⏑−⏑−¦−⏑⏑¦−⏑−−¦¦−−⏑−¦−⏑⏑¦−⏑−− Upajāti
(Ārdrā)
tataḥ kṛte śrīmati
rāja-mārge śrīmān vinītānucaraḥ kumāraḥ |
−−⏑−¦−⏑⏑¦−⏑−−¦¦⏑−⏑−¦−⏑⏑¦−⏑−−
prāsāda-pṛṣṭhād-avatīrya
kāle kṛtābhyanujño nṛpam-abhyagacchat || 3.6
3.6
And so in majestic action on the royal
road,
A majesty-possessing heir-apparent
with an amenable assembly in his train,
Having alighted at the proper time
from atop his elevated perch,
Approached, with his assent, a
protector of men.
COMMENT:
Today's verse as I read it has below
its surface a particularly strong autobiographical component. It may
be true to say that every verse that Aśvaghoṣa wrote has an
autobiographical component, insofar as Aśvaghoṣa was not in the
business of composing a biography, like a voyeuristic journalist, or
a Buddhist scholar, as if the Buddha's teaching had nothing to do
with him personally. Rather he was always writing out of his own
practice and experience.
That being so, whereas on the surface
kṛte śrīmati rāja-mārge means “on the king's highway which
had been made beautiful/splendid [by getting rid of the great unwashed, the disabled etc.]" (EBC: “Along this road made beautiful”;
EHJ: “when the road had been made beautiful”; PO: "when the royal highway had been made splendid"), below
the surface kṛte śrīmati rāja-mārge might really mean “on the
royal road in the splendid sate of action.” In that case,
pratyaṅga-hīnaḥ (being bereft of extremities) and kṛte
śrīmati (being in the splendid state of action) are one and the
same state of being, which is called a royal road.
Whereas
on the surface śrīmān vinītānucaraḥ kumāraḥ
describes the son of King Śuddhodana as “the
fortunate prince with his well-trained attendants” (EBC) or “the
prince in full splendour with well-trained attendants” (EHJ) or
“the splendid prince along with his trained attendants” (PO), below the surface śrīmān
vinītānucaraḥ kumāraḥ might be intended to describe every
individual practitioner of Aśvaghoṣa's acquaintance who practised
slow walking in a group of fellow practitioners, such that everybody
led everybody else, as “a majesty-possessing heir-apparent with an amenable
assembly in his train.” In other words, śrīmān vinītānucaraḥ
kumāraḥ, as I read it, is an expression of Aśvaghoṣa's practice
and experience in the order of the 11th
Zen patriarch in India, Puṇyayaśas.
That
being so, whereas prāsāda ostensibly means the upper storey of
Śuddhodana's royal palace, I think prāsāda is really intended to
mean a raised sitting platform.
And whereas when Aśvaghoṣa
wrote nṛpam, “protector of men,” he was ostensibly referring to
King Śuddhodana, Aśvaghoṣa might really have had in mind his own
experience of approaching a teacher like Puṇyayaśas.
Speaking
of elevated perches, when I sit in France I generally sit on one of a
number of basic sitting platforms that I have enjoyed constructing
for that purpose, both inside a Zendo/shed and out in the open air, whereas in England I generally sit on a thick mat
placed on the floor. And one thing I have noticed since coming back
from France after the summer is that it is easier for me to
establish the “knees forwards and away” direction prior to
sitting on a platform constructed at roughly knee height, than it is
when I am called upon to sit on a cushion on the floor. This was
particularly the case following an injury to my left knee which made
it more difficult for me to keep directing myself up while going into
a low squat. For those who sit on the floor but who lack the
flexibility to go into a low squat, another alternative is to go onto
hands and knees first, get a lengthening and widening direction going there, and then from all fours place the pelivs on top of the round cushion. But
all things considered, if it is possible, with the aid of a raised
platform, to go into the “position of mechanical advantage” that
Alexander teachers and students through the ages have referred to as
“monkey,” in the process of and immediately prior to parking one's backside upon a
round cushion, this in my experience is most conducive to sitting
with the knees going forwards and away, which I would recommend to
anybody.
Majestic action (kṛṭam śriyam), I submit, is a state of being bereft of extremities (pratyaṅga-hīnaḥ). And as a subtle, delicate, indirect and at the same time very accurate means-whereby for realizing that state, nothing in my experience beats the technique evolved for that purpose by FM Alexander.
VOCABULARY
tataḥ: ind. then, thence; from that,
in consequence of that
kṛte (loc. sg.): mfn. made ; n. deed
, work , action
śrīmati (loc. sg.): mfn. beautiful ,
charming , lovely , pleasant , splendid , glorious ; possessed of
fortune , fortunate , auspicious , wealthy , prosperous , eminent ,
illustrious , venerable (used , like śrī , as a prefix before the
names of eminent persons and celebrated works and sometimes corrupted
into śrīmant) , of high rank or dignity
śrī: f. light , lustre , radiance ,
splendour , glory , beauty , grace , loveliness; prosperity , welfare
, good fortune , success , auspiciousness , wealth , treasure ,
riches ; high rank , power , might , majesty , royal dignity ; symbol
or insignia of royalty
-mat: (possessive suffix)
rāja-mārge (loc. sg.): m. the king's
highway , a royal or main road , principal street (passable for
horses and elephants); (met.) the great path
śrīmān (nom. sg. m.): splendid;
illustrious
vinītānucaraḥ (nom. sg. m.): with a
well-behaved assembly in his train
vinīta: mfn. led ; tamed , trained ,
educated , well-behaved , humble , modest
anucara: m. companion , follower ,
servant
anu- √ car: to walk or move after or
along ; to follow , pursue , seek after ; to follow out , adhere to ,
attend
kumāraḥ (nom. sg.): m. child, youth; son; prince ; heir-apparent
prāsāda-pṛṣṭhāt (abl. sg.):
from the palace roof ; from atop his sitting platform
prāsāda: m. (for pra-sāda lit. "
sitting forward " , sitting on a seat in a conspicuous place) a
lofty seat or platform for spectators , terrace; the top-story of a
lofty building ; a lofty palatial mansion (approached by steps) ,
palace , temple ; (with Buddhists) the monks' hall for assembly and
confession
pṛṣṭha: n. the back, the hinder
part or rear of anything; the upper side
avatīrya = abs. ava- √ tṝ: alight
from , alight (abl.) ; to descend (as a deity) in becoming incarnate
kāle (loc. sg.): in time, in good
time, at the right time
kṛtābhyanujñaḥ (nom. sg. m.):
with his assent
kṛta: mfn. done, achieved
abhyanujñā: f. assent , approval ;
authorization , permission
nṛpam (acc. sg.): m. ruler/protector
of men, king
abhyagacchat = 3rd pers. sg.
imperfect abhi- √ gam: to go near to, to approach
莊嚴悉備已 啓請求拜辭
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