⏑⏑−⏑⏑¦−⏑−⏑−−¦¦⏑⏑−−⏑⏑¦−⏑−⏑−− Aupacchandasaka
paramair-api
divya-tūrya-kalpaiḥ sa tu tair-naiva ratiṁ yayau na harṣam |
⏑⏑−⏑⏑¦−⏑−⏑−−¦¦⏑⏑−−⏑⏑¦−⏑−⏑−−
paramārtha-sukhāya
tasya sādhor-abhiniścikramiṣā yato na reme || 5.46
5.46
But even those ultimate
instruments,
on a par with heavenly
harps,
Gave him no pleasure
nor any joy.
His desire, as a
sincere man going straight for his goal,
was to get out, in
pursuit of the happiness of ultimate riches;
And therefore he was
not in the mood for play.
COMMENT:
Today's verse, as I
read it, expresses the prince's sincerity in going straight for his
goal – ostensibly in the affirmative sense of that description but
also, ironically, in the pejorative sense.
Ostensibly, Aśvaghoṣa
describes the prince as a good or virtuous or honest man, or even as
a holy man, a saint, a sage or a seer. All these are dictionary
definitions of the word sādhu, with which the 3rd pāda ends. But
the original meaning of sādhu, in an adjectival sense, is leading
straight to a goal. The word may thus have hidden connotations of
what FM Alexander called “end-gaining” – that is, being grimly
determined to achieve the end in view, irrespective of what miseries
might be caused to self and others along the way.
The compound
paramārtha, as discussed in comments to BC5.19, can literally be
translated in any number of ways. In the context of BC5.19, where the
pursuit of paramārtha is contrasted with subsisting on scraps
gleaned from begging, “ultimate riches” seemed to fit. For
consistency, therefore, I have stuck with “ultimate riches” in
today's verse.
“Dwelling anywhere – at the root of a tree, or in an abandoned house, or on a mountain, or in the forest, / I wander here and there, with no possessions and no expectations, subsisting, for the sake of ultimate riches (parmārthāya), on whatever scraps I chance to get from begging.” //BC5.19//
The irony which I think
Aśvaghoṣa has in mind, in today's verse as in BC5.19, is that
ultimate treasure in the teaching of the enlightened Buddha is the
kāñcanam-āsanam described two verses ago in BC5.44 – i.e. the
sitting whose substance is gold, or the gold whose substance is
sitting – in which case, since it is already right there on the top
floor of the royal palace, where is the hurry to go out hunting for
it in the forest?
As Ānanda tells Nanda
in SN Canto 11:
A fire is not satisfied by dry brushwood, nor the salty ocean by water, / Nor a man of thirst by his desires. Desires, therefore, do not make for satisfaction. // SN11.32 // Without satisfaction, whence peace? Without peace, whence ease? / Without ease, whence joy? Without joy, whence enjoyment? // 11.33 // Therefore if you want enjoyment, let your mind be directed within. / Tranquil and impeccable is enjoyment of the inner self and there is no enjoyment to equal it. // 11.34 // In it, you have no need of musical instruments, or women, or ornaments; / On your own, wherever you are, you can indulge in that enjoyment. // SM11.35 //
In today's verse, then, the desiderative form abhiniścikramiṣā could express the will to transcend as a
manifestation of wisdom. Or abhiniścikramiṣā could express the
desire to flee as a manifestation of a fight or flight response
associated with unduly excited fear reflexes.
In the former case, na
reme might express an admirable decision not to join in with worldly
fun, to avoid involvement with others like a thorn (“he did not
join in the fun”); in the latter case, na reme might express a
pitiable inability to enjoy the moment (“he felt no joy”).
Read in light of this
ambiguity, today's verse sheds further light on Aśvaghoṣa's choice
for the title of the present Canto, abhi-niṣ-kramaṇaḥ – which
expresses both the transcendent act of going out (hence PO: “The
Departure”) and the emotional reaction which is to run away (hence
EHJ: “Flight”).
Last night I watched a
documentary on Dave Allen, whose comedy I used to love in the 1970s,
when I was an avid watcher of Dave Allen At Large. This was before I
went to Japan and, falling deeply into the sin of certainty, strove
to impose rightness on myself.
A keen sense of humour,
I suppose, is a handy weapon in the fight not to lie to oneself.
Hence today's verse, when we dig down for its ironic meaning, might
contain an antidote to the disease of fancying oneself to have become a man of
sincere action (a sādhu). It might be truer to recognize how, after however many years of daily sitting practice, transcendent action and emotional reaction are still liable to
be tangled up with each other in one big muddle.
VOCABULARY
paramaiḥ
(inst. pl. m.): mfn. finest, highest, most excellent, superlative
api:
even
divya-tūrya-kalpaiḥ
(inst. pl. m.): almost the equal of celestial musical instruments
divya:
mfn. divine , heavenly , celestial
tūrya:
n. a musical instrument
kalpa:
m. (ifc.) having the manner or form of anything , similar to ,
resembling , like but with a degree of inferiority , almost
sa
(nom. sg. m.) :he
tu:
but
taiḥ
(inst. pl. m.): by those
na:
not, nor
eva:
(emphatic)
ratim
(acc. sg.): f. pleasure , enjoyment , delight in , fondness for (loc.
or comp. ; ratim with √ āp , labh , upa-labh , adhi-gam , vidkṛ
or bandh and loc. , " to find pleasure in ")
yayau
= 3rd pers. sg. perf. yā: to go; to go towards or against
, go or come to , enter , approach , arrive at , reach
na:
not, nor
harṣam
(acc. sg.): m. bristling , erection (esp. of the hair in a thrill of
rapture or delight) ; joy , pleasure , happiness
paramārtha-sukhāya
(dat. sg.): for the pleasure/happiness of the highest object
paramārtha:
m. the highest or whole truth , spiritual knowledge ; any excellent
or important object [see BC5.19]
sukha:
n. ease , easiness , comfort , prosperity , pleasure , happiness
tasya
(gen. sg. m.): that
sādhoḥ
(gen. sg.): m. a good or virtuous or honest man ; m. a holy man ,
saint , sage , seer ; m. a jeweller; m. a merchant , money-lender ,
usurer ; mfn. straight , right; leading straight to a goal , hitting
the mark , unerring (as an arrow or thunderbolt) ; straightened , not
entangled (as threads) ; good , virtuous , honourable , righteous ;
well-born , noble , of honourable or respectable descent
abhiniścikramiṣā
(nom. sg.): f. desire of going forth from home
niścikramiṣā:
f. (fr. Desid. of niṣ √kram) desire to escape
niṣ-
√ kram: to go out , come forth ; to leave (worldly life) ; (in
dram.) to make an exit
abhi-niṣ-
√ kram: to go out towards ; to leave the house in order to become
an anchorite
yataḥ:
ind. from which, because of which, whence, wherefrom
na:
not
reme
= 3rd pers. sg. perf. ram: to stop , stay , make fast ,
calm , set at rest ; to delight , make happy , enjoy carnally ; to be
glad or pleased , rejoice at , delight in , be fond of (loc. instr.
or inf.) ; to play or sport , dally , have sexual intercourse with
太子心所念 第一遠離樂
雖作衆妙音 亦不在其懷
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