dharma-cchandam imaM tasmaad
vivardhayitum arhasi
sarva-dharmaa hi dharma-jNa
niyamaac chanda-hetavaH
= = = - - = = =
- = - - - = - -
= - = = - = - -
- - = = - = - =
12.31
This wish for the truth of Dharma, therefore,
You should nurture;
For all realisations of the Dharma,
seer of the way of Dharma,
Invariably have wishing as their cause:
COMMENT:
The word dharma appears three times in this verse, once in the 1st line and twice in the 3rd line.
In the 1st line, dharma is the object of Nanda's desire, that which he is tending towards. Dharma in the 1st line, then, would seem to mean Dharma as the truth / practice which the Buddha taught.
The epithet dharma-jNa "Dharma-knower," would seem to praise Nanda for having recognized the direction in which the truth lies. Dharma in this compound, then, would seem to mean Dharma as a way or direction of practice; and knowing would seem to mean noticing, making out, spotting or seeing.
Appearing in the 3rd line in the plural, dharma is used to express all those happenings which have wishing or willing as their cause. The compound sarva-dhaarma, then, would seem to mean all instances of Dharma being realised in action. This usage is clarified, as I read it, in the following verse, which gives examples of actions which happen because a person wishes them. Except maybe the word "wish" is too strong in the contet of the next verse. What the Buddha literally says in the next verse, as I hear him, is that an action takes place because of an idea of doing it.
Fifteen years ago I read a very good book on the work of FM Alexander titled "Thinking Aloud," by Walter Carrington. The memorable title of the first chapter was "Willing, Wishing and Fairy Tales." The theme of the chapter, as I remember it, was that people tend to think that an action like sitting upright is all to do with bones and muscles and reflexes -- and in a sense it is. Still, the business of changing the way a person sits, even more fundamentally, is to do with willing and wishing. "This work," FM said, "is the most mental thing there is." This statement is not at all easy to understand, but I think it is distant echo of what the Buddha was expressing all those centuries ago with words like chanda, wishing or willing, and buddhi, mind or idea. What the Buddha and FM Alexander both struggled with, was how to express in words that supreme and subtle higher good which is the practice of non-doing.
On the one hand, I very much regret that for 11 years when I could have been studying Sanskrit, between 1997 and 2008, I more or less gave up translation work. On the other hand, I could not have done then the translation work I am doing now. I would not have understood then how chanda could really mean nothing more than a wish or how buddhi could mean nothing more than an idea. So maybe that fallow period wasn't entirely wasted.
EH Johnston:
Therefore take heed to foster the desire for the Law ; for desire, O knower of the Law, is specifically the originating cause of all the elements of existence.
Linda Covill:
Therefore you should cultivate this predilection for the dharma, for all factors of existence, dharma-knower, necessarily have desire as their cause.
VOCABULARY:
dharma: teaching, law, method
chandam (accusative): m. pleasure , delight , appetite , liking , predilection , desire , will
imam = accusative of ayam: this
tasmaat: from that , on that account , therefore
vivardhayitum (infinitive from vRdh: to increase, cause to prosper or thrive): to foster, to cultivate
arhasi (2nd person singular of arh): you should, please
sarva: all
dharmaaH (nominative, plural): dharmas, practices, things, teachings, works, truths
hi: for
dharma-jNa: dharma-knower
jNa: knowing, familiar with ; intelligent, having a soul, wise, (m.) a wise and learned man
niyamaat (ablative of niyama): as a rule , necessarily , invariably , surely
chanda: pleasing , alluring , inviting ; m. pleasure , delight , appetite , liking , predilection , desire , will
hetavaH = nominative, plural of hetu: cause, motive
4 comments:
Thank you for your interesting and insightful comments on Ashvaghoshas beautiful Saundaranandam. I hope you don't mind some remarks (in bad English):
Don't you think "sarvadharmaaH" really means just "all things"? Perhaps everything that exists (dharma) has some wish (chanda) as its cause. I am not sure, but I would prefer this interpretation.
Thank you, Karttikeya. Your remarks are very welcome, and I take your point: birds in the early morning seem to express a wish to sing out, wands of lavender seem to express a wish to go up, and even a small stone was a bigger rock that had a tendency to break up.
A better translation might be:
12.31
This wish for / tending towards the truth of Dharma, therefore,
You should nurture;
For all dharmas, seer of the way of Dharma,
Invariably have wishing / a tendency as their cause:
In that case, which do you like better: wishing, or a tendency?
On a separate point, how do you see the grammar of 12.26?
I prefer “For all dharmas, seer of the way of Dharma,
Invariably have wishing as their cause”.
For a discussion of the grammar of 12.26 see my comment there.
Thank you. That was my preference, too, and I will change the translation to that when pubishing the whole canto in a few days.
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