BUDDHACARITA 12.57: Caution against Abhimāna, 増上慢, Conceit

−⏑−−¦⏑−−−¦¦−⏑−⏑¦⏑−⏑−

tatra ke-cid vyavasyanti mokṣa ity abhimāninaḥ |

⏑⏑−⏑¦⏑−−−¦¦−−−−¦⏑−⏑−

sukha-duḥkha-parityāgād avyāpārāc ca cetasaḥ || 12.57

12.57

Some settle for that stage

Thinking it, in their conceit, to be liberation –

Because of the giving up of ease and suffering

And because of the inactivity of the mind.

COMMENT:

In today's verse also, as I read it, Arāḍa is still on the right track. No gap is discernible yet between Arāḍa's Zen teaching and the Buddha's Zen teaching. Both teachings caution us against conceitedly mistaking the fourth dhyāna for ultimate liberation.

In Nāgārjuna's parable of the monk who mistook the fourth dhyāna, as Dogen quotes the story in Shobogenzo chap. 90 Shizen-biku, it is conceit that causes the monk who mistook the fourth dhyāna vainly to live alone in solitude, instead of seeking to make further progress (in Arāḍa's words viśeṣāya, towards higher distinction) by visiting the Buddha and receiving instruction. It is also conceit that causes the monk who mistook the fourth dhyāna – on facing rebirth in an unexpectedly lowly realm – to blame the Buddha for having deceived him.

Despite a lifetime of practising sitting-meditation and keeping the precepts, the monk who mistook the fourth dhyāna thus ends up in avīci hell, much to the surprise of his fellow monks. “Everything” the Buddha tells them, “stems from his conceit.”

In the story as Dogen quotes it, translated into Chinese, the Buddha tells the monks

彼皆因増上慢

Jap: kare mina zo-jo-man ni yoru.

“Everything stems from his conceit.”

増上慢 (ZO-JO-MAN) are the Chinese characters which exactly represent the Sanskrit word abhimāna, conceit, the adjectival form of which Arāḍa uses in the 2nd pāda of today's verse.

増上 represents the prefix abhi-, over; and 慢 represents māna, conceit.

The second half of today's verse highlights the fact that transcendence of ease and suffering, and quietness of the mind, do not necessarily, in themselves, represent the ultimate step – even in Arāḍa's teaching. Those virtues of transcendence and quietness are characteristics of the fourth dhyāna. But, as illustrated by the example of the monk in Upagupta's order who mistook the fourth dhyāna, a monk who has attained only the fourth dhyāna (but not yet attained the fourth effect) is liable to lose his transcendence and quietness of mind when, for example, attacked by robbers or attracted by a beautiful woman. Whereas for an arhat who has conclusively realized the worthy state, I am guessing, the mind is not only unperturbed but imperturbable. Conclusive realization of the worthy state, I am guessing, involves what Nāgārjuna describes as the whole edifice of suffering being well and truly demolished:

saṁsāra-mūlaṁ saṁskārān avidvān saṁskaroty ataḥ |

avidvān kārakas tasmān na vidvāṁs tattva-darśanāt ||MMK26.10||

The doings which are the root of saṁsāra

Thus does the ignorant one do.

The ignorant one therefore is the doer;

The wise one is not, because of the act of reality making itself known.

avidyāyāṁ niruddhāyāṁ saṁskārāṇām asaṁbhavaḥ |

avidyāyā nirodhas tu jñānasyāsyaiva bhāvanāt ||MMK26.11||

In the ceasing of ignorance,

There is the non-coming-into-being of doings.

The cessation of ignorance, however,

Is because of the bringing-into-being of just this act of knowing.

tasya tasya nirodhena tat-tan nābhipravartate |

duḥkha-skandhaḥ kevalo 'yam evaṁ samyaṅ nirudhyate ||MMK26.12

By the destruction of each,

Each is discontinued.

This whole edifice of suffering

Is thus well and truly demolished.

Today's verse, then, though it is spoken by the non-Buddhist Arāḍa, contains an important principle for us to reflect on as Zen practitioners who are hungry for the Buddha's teaching.

The fourth dhyāna is a vital step on the way to demolishing the whole edifice of suffering. But if we mistake the transcendence of ease and suffering in the fourth dhyāna for the fourth effect which is the demolition of the whole edifice of suffering, that is a mistake born of conceit.

VOCABULARY

tatra: ind. there

ke-cid (nom. pl. m.): some

vyavasyanti = 3^rd pers. pl. vy-ava- √ so: to settle down or dwell separately ; to differ (in opinion) , contest , quarrel ; to separate, divide ; to determine , resolve , decide , be willing to (acc. dat. , artham ifc. , or inf.) ; to settle , ascertain , be convinced or persuaded of , take for (acc.) ; to reflect, consider

mokṣaḥ (nom. sg.): m. liberation, release

iti: “....,” thus

abhimāninaḥ (nom. pl. m.): mfn. thinking of one's self , proud , self-conceited; (ifc.) imagining one's self to be or to possess , laying claim to , arrogating to one's self

abhimāna: m. high opinion of one's self , self-conceit , pride , haughtiness; conception (especially an erroneous one regarding one's self)

sukha-duḥkha-parityāgāt (abl. sg.): because of the transcendence of ease and hardship

parityāga: m. ) the act of leaving , abandoning , deserting , quitting , giving up , neglecting , renouncing ; separation from

a-vyāpārāt (abl. sg.): m. cessation from work

vy-āpāra: m. (ifc. f(ā).) occupation , employment , business , profession , function; doing , performance , action , operation , transaction , exertion , concern

ca: and

cetasaḥ (gen. sg.): n. mind, consciousness

苦樂已倶息 或生解脱想 

BUDDHACARITA 12.56: 第四禪, The Fourth Dhyāna, By the Book

−⏑−⏑¦⏑−−−¦¦−⏑−−¦⏑−⏑−

tādśaṁ sukham āsādya yo na rajyaty upekṣakaḥ |

⏑−−−¦⏑−−−¦¦⏑⏑−⏑¦⏑−⏑−

caturthaṁ dhyānam āpnoti sukha-duḥkha-vivarjitam || 12.56

12.56

Only the one who, sitting in the presence of such ease,

Is not enamoured of it but is indifferent,

Reaches the fourth dhyāna

Beyond ease and suffering.

COMMENT:

The passage from Mahāsatipaṭṭhānasuttaṁ (DN 22) quoted in the comments on BC12.49, 12.52, and 12.54, in connection with the first and second and third dhyānas, continues as follows:

Sukhassa ca pahānā, dukkhassa ca pahānā,
Having abandoned ease, abandoned suffering,

pubbeva somanassadomanassānaṁ atthaṅgamā,
and with the previous passing away of mental happiness and sorrow,

adukkham-asukhaṁ, upekkhāsatipārisuddhiṁ, 
[he dwells in the stage] beyond ease, beyond hardship,

with complete purity of mindfulness owing to equanimity –

catutthaṁ jhānaṁ upasampajja viharati.
he dwells having attained the fourth stage of meditation.

This verse completes the Buddha's elucidation in the Mahāsatipaṭṭhānasuttaṁ of sammāsamādhi, balanced stillness, or true balance and coordination. 
Hence the Buddha adds here:

Ayaṁ vuccati, bhikkhave, sammāsamādhi. 
This, monks, is called sammāsamādhi.

And sammāsamādhi, in turn, is the eighth branch of the noble eightfold path. 
Hence the Buddha adds further:

Idaṁ vuccati, bhikkhave, Dukkhanirodhagāminī paṭipadā Ariyasaccaṁ.
This, monks, is called the Noble Truth of the Practice Leading to the Cessation of Suffering.

The corresponding verses in SN Canto 17 are SN17.52-55.

dhyāne 'pi tatrātha dadarśa doṣaṃ mene paraṃ śāntam aniñjam eva /

Then, even in that stage of meditation, he found a fault:

he saw it as better to be quiet, not excited,

ābhogato 'pīñjayati sma tasya cittaṃ pravṛttaṃ sukham ity asram // SN17.52

Whereas his mind was fluctuating tirelessly because of ease circulating.

yatreñjitaṃ spanditam asti tatra yatrāsti ca spanditam asti duḥkham /

In excitement there is interference,

and where there is interference there is suffering,

yasmād atas tat-sukham iñjakatvāt praśānti-kāmā yatayas tyajanti // 17.53

Which is why, insofar as ease is excitatory,

devotees who are desirous of quiet give up that ease.

atha prahāṇāt sukha-duḥkhayoś ca mano-vikārasya ca pūrvam eva /

Then, having already transcended ease and suffering, and emotional reactivity,

dadhyāv upekṣā-smṛtimad viśuddhaṃ dhyānaṃ tathāduḥkha-sukhaṃ caturtham // 17.54

He realised the lucidity in which there is equanimity and full awareness:

thus, beyond suffering and ease, is the fourth stage of meditation.

yasmāt tu tasmin na sukhaṃ na duḥkhaṃ jñānaṃ ca tatrāsti tad-artha-cāri /

Since in this there is neither ease nor suffering,

and the act of knowing abides here, being its own object,

tasmād upekṣā-smṛti-pāriśuddhir nirucyate dhyāna-vidhau caturthe // SN17.55

Therefore utter lucidity through equanimity and awareness

is specified in the protocol for the fourth dhyāna.

My tentative conclusion, then, about the four dhyānas, is that the four dhyānas are what Charles Sherrington called convenient fictions. There is no such thing as four dhyānas. But there is such a thing as a right direction.

Going in the right direction may sometimes mean going by the book, as one who knows the teaching (śāstra-vid). And going in the right direction may sometimes mean throwing away the book and acting, as a man or woman of action (kṛtin).

In reality, there are no false dichotomies, but there is such a thing as a right direction. And Arāḍa's teaching of the four dhyānas, as far as it goes, at least up to this point, at least as I read it, is going in the right direction.

Arāda's teaching will shortly veer off in a wrong direction. Nevertheless, I think Aśvaghoṣa wanted us to recognize that these first eleven verses of Arāḍa's second speech contain an excellent and helpful summary of what Zen practice is all about. The foundation is acting with integrity. From that starting point, the challenge is to keep going in the right direction -- KBO, as Winston Churchill called it --  not getting carried away in the direction of religious bliss in the company of gods, and not even getting stuck in the fourth dhyāna, wrongly thinking it to be the ultimate step.

VOCABULARY

tādṛśam (acc. sg. n.): mfn. such, such a one

sukham (acc. sg.): n. ease

āsādya = abs. ā- √ sad: to sit, sit near ; to preside over ; to go to , go towards , approach ; to meet with , reach , find

yaḥ (nom. sg. m.): [the one] who

na: not

rajyati = 3^rd pers. sg. rañj: to be dyed or coloured , to redden , grow red , glow ; to be affected or moved , be excited or glad , be charmed or delighted by (instr.) , be attracted by or enamoured of , fall in love with (loc.

upekṣakaḥ (nom. sg. m.): mfn. overlooking , disregarding , indifferent

upekṣā: f. overlooking , disregard , negligence , indifference , contempt , abandonment

caturthaṁ dhyānam (acc. sg n.): the fourth stage of meditation

āpnoti = 3^rd pers. sg. ap: to reach , overtake , meet with , fall upon; to obtain , gain , take possession of ; to enter , pervade , occupy

sukha-duḥkha-vivarjitam (acc. sg. n.): in which ease and hardship are absent, from which ease and hardship are excluded; beyond the reach of ease and hardship

vivarjita: mfn. avoided , left , abandoned by , destitute or deprived of , free or exempt from (instr. or comp.) ; (ifc.) that from which anything is excluded , excepting , excluding

捨彼意樂者 逮得第四禪

BUDDHACARITA 12.55: More Talk of Gods

−⏑−−¦⏑−−−¦¦⏑⏑−−¦⏑−⏑−

yas-tu tasmin sukhe magno na viśeṣāya yatnavān |

⏑⏑−−¦⏑−−−¦¦⏑−−−¦⏑−⏑−

śubha-ktsnaiḥ sa sāmānyaṁ sukhaṁ prāpnoti daivataiḥ || 12.55

12.55

He who, immersed in this ease,

Has no will to higher distinction,

Experiences ease as one with Śubha-kṛtsna deities,

The Gods of Resplendent Wholeness.

COMMENT:

EHJ notes that the word sāmānyaṁ (in common with, as one with) is possibly significant, as the Śubhakṛtsna deities are all alike in body and mentality, according to Vasubandhu's Abhidharma-kośa (II.20).

Arāḍa's ironic reference to the Gods of Resplendent Wholeness is mirrored in the description of the four dhyānas which Aśvaghoṣa narrates in his own voice in SN17.51:

yasmāt paraṃ tatra sukhaṃ sukhebhyas-tataḥ paraṃ nāsti sukha-pravṛttiḥ /

Since the ease here is beyond any ease, 
and there is no progression of ease beyond it,

tasmād babhāṣe śubha-kṛtsna-bhūmiṁ parāpara-jñaḥ parameti maitryā // SN17.51

Therefore, as a knower of higher and lower,

he realised it as a condition of resplendent wholeness

which he deemed – in a friendly way – to be superlative.

Arāḍa is thus emerging as a Zen master with an ironic sense of humour. Not only that, he encourages the bodhisattva to make effort in the direction of higher distinction -- in the direction of the fourth dhyāna and in the direction of progress beyond the fourth dhyāna. The bodhisattva, however, is not about to recognize Arāḍa as a fully awakened Sambuddha.   

When it comes to describing the four dhyānas, it seems, there is not a hair's breadth between the teaching of Arāḍa and the teaching of Zen patriarchs in India who were buddhas in the line of Śākyamuni Buddha -- Zen patriarchs like Aśvaghoṣa (12), Nāgārjuna (14), Vasubandhu (21), and Bodhidharma (28). 

So this Canto can be read as an exercise in spotting where the crack begins to appear, such that the bodhisattva is able to intuit, "No. It is not that." 

VOCABULARY

yaḥ (nom. sg. m.): [he] who

tu: but

tasmin (loc. sg. n.): that

sukhe (loc. sg.): n. ease

magnaḥ (nom. sg. m.): mfn. sunk , plunged , immersed in (loc. or comp.)

majj: to sink (into) , (acc. or loc.) , go down , go to hell , perish , become ruined RV. &c ; to sink (in water) , dive , plunge or throw one's self into (loc.)

na: not

viśeṣāya (dat. sg.): m. distinction, superiority

yatnavān (nom. sg. m.): mfn. possessing energy

yatna: m. activity of will , volition , aspiring after ; effort , exertion , energy , zeal , trouble , pains , care , endeavour after (loc. or comp.)

śubha-kṛtsnaiḥ (inst. pl.): m. pl. (with Buddhists) N. of a class of gods

śubha: mfn. splendid , bright , beautiful , handsome ; pleasant , agreeable ; auspicious , fortunate , prosperous ; good (in moral sense) , righteous , virtuous , honest ; pure (as an action)

kṛtsna: mfn. all , whole , entire

saḥ (nom. sg. m.): he

sāmānyam: ind. after the same manner as , like

sukham (acc. sg.): n. ease

prāpnoti = 3^rd pers. sg. pra- √āp: to attain to ; reach , arrive at , meet with , find; to obtain

daivataiḥ (inst. pl.): mfn. (fr. devatā) relating to the gods or to a partic. deity , divine ;

n. a god , a deity (often coll. " the deities "

安樂不求勝 生於遍淨天

BUDDHACARITA 12.54: The Third Dhyāna, By the Book

−−−⏑¦⏑−−−¦¦⏑−⏑⏑¦⏑−⏑−

yas tu prīti-sukhāt tasmād vivecayati mānasam |

⏑−−⏑¦⏑−−−¦¦⏑−−⏑¦⏑−⏑−

ttīyaṁ labhate dhyānaṁ sukhaṁ prīti-vivarjitam || 12.54

12.54

The one, in contrast, who separates his mind

From this joy and ease,

Obtains the third dhyāna –

Which has the ease without the joy.

COMMENT:

The passage from Mahāsatipaṭṭhānasuttaṁ (DN 22) quoted in the comments on BC12.49 and 12.52, in connection with the first and second dhyānas, continues as follows:

Pītiyā ca virāgā upekkhako ca viharati,
With the fading away of joy he dwells equanimous,

sato ca sampajāno, sukhañ-ca kāyena paṭisaṁvedeti,
mindful, fully aware, experiencing ease [AB: happiness] through the body,

yan-taṁ Ariyā ācikkhanti: “Upekkhako satimā sukhavihārī” ti,
about which the Noble Ones declare: “He dwells at ease [AB: pleasantly], mindful, and equanimous,”

tatiyaṁ jhānaṁ upasampajja viharati. 
he dwells having attained the third dhyāna [AB: absorption].

The corresponding verses in SN Canto 17 are SN17.48-50:

tad-dhyānam āgamya ca citta-maunaṃ lebhe parāṃ prītim alabdha-pūrvām /

And on reaching that stage, in which the mind is silent,

he experienced an intense joy that he had never experienced before.

prītau tu tatrāpi sa doṣa-darśī yathā vitarkeṣv abhavat tathaiva //SN17.48 

But here too he found a fault, in joy, just as he had in thoughts.

prītiḥ parā vastuni yatra yasya viparyayāt tasya hi tatra duḥkham /

For when a man finds intense joy in anything,

paradoxically, suffering for him is right there.

prītāv ataḥ prekṣya sa tatra doṣān prīti-kṣaye yogam upāruroha // 17.49 

Hence, seeing the faults there in joy, 

he kept going up, into practice that goes beyond joy.

prīter virāgāt sukham ārya-juṣṭaṃ kāyena vindann atha saṃprajānan /

And so experiencing the ease enjoyed by the noble ones, 

from non-attachment to joy,

knowing it totally, with his body,

upekṣakaḥ sa smṛti-mān vyahārṣid dhyānaṃ tṛtīyaṃ pratilabhya dhīraḥ // 17.50 

He remained indifferent, fully aware,

and, having realised the third dhyāna, steady.

Buddhism, according to Aśvaghoṣa's presentation as Patrick Olivelle understands it, is the crowning and consummation of the Brahmanical religion.

Japanese Zen Buddhism, again, others have asserted, represents the flowering of the Buddhism of India.

But Aśvaghoṣa as I hear him is indicating something which totally contradicts views like these.

The Buddha's teaching, whose direction is towards the abandoning of all -isms, was grounded in Zen practice.

So the facts as Aśvaghoṣa reported them, and as some of us are investigating them, from the inside, are totally different from the suppositions of scholars and commentators whose views are formed on the outside.

It is not that Japanese Zen is the flowering of an Indian root. The truth, if we trust Aśvaghoṣa as a reliable source, and I do, is rather that the Buddha's teaching was originally rooted in Zen practice. 

The length of the present Canto, which is longer than any other extant Canto, may be a reflection of how important it is for us to get this point. The teaching of the four dhyānas, as a Zen patriarch like Aśvaghoṣa described it in SN Canto 17, was originally taught to the bodhisattva Gautama by the non-Buddhist Arāḍa. 

If the Buddha's teaching was the crowning and consummation of anything, then, it was the crowning and consummation of a tradition of Zen practice that pre-dated the Buddha. 

VOCABULARY

yaḥ (nom. sg. m.): [he] who

tu: but

prīti-sukhāt (abl. sg.): joy and ease; joyful ease

tasmāt (abl. sg.): from that

vivecayati = 3^rd pers. sg. causative vi- √ vic: to separate

mānasam (acc. sg.): n. the mental powers , mind , spirit , heart , soul

tṛtīyam (acc. sg. n.): the third

labhate = 3^rd pers. sg. labh: to obtain, gain, win

dhyānam (acc. sg.): n. Zen, stage of meditation

sukham (acc. sg. n.): mfn. (said to be fr. 5. su + 3. kha , and to mean originally " having a good axle-hole " ; possibly a Prakrit form of su-stha q.v. ; cf. duḥkha) running swiftly or easily (only applied to cars or chariots ; pleasant, comfortable, happy

prīti-vivarjitam (acc. sg. n.): without the joy

方便離喜樂 増修第三禪

BUDDHACARITA 12.53: Speaking of Gods . . .

⏑⏑−−¦⏑−−−¦¦−⏑−−¦⏑−⏑−

hriyamāṇas-tayā prītyā yo viśeṣaṁ na paśyati |

−−−⏑¦⏑−−−¦¦−−−−¦⏑−⏑−

sthānaṁ bhāsvaram-āpnoti deveṣv-ābhāsureṣu saḥ || 12.53

12.53

If, carried away by this joy,

He sees no higher distinction,

He occupies a resplendent station

Among the Shining Gods.

COMMENT:

Reviewing Arāḍa's present speech, as I was doing on the ferry, in the context of memorizing the current series of verses from BC12.46, I reflected on the number of verbs from the root √āp, to reach, obtain, realize. Verses BC12.49, BC12.51, BC12.52 each have avāpnoti. In addition, BC12.50 has prāpya (absolutive from pra-√āp), and today's verse has āpnoti.

Especially the contrast between the youngster in BC12.51 and the wise one in BC12.52 seems to highlight that the same verb, ava-√āp, meaning to reach or to arrive or to gain a destination, can represent either a desirable step in the right direction or else a sticking point.

In today's verse, as I read it, the sense of getting stuck is emphasized by sthānam, which originally is an -na neuter action noun – “the act of standing” – but in this context means a station, a state of being stationary, or a place of fixity.

I come back again to FM Alexander's admonition: "You all fix. It's your worst evil!" 

I remember also the observation of Alexander's niece about religion. Religion, Marjory said, was mainly fixing. 

Apropos of which, again while I was on the ferry, my eyes alighted on the opening paragraph of Patrick Olivelle's introduction to his translation of Buddhacarita, in which he writes:

In addition to being an erudite theologian, Ashva-ghosha was a gifted poet. In “Life of the Buddha” (Buddhacarita), he melds the theological and the poetic into an epic poem that presents Buddhism as the crowning and consummation of the Brahmanical religion.

Never in the field of Buddhist studies has a more misleading or less helpful sentence been written.

Have we not learned, in the 100 years since Britain marched optimistically into the First World War, believing that God was on our side, that religion is nothing to be consummated. It might be something to be abandoned. 

“Erudite theologian”?

"The crowning and consummation of the Brahmanical religion"?

Not if you ask me. 

In brahma-practice as Arāḍa is describing it, there is progress through four dhyānas, four Zens. The description of the four Zens by Zen Master Arāḍā seems to be the same as, or at least entirely consistent with, the description of the four Zens by Zen Master Aṣvgahoṣa in SN Canto 17. (The divergence emerges beyond the level of the fourth dhyāna.) And in this description of the four dhyānas, religious enjoyment of association with gods emerges as an option at the level of the 2nd dhyāṇa (deveṣv-ābhāsuraiḥ, among the Shining Gods), then again at the level of the 3rd dhyāna (śubha-kṛtsnair daivataiḥ, with the All-Good Gods). But such association is a stage at which the immature person gets stuck, and consequently fails to develop. The wise one, having reached either of those stages, moves on to the next dhyāna, until reaching the fourth dhyāṇa, which then becomes a base for further development. 

Zen practice, then, even as it is being described by the Zen Master Arāḍa as part of brahma-practice, is coming across as being quite irreligious. Enjoyment of association with deities is not negated as a possibility. But neither is it described as a religious path to be crowned and consummated. It is rather identified as an obstacle to human development. 

VOCABULARY

hriyamāṇaḥ (nom. sg. m. pres. part. passive hṛ): being carried away

tayā (inst. sg. f.): by that

prītyā (inst. sg.): f. joy

yaḥ (nom. sg. m.): [he] who

viśeṣam (acc. sg.): m. distinction; characteristic difference , peculiar mark , special property , speciality , peculiarity ; distinction , peculiar merit , excellence , superiority

na: not

paśyati = 3^rd pers. sg. paś: to see

sthānam (acc. sg.): n. the act of standing , standing firmly , being fixed or stationary ; state, station

bhāsvaram (acc. sg. n.): mfn. shining , brilliant , bright , resplendent

āpnoti = 3^rd pers. sg. ap: to reach , overtake , meet with , fall upon; to obtain , gain , take possession of ; to enter , pervade , occupy

deveṣu (loc. pl.): m. gods

ābhāsureṣu (loc. pl. m.): mfn. shining , bright ; m. N. of a class of deities

saḥ (nom. sg. m.): he

味著彼喜樂 得生光音天 

BUDDHACARITA 12.52: The Second Dhyāna, By the Book

−−−−¦⏑−−−¦¦⏑−−−¦⏑−⏑−

jñātvā vidvān vitarkāṁs-tu manaḥ-saṁkṣobha-kārakān |

−⏑−⏑¦⏑−−−¦¦−−−⏑¦⏑−⏑−

tad-viyuktam-avāpnoti dhyānaṁ prīti-sukhānvitam || 12.52

12.52

The wise one, in contrast, knowing thoughts

To cause agitation of the mind,

Arrives at a stage divorced from that,

A dhyāna containing its own joy and ease.

COMMENT:
The passage quoted in the comment on BC12.49, in connection with the first dhyāna, from Mahāsatipaṭṭhānasuttaṁ (DN 22), The Long Discourse about the Ways of Attending to Mindfulness, continues as follows: 

Vitakkavicārānaṁ vūpasamā 

With the calming down of thinking and reflection,

ajjhattaṁ sampasādanaṁ, cetaso ekodibhāvaṁ,
[he realizes the stage of] internal clarity, and one-pointedness of mind,

avitakkaṁ, avicāraṁ, samādhijaṁ pītisukhaṁ, 
which is without thinking, without reflection, 
having the joy and ease born of balanced stillness --

dutiyaṁ jhānaṁ upasampajja viharati.
he dwells having attained the second dhyāna.

(This is Ānandajoti Bhikkhu's text and translation, somewhat revised for conformity.)

Hence, going by the book, the second dhyāna is always characterized by 

pītisukhaṁ (DN 22), joy and ease 

prīti-sukha (SN17.47), joy and ease 

prīti-sukha (BC12.52), joy and ease

Other translations of prīti-sukha are available, but for the present I am staying with joy and ease. 

Together with the joy and ease, the second dhyāna is characterized by a unitary awareness, or one-pointedness of the mind, in which disturbing thoughts have been left behind. Hence, 

ajjhattaṁ sampasādanaṁ, cetaso ekodibhāvaṁ (DN 22),  internal clarity, and one-pointedness of mind 

ekāgra-bhāvān manasaḥ prasannam (SN17.47), the mind tranquil from one-pointedness

In today's verse, the one-pointedness is understood, not specified, but the common gist is evident: that the thoughts which are allowed to makes waves in the first dhyāna are not allowed to make waves in the second dhyāna. Hence, going back to a slightly reworked version of the relevant verses in SN Canto 17 (taking vitarka as thought and vicāra as reflection): 

kāmair viviktaṃ malinaiś ca dharmair vitarkavac cāpi vicāravac ca /
Secluded from desires and tainted things, containing thoughts and reflections,
viveka-jaṃ prīti-sukhopapannaṃ dhyānaṃ tataḥ sa prathamaṃ prapede //SN17.42 
Born of seclusion and possessed of joy and ease, 

is the first stage of meditation, which he then entered.

kāmāgni-dāhena sa vipramukto hlādaṃ paraṃ dhyāna-sukhād avāpa /
Released from the burning of the bonfire of desires, 

he derived great gladness from ease in the act of meditating --
sukhaṃ vigāhyāpsv iva gharma-khinnaḥ prāpyeva cārthaṁ vipulaṃ daridraḥ //17.43 
Ease like a heat-exhausted man diving into water. 

Or like a pauper coming into great wealth.

tatrāpi tad-dharma-gatān vitarkān guṇāguṇe ca prasṛtān vicārān /
Even in that, he realised, thoughts about aforesaid things, 

and reflections on what is or is not good,
buddhvā manaḥ-kṣobha-karān aśāntāṃs tad-viprayogāya matiṃ cakāra // 17.44 
Are something not quieted, causing disturbance in the mind, 

and so he decided to cut them out.

kṣobhaṃ prakurvanti yathormayo hi dhīra-prasannāmbu-vahasya sindhoḥ /
For, just as waves produce disturbance 
in a river bearing a steady flow of tranquil water,

ekāgra-bhūtasya tathormi-bhūtāś cittāmbhasaḥ kṣobha-karā vitarkāḥ // 17.45 
So thoughts, like waves, disturb the water of the one-pointed mind.

khinnasya suptasya ca nirvṛtasya bādhaṃ yathā saṃjanayanti śabdāḥ /
And just as noises are a source of bother to one who is weary, and fallen fast asleep,
adyātmam-aikāgryam upāgatasya bhavanti bādhāya tathā vitarkāḥ // 17.46 
So do thoughts become bothersome 

to one indulging in the original state of unitary awareness.

athāvitarkaṃ kramaśo 'vicāram-ekāgra-bhāvān manasaḥ prasannam /
And so gradually bereft of thought and reflection, 

his mind tranquil from one-pointedness,
samādhi-jaṃ prīti-sukhaṃ dvitīyaṃ dhyānaṃ tad-ādhyātma-śivaṃ sa dadhyau //SN17.47
He realised the joy and ease born of balanced stillness 

-- that inner happiness which is the second dhyāna.

VOCABULARY

jñātvā = abs. jñā: to know

vidvān (nom. sg. m.): the wise one

vitarkān (acc. pl.): m. thoughts, ideas

tu: but

manaḥ-saṁkṣobha-kārakān (acc. pl. m.): causing agitation of the mind

tad-viyuktam (acc. sg. n.): disjoined from all that, exempt from such agitation

viyukta: mfn. disjoined , detached , separated or delivered from , deprived or destitute of, deserted by (instr. or comp.)

avāpnoti = 3^rd pers. sg. ava√āp: to reach , attain , obtain , gain , get

dhyānam (acc. sg.): n. thinking, meditation, Zen

prīti-sukhānvitam (acc. sg. n.): possessed of its own gladness and

prīti: f. any pleasurable sensation , pleasure , joy , gladness , satisfaction

sukha: n. n. ease , easiness , comfort , prosperity , pleasure , happiness

anvita: mfn. gone along with ; having as an essential or inherent part , endowed with , possessed of , possessing

慧者能自知 方便止覺觀
精勤求上進 第二禪相應

BUDDHACARITA 12.51: The Youngster Who Mistook the First Dhyāna

⏑−−−¦⏑−−−¦¦−−−⏑¦⏑−⏑−

śamenaivaṁ-vidhenāyaṁ kāma-dveṣa-vigarhiṇā |

−⏑−⏑¦⏑−−−¦¦⏑⏑−−¦⏑−⏑−

brahma-lokam-avāpnoti paritoṣeṇa vaṇcitaḥ || 12.51

12.51

Via tranquillity of this order,

Which is the renouncing of loves and of hates,

At a brahma-world this youngster arrives –

If, by feeling fully satisfied, he is taken in.

COMMENT:

The ayam of the 1^st pāda of today's verse refers to the bāliśo janaḥ of yesterday's verse, the immature person. And the immature person means a youngster of any age, with no upper limit.

My Zen teacher never tired of asserting that the tranquillity which is the renouncing of loves and of hates is the balanced state of the autonomic nervous system.

He never suggested, however, that this state of zero might be a means for arriving at an ideal place like a brahma-world (a heaven where pious spirits reside).

So in the first three pādas Arāḍa (and behind him Aśvaghoṣa) has been setting the unsuspecting reader up for the punch-line of the 4^th pāda.

The ultimate set-up is words that encourge us to believe in a religion called Buddhism. 

And the ultimate punch-line might be as expressed by Nāgārjuna at the end of MMK, the gist of which is that there has been any such thing as Buddhism, becasuse the Buddha's teaching points for all time in the direction of abandoning all -isms. 

Now I must do a good job of turning off the water, and draining the outside plumbing so that nothing freezes, and then got on my bike and cycle it 25 miles, laden though it is with winter radishes. 

VOCABULARY

śamena (inst. sg.): m. tranquillity, peace

evam-vidhena (inst. sg. m.): of this kind

ayam (nom. sg. m.): this one, the person in question

kāma-dveṣa-vigarhiṇā (inst. sg. m.): disdainful of love and hate

vigarhin: mfn. (ifc.) blaming

vi- √ garh: to blame , abuse , revile , reproach , despise , contemn

brahma-lokam (acc. sg.) m. (also pl.) the world or heaven of brahmā (a division of the universe and one of the supposed residences of pious spirits)

avāpnoti = 3^rd pers. sg. ava√āp): to reach , attain , obtain , gain , get

paritoṣeṇa (inst. sg.) m. = parituṣṭi: f. complete satisfaction , contentment , delight

vañcitaḥ: mfn. deceived , tricked , imposed upon

心依遠離樂 命終生梵天