athājñayā bhartṛ-sutasya tasya nivartayām-āsa rathaṁ niyantā |
⏑−⏑−¦−⏑⏑¦−⏑−−¦¦−−⏑−¦−⏑⏑¦−⏑−−
tataḥ kumāro bhavanaṁ tad-eva cintā-vaśaḥ śūnyam-iva prapede || 3.38
3.38
And so at the behest of the child of
his master,
The tamer of horses turned the chariot
around;
Then into the palace, that real piece
of royal real estate,
the prince went,
In the thrall of anxious thought,
as if he were going into emptiness.
COMMENT:
Niyantā, “a man who restrains
[horses]” is another word for a charioteer; at the same time one of
the ten epithets of Gautama Buddha was puruṣa-damya-sārathi, “the
leader [driver in the same chariot] of persons to be tamed.” The
first two pādas thus seem to reinforce the sense that the charioteer
represents a complete, mature man, one grown truly old, a buddha; at the same time these first two pādas convey a sense of one who, far from being on his
high horse, is readily obliging, being compliant even towards the
wishes of a child.
The word for palace in the 3rd
pāda is bhavana, which means (1) palace, and (2) coming into
existence, realization. In the 4th pāda, therefore,
śūnyam iva prapede, “he went as if into emptiness” is a play on
this second meaning of bhavana, which points to real existence as opposed to
emptiness. This sense of something real, as opposed to an immaterial
figment of somebody's mind, is emphasized by tad eva (“that
very;...” or “that right royal...”).
As a result of reading and reciting a
revered sacred text like the Heart Sutra, Buddhists in China and
Japan are liable to discuss the oneness of form and emptiness, or of
being and nothingness, and so Aśvaghoṣa's joke in today's verse
seems to have pre-empted that kind of philosophical discussion, and
to have subverted it even before the ink was dry on the Chinese
characters 色即是空, 空即是色.
色即是空,
空即是色
(Jap:
SHIKI-ZOKU-ZE-KU, KU-ZOKU-ZE-SHIKI),
“Form is just emptiness;
emptiness is just form.”
Dogen, following in Aśvaghoṣa's footsteps, saw things somewhat differently. For him
色即是色, 空即是空
Dogen, following in Aśvaghoṣa's footsteps, saw things somewhat differently. For him
色即是色, 空即是空
(Jap: SHIKI-ZOKU-ZE-SHIKU, KU-ZOKU-ZE-KU),
“Form is just form; emptiness is just emptiness.”
Today's verse reminds me of Aśvaghoṣa's
description in Saundara-nanda Canto 17 of nirvāna, which he compares
several times to a bit of nothing – i.e. the absence of like and
dislike, the absence of danger, the absence of chains and bars, the
absence of peril on the sea, the absence of darkness, the absence of
illness, the absence of debt, the absence of hostile forces, and
finally the absence of famine:
Nothing is dear to me, nor offensive to me. There is no liking in me, much less disliking. / In the absence of those two, I am enjoying the moment, like one immune to cold and heat. // SN17.67 // Like gaining safety after great danger; like gaining release after long imprisonment; / Like having no boat and yet gaining the far shore, after a mighty deluge; and like gaining clarity, after fearful darkness; // SN17.68 // Like gaining health out of incurable illness, relief from immeasurable debt, / Or escape from an enemy presence; or like gaining, after a famine, plentiful food: // SN17.69 // Thus have I come to utmost quiet, through the quieting influence of the teacher. / Again and repeatedly I do homage to him: Homage, homage to the Worthy One, the Realised One! // SN17.70 //
But really speaking what is famine?
Famine is the absence of food. And so what is the absence of famine?
The absence of the absence of food, is simply food.
The Torah says (Deuteronomy 8:3), "Man
does not live by bread alone but by all which comes from the mouth of
God."
Judging from today's verse, I don't think Aśvaghoṣa would
necessarily subscribe to that view.
The present canto is describing
the prince becoming flustered as the consciousness awakens in him
that there is more to life than receiving the favours of the most
gorgeous women a king can muster. There is the possibility of growing
truly old. In order for any of us to pursue that possibility,
material things like food and lodging are absolutely necessary. But
do we also need to attend to that which comes from the mouth of God?
Again, is it vital to go deeply into the Mahāyana Buddhist doctrine
of śūnyatā?
If your aim is to get a Ph. D. in
Buddhist studies, the answer to that last question is very probably:
Yes.
VOCABULARY
atha: then, and so
ājñayā (inst. sg.): f. order ,
command
bhartṛ-sutasya (gen. sg. m.): the son
of his protector
bhartṛ: m. one who bears or carries
or maintains ; a preserver , protector , maintainer , chief , lord ,
master
suta: m. a son , child , offspring
tasya (gen. sg. m.): that, him
nivartayām-āsa = 3rd pers.
sg. periphrastic perf. ni- √ vṛt: to turn back
ratham (acc. sg.): m. chariot
niyantā (nom. sg.): m. who or what
holds in or restrains or governs or tames , &c ; m. a restrainer
, governor , tamer (esp. of horses) , charioteer
tataḥ: ind. then, and so
kumāraḥ (nom. sg.): m. the prince
bhavanam (acc. sg.): n. a place of
abode , mansion , home , house , palace , dwelling; n. coming into
existence , birth , production; n. the place where anything grows
tad (acc. sg. n.): that
eva: (emphatic) real, right royal
cintā-vaśaḥ (nom. sg. m.): mfn. in
the thrall of anxious thought
cintā: f. thought , care , anxiety ,
anxious thought
vaśa: m. power, control, dominion;
ifc. , " by command of , by force of , on account of , by means
of , according to "
śūnyam (acc. sg. n.): mfn. empty ; n.
a void , vacuum , empty or deserted place , desert; n. (in phil.)
vacuity , nonentity , absolute non-existence (esp. with Buddhists)
iva: like
prapede = 3rd pers. sg.
perf. pra- √ pad: to go forwards set out for , resort to , arrive
at , attain , enter (with acc.); to fly to for succour , take refuge
with (acc.); to fall upon , attack , assail; , partake of , share in
(acc.) ; to adopt or embrace (a doctrine)
受命即風馳 飛輪旋本宮
心存朽暮境 如歸空塜間
心存朽暮境 如歸空塜間
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