⏑−⏑−¦−⏑⏑¦−⏑−−¦¦−−⏑−¦−⏑⏑¦−⏑−− Upajāti
(Ārdrā)
tataḥ sa
pūrvāśaya-śuddha-buddhir-vistīrṇa-kalpācita-puṇya-karmā |
−−⏑−¦−⏑⏑¦−⏑−−¦¦⏑−⏑−¦−⏑⏑¦−⏑−−
śrutvā jarāṁ saṁvivije
mahātmā mahāśaner-ghoṣam-ivāntike
gauḥ
|| 3.34
3.34
And so he whose mind had been cleansed
by good intentions,
before the fact,
He who had heaped up piles of good
karma, through long kalpas,
by his acts,
When he heard about growing old,
recoiled mightily,
Like a bull hearing the crash of a
nearby thunderbolt.
COMMENT:
Apologies for the late posting of
today's verse. I have been without electricity for the past 24 hours
and this afternoon had to cycle 20 miles to get a replacement part
for the fusebox. In the event I must have cycled more than 30 miles
due to having the bright idea of avoiding the long straight road to
La Ferte Mace. I thought I would pick my way through the forest instead.
Needless to say I got lost on the way there. On the way back, more
confident that I had understood the route, and paying due attention
to the position of the sun in the sky, moss on the north side of
trees, et cetera, I got lost again. In the end I swallowed my pride,
joined the fast main road and got home just before dusk. On the
bright side, I did manage to restore the electricity.
The four phases of today's verse are,
in short, (1) mind, (2) karma, (3) a momentary action, or reaction,
of the whole body-mind, and (4) an evocative metaphor that brings
said reaction vividly to life.
As I was cycling along forest tracks (and getting off and pushing my bike up muddy uphill parts of them) I
found myself reflecting in particular on the first pāda, and
pondering the process whereby intentions can cause the mind to become
pure. From an Alexander point of view, simply thinking, the intention
to allow is pure, whereas the intention to achieve is tainted. In the
Buddha's teaching, simply thinking, the intention to serve buddhas is
pure, whereas the intention to become buddha is liable to be tainted.
In Marjory Barlow's game of moving the leg, two kinds of intention
are investigated together – (1) the intention to be free from what
habitually governs me, and (2) the intention to move the leg, without
which the leg would never move. The essence of the game is to ensure
that (1) remains stronger than (2), both before the fact and during
the act.
In playing Marjory's game under
Marjory's eagle eye, however I explain it in theory, I did experience
an unusual degree of clarity in fact. While being clear in my decision not to move the leg but rather to allow the spine to lengthen and the back to widen, I heard the birds singing
outside and had the sense that it was the first time I had ever heard
birds sing that clearly. (I seem to hear the sound of readers of this
blog turning from their computer screens and asking their nearest and
dearest to pass them the sick bucket.)
I might add that while I was experiencing this 'auditory opening' in pseuds' corner, I didn't get any praise from
Marjory. Marjory invariably reserved her praise until after the end
of moving the leg was gained, i.e. until the movement was achieved,
until the act was realized.
So there is a kind of paradox inherent
in Marjory's game. The intention to be free has to be stronger than
the intention to move the leg. And yet the leg must be moved –
otherwise the work is not real, it is just a variety of faffing
about.
This paradox is reflected in the first
two lines of today's verse, as I read them, which describe (1) the effect of intentions upon the prince's mind, and (2) the effect of actual actions as concrete causes.
The paradox, to express it in terms of
famous aphorisms of FM Alexander, is:
(1) This work is the most mental thing
there is.
This work is an exercise in finding out
what thinking is.
The secret is in the preparation
(2) We get it in movement.
The first practical taste I had of this paradox
was in the context of tournament karate more than 30 years ago. I
remember in particular one fight that I should easily have won but in
fact lost because I was upstairs eating a meat pie when my name was
called, and so was totally mentally unprepared for the contest. When I took the floor, I was
all aggressive movement and no inhibitory intention and so, even though I should
have scored easily against the bloke I was up against, I just
couldn't get a score in. I mention this because, as I pedalled along,
the memory of this fight came back to me very vividly.
The secret is in the preparation. I
should know that by now. And yet, more often than not, I demonstrate
that I still haven't learned the lesson well enough. I rush in like a fool.
The 3rd and 4th
pādas, as I read them, stand in opposition to what has been alluded
to about the real meaning of “growing old.”
The Buddha grew old while sitting as
immovably stable as the king of mountains. The prince, mighty
bull-like self that he was, shows himself to be still immature, not
yet grown old in the true sense, by his fearful response.
VOCABULARY
tataḥ: ind. then
sa (nom. sg. m.): he
pūrvāśaya-śuddha-buddhiḥ (nom.
sg. m.): with mind cleansed through preceding intentions
pūrva: mfn. former , prior , preceding
āśaya: m. resting-place , bed; seat ;
an asylum , abode or retreat ; a receptacle ; the seat of feelings
and thoughts , the mind , heart , soul ; thought , meaning ,
intention ; (in yoga phil.) " stock " or " the
balance of the fruits of previous works , which lie stored up in the
mind in the form of mental deposits of merit or demerit , until they
ripen in the individual soul's own experience into rank , years , and
enjoyment "(Cowell's translation of Sarvad. 168 , 16 ff.)
śuddha: mfn. cleansed , cleared ,
clean , pure , clear ; cleared , acquitted , free from error ,
faultless ,
buddhi: f. the power of forming and
retaining conceptions and general notions , intelligence , reason ,
intellect , mind , discernment , judgement
vistīrṇa-kalpācita-puṇya-karmā
(nom. sg. m.): of good karma accumulated through long kalpas
vistīrṇa: mfn. strewn or covered or
studded with (instr. or comp.) ; spread out , expanded , broad ,
large , great , copious , numerous; extensive, long
kalpa: m. a fabulous period of time
ācita: mfn. collected, accumulated,
heaped
puṇya-karman: mfn. acting right ,
virtuous , pious
puṇya: n. the good or right , virtue
, purity , good work , meritorious act , moral or religious merit
karman: n. act , action ; former act as
leading to inevitable results
śrutvā = abs. śru: to hear, listen
jarām (acc. sg.): f. aging, old age
saṁvivije = 3rd pers. sg.
perf. saṁ- √ vij: to tremble or start with fear , start up , run
away
√ vij: to move with a quick darting
motion , speed , heave (said of waves) ; to start back , recoil ,
flee from (abl.)
mahātmā (nom. sg. m.): mfn. "
high-souled " , magnanimous , having a great or noble nature ,
high-minded , noble ; eminent , mighty , powerful , distinguished
mahāśaneḥ (gen. sg.): of a great
thunderbolt
aśani: f. the thunderbolt , a flash of
lightning
ghoṣam (acc. sg.): m. indistinct
noise , tumult , confused cries of a multitude , battle-cry , cries
of victory , cries of woe or distress , any cry or sound , roar of
animals ; the roaring of a storm , of thunder , of water
iva: like
antike ind. (with gen. or ifc.) near ,
close by , in the proximity or presence o
gauḥ (nom. sg.): m. a bull
菩薩久修習 清淨智慧業
廣殖諸徳本 願果華於今
聞説衰老苦 戰慄身毛竪
廣殖諸徳本 願果華於今
聞説衰老苦 戰慄身毛竪
雷霆霹靂聲 群獸怖奔走
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