⏑−⏑−¦−⏑⏑¦−⏑−⏑−¦¦⏑−⏑−¦−⏑⏑¦−⏑−⏑− Vaṁśastha
ahaṁ
hi jānann-api rāja-śāsanaṁ balāt-ktaḥ kair-api
daivatair-iva |
⏑−⏑−¦−⏑⏑¦−⏑−⏑−¦¦⏑−⏑−¦−⏑⏑¦−⏑−⏑−
upānayaṁ
tūrṇam-imaṁ turaṅgamaṁ tathānvagacchaṁ
vigata-śramo 'dhvani || 8.44
8.44
For,
knowing full-well the instruction of the king,
As
though I were compelled by gods of some description,
I
swiftly brought this swift horse
And
in that effortless manner followed, on the road.
COMMENT:
Ostensibly
Chandaka is offering an excuse along the lines of “The dog ate my
homework.”
But
below the surface, the hidden meaning of today's verse, as I read it,
carries on where the hidden meaning of yesterday's verse left off.
Understood like that,
the king's instruction (rāja-śāsanam) means the teaching of the
Dharma-king. And the central teaching of the Dharma-king, in my book
for one, is the instruction 自成一片,
“naturally/spontaneously become all of one piece.”
In that light, again,
being compelled by gods
of some kind or other (balāt-kṛtaḥ
kair-api daivataiḥ),
being
swift (tūrṇam),
going
swiftly or moving readily (turaṁgamam), and
being
effortless (vigata-śramaḥ)
are
all likewise (tathā) expressions of naturalness or spontaneity
– i.e. the自of
– i.e. the自of
自
成
一
片
So
if we follow the ostensible meaning, the api of the 1st
pāda means “even though
[I knew the king's instruction, something made me go against
it].”
But
if we follow the real or hidden meaning, the api is emphatic
“[knowing] full well [the
instruction of the Dharma-king, I acted naturally, spontaneously,
effortlessly].”
In
the real or hidden meaning, then, the horse-master did not act as he
did in spite of knowing the king's instruction. He acted as he did
because of knowing the king's instruction.
The
two readings are each perfectly valid, but the intent of each is diametrically
opposed to the other.
The
three professors, never having listened with their own ears to the
fundamental instruction of a king of the Buddha-dharma, could only
suppose that the king in question was King Śuddhodana. Thinking
Aśvaghoṣa to be some kind of humourless Buddhist missionary
hell-bent on converting others to his religion, they missed
his underlying irony and translated api as “though” (EBC),
“although” (EHJ), and “even though” (PO).
Not
only in today's verse, but in general, because Buddhist academics
have failed to realize how subversive the Buddha's teaching really is
to the kind of views and opinions in which Buddhist academics deal,
Buddhist academics have failed to appreciate the very thing – Aśvaghoṣa's brilliant and pervasive use of irony – that might cause a modern
audience to think afresh about what the Buddha's teaching originally
was.
People
think and say that all religions – including “Buddhism” –
come down in their essence to the same thing, which is namely love
and compassion.
But
the Buddha's teaching, in my book, is much closer to the teaching of
Cesar Millan than it is to teaching of religions which preach the
primacy of love of some god or other.
Why?
Because Cesar, taking the dharma of mother nature as his teacher, has
understood that in nature, balance
through what he calls “exercise and discipline” comes first,
followed by the soppy stuff – affection, love, compassion et cetera
– always in that order.
What
the Horse-Whisperer Aśvaghośa, through the horse-master Chandaka,
is describing in today's verse, and what he will continue to describe
in the next few verses, is action in the balanced state of body and
mind, that action having a quality of spontaneity, natural flow,
effortlessness.
This
quality of spontaneity, natural flow, effortlessness is more
generally associated in the popular mind with “Zen” than with the
Buddha's teaching. Whereas Aśvaghoṣa is generally thought of,
thanks to the efforts of Oxbridge scholars like EBC and EHJ, as a
champion of the Buddha's teachings and not of “Zen.”
The
fact as I see it is that the 12th
Zen patriarch Aśvaghoṣa was indeed a true champion of the Buddha's
teaching, but the Buddha's teaching – being totally steeped in all
kinds of irony, from the verbal to the cosmic – is a million miles
from what Buddhist scholars hitherto have thought.
VOCABULARY
aham
(nom. sg. m.): I
hi:
for
jānan
= nom. sg. m. pres. part. jñā: to know
api:
and , also , moreover , besides , assuredly , surely ; api api or
api-ca , as well as ; is often used to express emphasis , in the
sense of even , also , very
rāja-śāsanam
(acc. sg.): n. a royal edict or order
śāsana:
n. punishment , chastisement , correction ; n. government ; n. an
order , command , edict , enactment , decree , direction
balāt
(abl. sg. bala): forcibly , against one's will , without being able
to help it
kṛtaḥ
(nom. sg. m.): mfn. done, made
kaiḥ
(inst. pl. n.): who? which?
api:
even ; may be affixed to an interrogative to make it indefinite ,
e.g. ko 'pi , any one
daivataiḥ
(inst. pl.): n. a god , a deity (often coll. " the deities "):
mfn. relating to the gods or to a partic. deity , divine
iva:
like, as if
upānayam
= 1st pers. sg. imperfect upa- √ nī: to lead near, to
bring
tūrṇam:
ind. quickly , speedily
tūrṇa
(√ turv ; √ tvar) = tūrta: mfn. quick , expeditious ;
√ turv:
(cf. √1. tur) to overpower , excel
√ tvar:
to hurry , make haste , move with speed
imam
(acc. sg. m.): this
turaṅgamam
(nom. sg. m.): 'willing-mover'; 'fast-goer' ; horse
tura:
mfn. quick , willing , prompt ; strong , powerful , excelling ,
rich , abundant
√ tur:
to hurry , press forwards
tathā:
ind. likewise, in that way
anvagaccham
= 1st pers. sg. imperfect anu- √ gam: to go after,
follow
vigata-śramaḥ
(nom. sg. m.): mfn. effortlessly
vigata:
mfn. gone away , departed , disappeared , ceased , gone (often ibc.)
śrama
m. fatigue , weariness , exhaustion ; exertion , labour , toil ,
exercise , effort either bodily or mental , hard work of any kind
adhvani
(loc. sg.): m. a road , way , orbit ; journey
我極畏王法 天神所驅逼
速牽馬與之
速牽馬與之
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