−−⏑⏑¦⏑−−−¦¦⏑⏑−−¦⏑−⏑−
yasmāc ca tad api
prāpya punar āvartate jagat |
−⏑−−¦⏑−−−¦¦−−−⏑¦⏑−⏑−
bodhi-sattvaḥ
paraṁ prepsus tasmād udrakam atyajat || 12.88
12.88
But since, again, even
having reached that state,
[The mind] returns to
the jostling world,
Therefore, desiring to
reach the ultimate,
The bodhisattva left
Udraka.
COMMENT:
In today's verse as I
read it Aśvaghoṣa advisedly calls the bodhisattva the bodhisattva,
i.e. one who has established the bodhi-mind.
In Shobogenzo, Dogen
often summarizes four stages as
- 発心 (HOSSHIN), establishment of the mind;
- 修行 (SHUGYO), practice, training;
- 菩提 (BODAI), bodhi, awakening; and
- 涅槃 (NEHAN), nirvāṇa, the serene and peaceful state.
In the present epic
story of awakened action, the parts that cover 3. the Buddha's
awakening and 4. his living and dying in the serene and peaceful
state of nirvāṇa, are missing in the original Sanskrit. But the
first twelve cantos up to around here can be read as covering 1. the
establishment of the bodhi-mind. And from here until Aśvaghoṣa's
Sanskrit runs out, we are set to enjoy Aśvaghoṣa's description of 2. the bodhisattva's practice – ascetic and otherwise.
Today's verse, then, as
I ventured yesterday, can be read as representing the end of the
beginning.
Dogen called the
beginning, for short, 発心
(HOSSHIN), establishment of the mind. This stands for 発菩提心
(HOTSU-BODAI-SHIN), establishment of the bodhi-mind, or
alternatively 発無上心
(HOTSU-MUJO-SHIN), establishment of the will to the supreme.
無上 (MUJO), "the supreme," represents the Sanskrit an-uttara (lit. “without upper," "having nothing above it”), the best or most excellent – as in the phrase anuttara-samyak-sambodhi, the supreme integral full awakening.
無上 (MUJO), "the supreme," represents the Sanskrit an-uttara (lit. “without upper," "having nothing above it”), the best or most excellent – as in the phrase anuttara-samyak-sambodhi, the supreme integral full awakening.
In Chinese
anuttara-samyak-sambodhi is 無上正等菩提
(Jap: MUJO-SHOTO-BODAI), the supreme integral bodhi, or 無上正等覚
(MUJO-SHOTO-KAKU), the supreme integral awakening.
In today's verse, then,
param points beyond the jostling world of the living (saṁsāra) to the supreme integral awakening as, in EBC's translation “something beyond” and in EHJ's
translation “the highest stage.”
Whereas EBC, EHJ and I
have translated tasmād in the 4th pāda as “therefore,”
PO may have taken tasmād as the ablative of tad, and so translated param...tasmād, “[aiming to attain] a state beyond that.”
In any event, what is
clear is that the bodhi-mind is not satisfied with what is
anaiṣṭhikam
(short of the ultimate; BC12.69), or akṛtsnam (incomplete;
BC12.83). The bodhi-mind desires to reach beyond what is anaiṣṭhikam,
short of the ultimate, and akṛtsnam, incomplete.
That
being so, the best expression of the bodhi-mind might be to sit with
shaved head, wearing a kaṣāya, with one's legs fully crossed,
one's sitting bones on a firm cushion, one's knees on a thick mat,
and one's whole being directed upward relative to the gravitational
pull of the whole of mother earth.
The
reason I regard my own teacher's teaching as having been incomplete
has to do with this meaning of “being directed upward.” For my
teacher this “being directed upward” seemed to be something one
did, by tensing the lower back, pulling in the chin, and keeping the
neck bones straight.
The
doings which are the root of saṁsāra thus does the dopey one do.
VOCABULARY
yasmāt:
ind. since, wherefore
ca:
and
tad
(acc. sg. n): it, that
api:
even
prāpya
= abs. pra- √āp: reach, realize
punaḥ:
ind. back , home , in an opposite direction (with √ 1. gam , yā
, to go back or away ; with √ dā , to give back , restore ; with √
bhū , to turn round ; with √ as and dat. , to fall back upon)again
, once more; further , moreover , besides
āvartate
= 3rd pers. sg. ā- √ vṛt: to turn or draw round or
back or near ; to return, revolve
jagat
(nom./acc. sg.): n. that which moves or is alive , men and animals ,
animals as opposed to men , men ; the world , esp. this world , earth
bodhi-sattvaḥ
(nom. sg.): m. the bodhisattva, the one whose very being was
awakening
param
(acc. sg. n.): mfn. further, beyond ; better or worse than , superior
or inferior to , best or worst , highest , supreme , chief (in the
compar. meanings [where also -tara] , with abl.): ind. beyond
prepsuḥ
(nom. sg. m.): mfn. (fr. desid. pra- √āp)
wishing to attain , desirous of obtaining , seeking , longing for ,
aiming at (acc. or comp.)
tasmāt:
1. ind. therefore, for that reason ; 2. (abl. sg.): [beyond] that
state
udrakam
(acc. sg.): m. Udraka
atyajat
= 3rd pers. sg. imperf. tyaj: to leave, abandon, quit ;
shun
菩薩求出故 復捨鬱陀仙
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