slightly lowered and palms slightly cupped. In the sincerity of Nanda's wish to listen to the truth, as is embodied in his manner of standing, the Buddha seems to be saying, Nanda already has the real substance of deathlessness in his own hands, and he is about to drink it.
The Buddha seems to have intuited already that Nanda is going, in time, to realise the realisation described in Canto 18, amRt'aadhigama, Making the Nectar of Deathlessness His Own. Here in Canto 12, Nanda has not realised that realisation yet, because his senses are still set against it, but he is going to start, when he begins in earnest to address the problem of faulty sensory appreciation, which is the theme of Canto 13.
EH Johnston:
But you have within your reach that elixir which removes all suffering, the antidote which you wish, as having drunk poison, to take in good time.
Linda Covill:
Having drunk poison, you wish to drink a timely antidote; that cup of deathlessness is within your reach, and it destroys all suffering.
VOCABULARY:
sarva: all
duHkha: suffering
apaham = accusative of apaha: mfn. ifc. keeping back , repelling , removing , destroying
tat (correlative of yat): that [which]
tu: but
hasta: hand
stha: standing , staying , abiding , being situated in
hastastha: mfn. being in or held with the hand
amRtam (accusative): immortality; the nectar (conferring immortality , produced at the churning of the ocean) , ambrosia ; antidote against poison
tava (genitive): of you
viSham (accusative): poison
piitvaa = absolutive of paa: to drink
yat: [that] which
agadam (accusative): m. freedom from disease; m. a medicine , drug , (especially) antidote
samaye: at the appointed time; at the right moment; in good time
paatum = infinitive of paa: to drink
icchasi = 2nd person singular of ish: to wish or be about to do anything
4 comments:
Mike,
I've noticed how often you will gather a flurry of comments on a post as soon as you demonstrate even the mildest degree of averse emotional expression. This is interesting to me. It seems to appear like a precipitate, or a calcification. Truth be told, I even skim your posts sometimes to look for some 'excitement', like glancing through a gossip column.
You've mentioned the mirror principle in the past. Considering the text you are focused on now, what might be a useful, or insightful way of considering this phenomenon? Seriously.
Best,
Ray
Hi Ray,
The mirror principle seems to come into play when I feel ill-will towards "the other" in whom I perceive a fault, or some trait that I regard as undesirable, which I do not wish to recognize in myself.
When I do express emotional criticism in this way towars "the other," one hundred times out of a hundred, when I reflect on it after the event, the fault that I was criticizing was always something that I had been unconsciously struggling with in myself. A recent example from a few weeks ago was that I had a go at a friend and teacher who is also a musician. I had a go at him for hiding safely behind quotations and musical scores, which he knows he is good at interpreting, rather than having the courage to make his own stand.
A conspicuous example of the mirror principle from history might be Adolf Hitler, who may have been conceived illegitimately when his mother was working as a maid for a Jewish family. Whether or not Hitler actually was of Jewish descent doesn't matter. It is the unconscious fear of something wrong within oneself that sets the process off, regardless of whether or not the fear is real.
Verses I have translated so far in Saundarananda that might be relevant are, for example, 3.35, 16.62, and 16.65.
3.35
Nobody showed any hostility towards the other,
In fact they looked on others with positive warmth,
As mother, father, child or friend:
For each person saw in the other himself.
16.62
When the mind is agitated by the fault of ill-will,
Love should be practised, through self-acceptance;
For love is calming to a hate-afflicted soul,
As cooling treatment is to a man of bilious nature.
16.75
When a man does not see a fault as a fault,
Who is able to restrain him from it?
But when a man sees the good in what is good,
He goes towards it despite being restrained.
All the best,
Mike
Mike,
Thank you. 16.62 is very helpful for me as it's that burning moment of ill will that keeps tripping me up. If I'm lucky enough to catch it on the inside and own it (at least partially) the next line seems very concrete:
"Love should be practised, through self-acceptance"
I'm guessing that the self-acceptance practice is like a Metta practice, wishing peace of mind & body for ones self, realizing that the state of ill will is a painfully contracted experience, etc. If you have any further thoughts on the form of self-acceptance practice, I'd be interested to hear your take.
Thanks again,
Ray
Thanks, Ray. Your comment is a good mirror for a fellow-sufferer.
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