−−⏑−¦−⏑⏑¦−⏑−−¦¦−−⏑−¦−⏑⏑¦−⏑−− Upajāti
(Sālā)
tasmād-bhavāñ-chroṣyati
tattva-mārgaṁ satyāṁ rucau saṁpratipatsyate ca |
⏑−⏑−¦−⏑⏑¦−⏑−−¦¦−−⏑−¦−⏑⏑¦−⏑−−
yathā
tu paśyāmi matis-tathaisā tasyāpi
yāsyaty-avadhūya buddhim || 7.55
7.55
From
him you will hear the method of the tattvas, 'the realities',
And
will follow it as far as you like;
But
since this mind of yours is such
you
will, I am sure, progress on,
After
shaking off the buddhi, or 'faculty of mental perception,'
of
even that sage.
[OR]
On
those grounds you will learn the path to reality,
And
will indulge in it, there being light.
But
since this mind of yours is such
you
will, I am sure, progress on,
After
dropping off the viewpoint of even that state.
COMMENT:
Since
Aśvaghoṣa was writing for an audience who knew Sanskrit, he
reasonably assumed some basic knowledge on our part of such things as
Vedic legends, the grammar of Pānini (see e.g. SN12.9), and the
rudiments of the ancient Indian philosphical system called sāṁkhya.
In
today's verse Aśvaghoṣa makes plays on the words tattva and
buddhi, which are elements of that sāṁkhya system, as Arāḍa will clarify
in SN Canto 12.
In
BC12.18 – 20 Arāḍa will enumerate the tattvas that were
enumerated in the sāṁkhya system, whose name derives from the verb
saṁ-√khyā, to enumerate. The first tattva is prakṛti,
'pre-creation,' out of which evolved other tattvas including
buddhi, the Intellect, or the faculty of mental perception.
Specifically,
in BC12.18, Arāḍa tells the Buddha-to-be that prakṛti
(pre-creation) consists of pañca bhūtāni (the five elements),
ahaṁ-karam (self-consciousness / Ego), buddhim (faculty of mental
perception / Intellect), and a-vyaktam (the unseen).
In
the system as Arāḍa describes it, there are thus eight tattvas (5
elements + 1 self-consciousness + 1 mental perception + 1 the unseen
= 8) which fall under the heading of prakṛti.
In
BC12.19, Arāḍa lists other tattvas under the heading of vikāra
(transformation). These tattvas comprise viṣayān (sense objects),
indriyāni (sense organs), pāṇi-pādam (hands and feet), vādam
(the mouth), and pāy'-ūpastham (the anus and reproductive organs).
The
early sāṁkhya system is said to have had eight tattvas under the
heading of prakṛti, plus sixteen tattvas under the heading of
vikāra – though Arāḍa himself neither gives the tattvas a
number, nor even uses the term tattva.
What
Arāḍa does do in BC Canto 12, however, is list the tattvas as
above under the headings of prakṛti and vikāra. For that reason, I
agree with EHJ who asserted in a footnote to his translation of
today's verse that “the reference must surely be to the twenty-five
Sāṁkhya tattvas, enumerated 12.18-20.” Ostensibly, at least, the
ascetic in today's verse is referring to the sāṁkhya system with its enumeration of tattvas.
Ostensibly,
an ascetic who looks as dubious as a skull-carrying Buddhist tantric yogin, is
referring to an ancient Indian philosophical system which, from where
we sit, is itself of dubious validity.
In
line with this ostensible meaning, EHJ translated tattva-mārgam as
“the path of the
tattvas,” and PO
followed suit with “the
path of the ultimate principles.”
Both
EHJ and PO, however, noted that tattva-mārgam could simply mean “the
path to truth,” which is how EBC translated it in the first place.
In today's verse as I
read it, two readings are possible not only of tattva-mārgam but of
the whole of the verse – depending ultimately on how we read the
mind of the ascetic who is speaking. The question, again, is: is he
one of us, or is he one of them? Is he the real deal, or is he not
the real deal? Is he a real dragon pointing the way to the truth of
what is, or is he a fake elephant who only knows about
sāṁkhya tattvas?
If we hear a real
dragon speaking, and take tattva-mārgam as “the path to truth”
or “the path to reality,” then, following on from yesterday's
verse, tasmād which ostensibly means “from him” (i.e. from
Arāḍa) really means “on those grounds” (i.e. on the grounds
established yesterday, that sitting/knowing trumps living/teaching,
which trumps mountains, which trump mind).
And on those grounds
satyāṁ rucau saṁpratipatsyate means something other than what on
the surface it seems to mean. Literally satyāṁ rucau
saṁpratipatsyate means “you will go together, there being ruci,”
and ostensibly ruci means “liking” so that a fake elephant is
saying “you will follow [that philosophical method], insofar as it
pleases you”; hence:
“ if thou hast a
desire for it, thou wilt embrace it” [EBC];
“if it pleases
you, you will follow it” [EHJ]; “
if that pleases you,
you may follow it” [PO].
But originally, before it means "liking" or "being pleased," ruci means “light” or “splendour.” So below the surface, is it possible that a real dragon
might be alluding to a state of being bathed in the brightness of one
bright pearl? Notwithstanding appearances, might a real dragon –
though he looks on the surface like a fake non-Buddhist elephant
trying to imitate a true Buddhist dragon – actually be behaving as a real dragon?
On those grounds,
again, in the 4th pāda tasyāpy-avadhūya buddhim might mean more than shaking off the philosophical concept of that sage, Arāḍa: it might mean dropping off the viewpoint even of that state of being bathed in brightness.
Previously I jumped to
the conclusion, from the viewpoint that I assume to be true of one
who shaves his head and sits, that the ascetic now occupying centre
stage cannot be the real deal. But on further investigation I am not
so sure. Maybe I have been guilty of doubting the true dragon.
Did Aśvaghoṣa want
us to judge the bark-clothed ascetic as good or as bad, as true or as
fake?
We can waste a lot of
time worrying about whether or not self and others are true – time
that would be better spent knowing Aśvaghoṣa's real intention.
What, in the final
analysis, was Aśvaghoṣa's intention?
Not twenty-five
tattvas, that is for damn sure, or any number of sāṁkhya
tattvas.
Again, in conclusion, I
defer to Joshu's answer –
VOCABULARY
tasmāt
(abl. sg. m.): from him ; ind. from that
bhavān
(nom. sg.): you, the gentlemen present
śroṣyati
= 3nd pers. sg. future śru: to hear, listen, learn
tattva-mārgam
(acc. sg.): the path of that-ness, the path of the truth ; the
way/method of the true principles
tattva:
n. true or real state , truth , reality ; (in phil.) a true principle
(in sāṁkhya phil. 25 in number , viz. a-vyakta , buddhi ,
ahaṁ-kāra , the 5 tan-mātras , the 5 mahā-bhūtas , the 11
organs including manas , and , lastly , puruṣa) ; the number 25 ;
an element or elementary property ; the essence or substance of
anything ; the being that
sāṁkhya:
mfn. (fr. saṁ-khyā, to enumerate) numeral , relating to number; n.
N. of one of the three great divisions of Hindu philosophy (ascribed
to the sage kapila [q.v.] , and so called either from "
discriminating " , in general , or , more probably , from "
reckoning up " or " enumerating " twenty-five tattvas
[» tattva] or true entities [twenty-three of which are evolved out
of prakṛti " the primordial Essence " or "
first-Producer "] , viz. buddhi , ahaṁkāra , the five
tan-mātras , the five mahā-bhūtas and manas ; the twenty-fifth
being puruṣa or Spirit [sometimes called Soul] which is neither a
Producer nor Production [see vikāra] , but wholly distinct from the
twenty-four other tattvas , and is multitudinous , each separate
puruṣa by its union with prakṛti causing a separate creation out
of prakṛti , the object of the philosophy being to effect the final
liberation of the puruṣa or Spirit from the fetters caused by that
creation ; the yoga [q.v.] branch of the sāṁkhya recognizes a
Supreme Spirit dominating each separate puruṣa ; the tantras
identify prakṛti with the wives of the gods , esp. with the wife of
śiva ; the oldest systematic exposition of the sāṁkhya seems to
have been by an author called pañca-śikha [the germ , however ,
being found in the ṣaṣṭi-tantra , of which only scanty
fragments are extant] ; the original sūtras were superseded by the
sāṁkhya-kārikā of īśvara-kṛṣṇa , the oldest manual on
the sāṁkhya system that has come down to us and probably written
in the 5th century A.D. , while the sāṁkhya-sūtras or
śiva-pravacana and tattva-samāsa , ascribed to the sage kapila ,
are now thought to belong to as late a date as the 14th or 15th
century or perhaps a little later)
saṁ-
√ khyā: to reckon or count up , sum up , enumerate , calculate
satyām
= loc. sg. f. pres. part. sat: to be
rucau
(loc. sg.): f. light , lustre , splendour , beauty ; liking , taste
, relish , pleasure , appetite , zest
saṁpratipatsyate
= 3rd pers. sg. future: sam-prati- √ pad : to go towards
together , go near to , approach , arrive at (acc.) ; to addict one's
self to , indulge in (acc.) ; to attain to , obtain , recover ; to
be fully agreed about , agree upon , assent to (acc. or loc.)
ca:
and
yathā:
ind. in which manner ; as , because , since (yathā-tathā , "
as " - " therefore ")
tu:
but
paśyāmi
= 1st pers. sg. paś: to see ; to foresee (paśyāmi , "
l am convinced " often employed parenthetically or
interjectionally)
matiḥ
(nom. sg.): f. thought , design , intention , resolution ,
determination , inclination , wish , desire ; mind
tava
[old Nepalese manuscript/EBC] (gen. sg.): of yours
tathā
[EHJ]: ind. (correlative of yathā) like that, in such a manner ;
therefore
esā
(nom. sg. f.): this
tasya
(gen. sg.): his
api:
even
yāsyati
= 3rd pers. sg. future yā: to go , proceed , move , walk
, set out , march , advance , travel ,
avadhūya
= abs. ava- √ dhū: to shake off or out or down ; to shake off (as
enemies or evil spirits or anything disagreeable) , frighten away
buddhim
(acc. sg.): f. the power of forming and retaining conceptions and
general notions , intelligence , reason , intellect , mind ,
discernment , judgement; comprehension , apprehension ,
understanding ; (in sāṁkhya phil.) Intellect (= adhy-avasāya ,
the intellectual faculty or faculty of mental perception , the second
of the 25 tattvas ; cf. buddhi-tattva) ; an opinion , view , notion ,
idea , conjecture
buddhi-tattva:
n. the intellectual faculty or principle (the 2nd of the 8 prakṛtayaḥ
or " producers " in the sāṁkhya , coming next to and
proceeding from mūla-prakṛti or a-vyakta)
唯彼得究竟 第一増勝眼
汝當往詣彼 得聞眞實道
汝當往詣彼 得聞眞實道
能使心悦者 必當行其法
我觀汝志樂 恐亦非所安
當復捨彼遊 更求餘多聞
我觀汝志樂 恐亦非所安
當復捨彼遊 更求餘多聞
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