SAUNDARANANDA 12.6: How Life Suddenly Asserts Itself

svarga-tarShaan nivRttash ca
sadyaH svastha iv' aabhavat
mRShTaad a-pathyaad virato
jijiiviShur iv' aaturaH

12.6
When he had retreated from his thirst for heaven,

He seemed suddenly to become well.

Desisting from a delight
that aggravated his condition,

He was like a sick man finding the will to live.

COMMENT:
This verse touches on mental thirsting, physical well-being, the truth of stopping, and Life itself.

The main point, as I see it, is that when we stop doing the wrong thing, the right thing starts to do itself -- at once.

The usual way of thinking is that change begins when a sick man finds, for example, that he has got cancer or diabetes of some other terrible illness, whereupon, in fear of death, he finds the will to live, and is finally motivated to stop doing the wrong thing -- smoking, drinking, eating too much of the kind of food that is not good for them, et cetera. But this verse seems to describe it the other way around, so that to give up an unhealthy desire is primary, whereupon Life / the wish to live suddenly asserts itself.

The backward step of turning one's light and shining is not a retreat from Life. Quite the opposite might be true. But it remains for each person to ask himself or herself what is primary: The will to realize that step? Or the will to something else?

It is implicit in the construction of this verse, as I read it, that what is primary for Ashvaghosha is nirodha-satya, the Buddha's noble truth of stopping. First stop doing the wrong thing, as FM Alexander also said, and then the right thing does itself.

EH Johnston:
When his longings were diverted from Paradise, he seemed suddenly to become well, like a sick man desiring to live, who gives up agreeable but unwholesome food.

Linda Covill:
When he had turned away from his thirst for heaven, he suddenly seemed to become well, like a sick man who gives up tasty but unhealthy food in his determination to live.

VOCABULARY:
svarga: heaven
tarShaan = ablative of tarSha: thirst , wish , desire for (in comp.)
nivRttaH (nominative, singular): one who has turned back
ca: and (or used as expletive)

sadyas: on the same day , in the very moment
svastha: being in one's natural state , being one's self uninjured , unmolested , contented , doing well , sound, well , healthy
iva: like, as if
abhavat: became

mRShTaad = ablative from mRShTa: sweet , pleasant , agreeable
NB The Clay Sanskrit Library version has a typo (mRShaad) in the transcription here. Johnston's original shows mrShTaad.
apathyaad = ablative of apathya: unfit, (in med.) unwholesome as food or drink in particular complaints
virataH (nominative, singular): one who has desisted from (abl. , loc. , or comp.)

jijiiviShur: wishing to live
iva: like
aaturaH (nominative, singular): a sick man

SAUNDARANANDA 16.87: Kaundinya to Pilinda-vatsa

kaunNDinya-nanda-kRmil-aaniruddhaas
tiShy-opasenau vimalo 'tha raadhaH
vaaShp-ottarau dhautaki-moharaajau
kaatyaayana-dravya-pilindavatsaaH


16.87
Kaundinya, Nanda, Krimila, Aniruddha,

Tishya, Upasena, Vimala and Radha,

Vashpa, Uttara, Dhautaki, Moha-raja,

Katyayana, Dravya, Pilinda-vatsa


COMMENT:
Here are the first fifteen names in a list of sixty-two individuals, including both men and women, beginning with Kaundinya -- he of the Kaundina clan mentioned in verse 3.13.

What is the significance of these individual names being listed one by one?

Following on from the preceding verses, I think the Buddha is saying to Nanda: Don't take my word for it. Make the noble truths your own. Cut a path for yourself, as did Kaundinya, Nanda, Krimila, Aniruddha, Tishya, Upasena, Vimala and Radha, Vashpa, Uttara, Dhautaki, Moha-raja, Katyayana, Dravya, and Pilinda-vatsa.

The Nanda in this list is not the hero of Saundarananda to whom the Buddha is speaking but another Nanda, who was (according to the Japanese-English Buddhist Dictionary) a cowherd before becoming a disciple of the Buddha.

Kaundinya, Aniruddha, and Katyayana are conventionally included in a list of ten great disciples.

Of the fifteeen individuals listed in this verse, then, history regarded three as particularly eminent. The Buddha did not nominate any of these fifteen as his successor, his Number One, and twelve of the fifteeen didn't even make it into the Top Ten.

Still, the Buddha cited these individuals as examples in encouraging his younger half-brother Nanda to be a true man of action, one in whose sitting a certain unshakability is expressed.

A deep sense in sitting of not being susceptible to being shaken by anything, is what I most treasure. I don't always have it, but those moments when I do have it, helped along by quiet circumstances and Mother Nature, I would not swap for anything. And without having experienced those moments, I certainly wouldn't dare to try to clarify Ashvaghosha's words like this.

To quote again from the passage I quoted yesterday in which Marjory Barlow described her uncle FM Alexander:

I'm not trying to make him out to be a Saint, because he was like all of us, but there was a certain integrity (and that is the exact word) and he was absolutely true to what he had discovered. Nothing could shake him on that. He knew. That was F.M.

What did FM know, with such unshakeable confidence? What unshakeable confidence is the Buddha exhorting Nanda to discover for himself? I think the essence of what the Buddha discovered for himself, and what FM discovered for himself, was that if a person is truly able just to sit, not doing the wrong thing, then the right thing has a strong tendency to do itself. This, I submit, is not "Alexander theory" any more than it is "true Buddhism." It is a discovery of a noble truth that is available for every individual to make for himself or for herself, in his or her own way.

Marjory Barlow records as follows how her uncle encouraged her to find her own truth, just as the Buddha encouraged Nanda more than 2,400 years before:

He used to say, "You've got to find your own way. Nobody can help you. You've got to find your own truth and follow it."

One of the most shaking things he ever said to me, early on, and which I've never forgotten, was, "You know there's nothing that you believe that is your own. There's nothing that you think that is your own. Everything you say and do is because of other people, the way you've been brought up. What you've got to do," he said, "is find out what is really yours in the way of what you think and what you believe."

What a task. I had no clue how to set about it, as I was very young of course, but I've never forgotten that. He was so inspiring, he really was. And he was wonderful to me because he never refused to answer my very immature questions. He knew I was so passionate to find out and we used to talk shop all the time when I was with him. But he would never tell me what to do. If I asked him his advice about something, that was different, but he would never say you shouldn't do this or that. Never. Because he really believed in the individual. He knew it was the only hope for real change -- the individual person.


EH Johnston:
Kaundinya, Nanda, Krimila and Aniruddha, Tisya and Upasena, Vimala and Radha, Vaspa, Uttara, Dhautaki and Moharaja, Katyayana, Dravya and Pilindavatsa

Linda Covill:
Kaundinya, Nanda, Krimila and Aniruddha, Tishya and Upasena, Vimala and Radha, Vashpa, Uttara, Dhautaki and Moha-raja, Katyayana, Dravya and Pilinda-vatsa

SAUNDARANANDA 16.74: Not Reacting to a Noxious Stimulus

yathaa kShudh-aarto 'pi viSheNa pRktaM
jijiiviSur n'ecchati bhoktum annam
tath" aiva doSh-aavaham ity avetya
jahaati vidvaan a-shubham nimittam

16.74
Even a starving man when given poisoned food

Refuses to eat it, wishing to live.

Likewise, observing that it triggers a fault,

A wise person leaves alone a noxious stimulus.

COMMENT:
In this verse, as I read it, a fault (doSha) is synonymous with an imbalanced unconscious reaction, and a noxious stimulus (a-shubham nimittam) is any thought that is liable to trigger such a reaction.

The essence of the practice being described is inhibition of faulty unconscious reaction to a stimulus.

For several years now -- as a result of being introduced to Dogen's teaching by Gudo Nishijima, and as a result of the essence of the teaching being demonstrated to me in the very activity of sitting and standing by Ray Evans, Ron Colyer, Nelly Ben-Or, Marjory Barlow and others -- I have been fairly clear in seeing this as the mainspring of practice of the Buddha-Dharma.

Undeniably, however, I am not at all good at practicing it.

Q.E.D.


EH Johnston:
As the man who wishes to live, would not eat food infected with poison, however famished he were, so the wise man abandons an impure meditation, recognising that it brings about sin.

Linda Covill:
Just as a man who wants his life to continue avoids eating poisoned food even when he is starving, so too does a wise man leave aside an impure meditation, knowing that it brings corruption.

VOCABULARY:
yathaa: just as
kShudh: hunger
aartaH (nom. sg.): m. one who is afflicted
api: even
viSheNa (inst. sg.): with poison
pRktam (acc. sg. n.): mixed with, full of

jijiiviSuH (nom. sg. m.): desirous of life
na: not
icchati = 3rd person singular of iSh: wish, want, intend
bhoktum = infinitive of bhuj: to enjoy , use , possess , (esp.) enjoy a meal , eat
annam (acc. sg.): n. food or victuals , especially boiled rice

tathaa: likewise, in the same way
eva: emphatic
doSha: fault; damage , harm , bad consequence , detrimental effect
aavaham (acc. sg. n.): bringing , bringing to pass , producing
iti: that
avetya: seeing, knowing

jahaati = 3rd person singular of haa: to leave , abandon , give up , renounce , avoid , shun , abstain or refrain from ; disregard, neglect
vidvaan (nom. sg.) vidvas: m. one who knows, a wise man
ashubham (acc. sg. n.): impure, disagreeable, unlovely
nimittam (acc. sg.): n. a cause, stimulus

SAUNDARANANDA 16.73: Watching Out for Wildlife

tath" aapy ath' aadhyaatma-nava-grahatvaan
n' aiv' opashaamyed a-shubho vitarkaH
heyaH sa tad-doSha-pariikShaNena
sa-shvaapado maarga iv' aadhvagena

16.73
Even then, stemming from
something inexperienced within the self,

A disagreeable thought might still not subside.

One should abandon the thought
by monitoring the fault therein,

As a traveller abandons a path
on which there is a wild beast.

COMMENT:
This verse raises the question of the inter-connection between a thought and a fault.

The point seems to be that the danger lies not so much in the disagreeable thought itself as in the deeper fault to which it is linked. A disagreeable thought may be seen as linked at the level of the reptilian brain with immature vestibular reflexes, and at the level of the mammalian brain with the three emotional poisons of greed, ill-will, and delusion.

As a general rule, it seems to me, optimistic thoughts tend to be tied up with greed; pessimistic thoughts tend to be tied up with ill-will, especially in regard to oneself; and the realistic thoughts of politicians, businessmen and the like tend to be tied up with delusion, ignorance and arrogance.

In this verse, the connection between a thought and a fault is represented by the metaphor of a path, and a wild beast of prey -- a man-eating tiger, say -- on that path.

The tiger can be seen as representing something unconscious, wild, not susceptible to suppression or inhibition from the top two inches of a human brain. For an extreme example, think of an out-of-control autistic child whose senses have been overloaded. Then remember that we are all somewhere along the autistic spectrum, which ranges from pervasive developmental disorder at the less normal end, to commonplace testosterone-induced behaviour at the more normal end.

FM Alexander spoke of the danger of being out of touch with one's reason, due to unduly excited fear reflexes and emotions. This is a condition which those with autistic tendencies are experiencing much of the time, but which even the coolest of cats is bound to encounter at least some of the time.

At such a time, disagreeable thoughts never subside but pile in one after another. Those thoughts all stem originally, I would suggest, from something which is imperfectly integrated and hence more or less out of control, deep within the self. That something seems to have to do with how one uses the head, neck and back in relation to each other, and seems also to do with the cluster of vestibular reflexes centred on the Moro reflex.

EH Johnston:
Or if nevertheless impure thoughts are not allayed owing to the inexperience of the mind, they should be eliminated by examining the faults inherent in them, as a traveller goes away from a road infested by wild beasts.

Linda Covill:
Even so, an impure thought might not subside because of the individual's inexperience; it should then be abandoned by an examination of its faults, like a traveler leaves a road beset by wild beasts.

VOCABULARY:
tath"aapi: even so, nevertheless,
atha: (connective particle) then, but
adhyaatma: own, belonging to self
nava: new , fresh , recent , young ; a young monk, novice
grahatvaat (ablative of grahatvam) = from grah: to grasp, to lay hold of

na: not
eva: (emphatic)
upashaamyet = optative of upa-√zam: to become calm or quiet ; to cease , become extinct
a-shubhaH (nom. sg. m.): impure, disagreeable, unlovely
vitarkaH (nom. sg.): m. idea, fancy, thought

heyaH (nom. sg. m.): to be left or quitted or abandoned or rejected or avoided
saH (nom. sg. m.): it, that [thought]
tad: it, its
doSha: fault, imbalance
pariikShaNena = inst. sg. pariikShaNa: trying , testing , experiment , investigation (from √pariikS: to look round , inspect carefully , try , examine , find out , observe , perceive)

sa: with, having, possessing
shvaapadaH (nom. sg.): m. a beast of prey , wild beast; a tiger
maargaH (nom. sg.): m. path, road
iva: like
adhvagena = instrumental of adhvaga: road-going , travelling; m. a traveller

SAUNDARANANDA 16.67: Attending to the Means-Whereby

sampragrahasya prashamasya c'aiva
tath"aiva kaale samupekShaNasya
samyaN nimittaM manasaa tv avekShyaM
naasho hi yatno 'py an-upaaya-puurvaH.

16.67
Likewise, for garnering as also for calming,

As also when appropriate for leaving well alone,

One should consciously attend to the proper stimulus;

Because even diligence is destructive
when accompanied by a wrong approach."

COMMENT:
Garnering is like blowing molten gold, accelerating an energetic reaction by providing more oxygen.
Calming is like dousing gold in water, intervening to cool it.
Leaving oneself be is like leaving molten gold to dissipate its energy naturally.

Garnering, calming, leaving oneself be: how can we understand these three on the basis of actual human activity?

A garnering stimulus might be a sumo wrestler before a bout, slapping his belly and squatting and tasting salt; or the pre-match warm up of a rugby team.
A calming stimulus might be an old teacher demonstrating with sure, intelligent hands a principle of non-doing that she has spent her life exploring; or it could be turning down the lights and lighting a stick of incense.
Leaving well alone might be a point reached (temporarily) when in a rhythmic activity like walking or running, or chanting or swimming or drumming, a person has got himself or herself in the groove -- a condition which might also be described as a spontaneous flow of energy characterized by ease and efficiency (minimal leakage).

Garnering, calming, leaving be: Buddha/Ashvaghosha have been describing these three as three kinds of stimulus or starting point (nimitta) in formal practice (yoga).

As devotees of sitting-dhyaana, how are we to understand these three in the context of formal sitting practice?

The very act of sitting in lotus it seems to me, can encompass all three of the above stimuli or starting points, viz:
Garnering of one's energy in certain directions (mainly upward).
Inhibition of wrong inner patterns, resulting in the experience of calm or stillness (but do not call it fixity).
Allowing the right thing to do itself.

Just sitting, then, in its true meaning, is not one or two out of three, but three out of three.

So Zen Master Dogen wrote:
Practise full lotus sitting with the body.
Practise full lotus sitting with the mind.
Practise full lotus sitting as body and mind dropping off.

There is not a hair's breadth of contradiction here between Ashvaghosha and Dogen. What Dogen expressed was nothing but the lifeblood of Buddha/Ashvaghosha.

In general, however, Dogen, was writing in Japanese for a Japanese audience, with self-consciousness of starting a new movement in Japan, and in a style suited for a Japanese audience -- "Do it like this." It was as I see it, a more direct and authoritarian style, suited to a people who were not already steeped in the original teaching of the Buddha, a people who were used to copying and imitating Chinese ways, a people never generally noted for originality of individual thought. Dogen saw it as part of his mission to establish a new movement in his homeland, Japan. Ashvaghosha, in contrast, was writing in Sanskrit, a lingua franca for educated people already steeped in the original teaching of the Buddha.

But in not proselytizing not to a Japanese audience, Ashvaghosha recorded in this verse a truth that is totally pertinent to Zen practice in Japan today.

What Ashvaghosha recorded in the 4th line of this verse is exactly what I experienced, with my skin, flesh, bones, and marrow, during 13 years in Japan.

When followers and teachers of Dogen's teaching today blindly and relentlessly pursue "the correct physical posture," disdaining mindfulness, we are liable to do harm to self and others. That is a fact.

And in this regard, Master Kodo Sawaki, much as I revere him, also has a lot to answer for. Master Kodo criticized the Japanese tendency towards gurupo boke, group delusion, and he endeavoured heroically to make a stand against that tendency. He tried but, it seems to me, the delusive Japanese tendency was too strong, even in him, and so he ultimately failed, as his students and non-students also have failed.

Sitting with the body, in a physical, doing way, in an end-gaining way, as I see it, is not totally without merit. There is a time for sitting with the body. Buddha/Ashvaghosha are telling us that wisdom, and moment-by-moment mindfulness, are required in seeing:
(1) when it is time for doing and when it is NOT time for doing;
(2) when it is time for not doing and when it is NOT time for not doing;
(3) when it is time for non-doing and when it is NOT time for non-doing.

EH Johnston:
But one should consider in the mind the proper subject for meditation, whether of effort, or tranquillity, and similarly at the proper time of indifference. For even effort, if not regulated by the proper method, leads to destruction.'

Linda Covill:
Likewise the correct meditational subject of an energy, calm or equanimity meditation should at times be mentally reviewed, for even diligence is destructive if it is accompanied by the wrong method."

VOCABULARY:
sam: (used as prefix) together, altogether
pragraha: holding in front , stretching forth; seizing , clutching , laying hold of
sampragrahasya (genitive): for the extension of oneself, for the garnering of one's energy
prashamasya = gen. sg. prashama: calmness
ca: and
eva: (emphatic)

tath"aiva: exactly so, in exactly that manner, in just the same way [as the goldsmith]
kaale (locative): at the proper time, when appropriate
samupekShaNasya = gen. sg. samupekShaNa (action noun from sam-upa-viikS): leaving be, neglecting [see 16.65]

samyak: proper, correct, true
nimittam (nom. sg.): n. target, cause, stimulus, starting point
manasaa (instrumental of manas): in the mind ; in thought or imagination ; with all the heart , willingly
tu: but, and, then
avekShyam = nom. sg. n. from gerundive of ava-√iikSh: to look towards , look at , behold; to perceive , observe , experience ; to have in view , have regard to , take into consideration

naashaH (nom. sg.): m. the being lost , loss , disappearance , destruction , annihilation , ruin , death
hi: for
yatnaH (nom. sg.): m. activity of will , volition , aspiring after ; performance , work ; effort , exertion , energy , zeal , trouble , pains , care ,
api: even
anupaaya: wrong method, wrong means
puurvaH (nom. sg. m.): (at end of compounds) accompanied by, attended with

SAUNDARANANDA 16.57: Again, What Not to Do

aupekShikaM n'aapi nimittam iShTaM
layaM gate cetasi s'odbhave vaa
evaM hi tiivraM janayed anarthaM
upekShito vyaadhir iv' aaturasya

16.57
Nor is leaving oneself alone a valid starting point

When one's mind is either lifeless or excited.

For that might result in severe misfortune,

Like the neglected illness of a sick man.

COMMENT:
The meaning of leaving oneself along is clarified, in verses 16.65 to 16.67, with the analogy of a skilled goldsmith who, at times, neither intervenes to heat his gold nor intervenes to cool it, but simply leaves it be.

In the context not of gold refining but of formal practice, and in particular of formal sitting practice, what does it mean to "leave oneself alone" or "not to interfere"?

What Buddha/Ashvaghosha are indicating in this verse is that this is no question for a lifeless mind or an excited mind to even begin to ask.

So when I find myself in times of trouble, and Mother Mary comes to me, speaking words of wisdom.... even those words of wisdom "Let it be" are a stimulus that should be labelled in big red letters: DANGER! HANDLE WITH CARE!

I am labouring the point, but so it seems did Buddha/Ashvaghosha: of primary importance is not what one does, but what one does not do.

One end-gaining Alexander pupil who went directly for the target of leaving himself alone, rather than more modestly attending to the inhibitory means-whereby, attracted FM Alexander's disapproval with these famous words:

"You are doing what you call leaving yourself alone!"

EH Johnston:
The subject of meditation inducing indifference is not recommended when the thoughts are either sluggish or excited ; for thus it might bring about a grievous calamity, like the illness of a sick man if it is neglected.

Linda Covill:
The meditational technique of equanimity is not recommended when the mind is either over-excited or depressed, for this may produce serious mishap, like the neglected disease of a sick man.

VOCABULARY:
aupekShikam (nom. sg. noun from upa- √iikS: to overlook , disregard , neglect , abandon): n. indifference, leaving oneself alone
na: not
api: also, again
nimittam (nom. sg.): n. stimulus, antidote
iShtam (nom. sg. n.): sought, desired , regarded as good , approved , valid

layam (accusative): sluggishness, lethargy, mental inactivity
gate = loc. gata: gone to a state or condition
cetasi = locative of cetas: mind
sa: it
udbhave = loc. udbhava: existence , generation , origin , production , birth; springing from , growing
vaa: or

evam: thus, in this manner
hi: for
tiivram (acc. sg. m.): strong , severe , violent , intense , hot , pervading , excessive , ardent , sharp , acute , pungent , horrible
janayed = 3rd person singular, optative from √jan: give birth, be born, bring about
anartham (acc. sg.): m. disappointing occurrence , reverse , evil

upekShitaH (nom. sg. m.): overlooked, disregarded, neglected
vyaadhiH (nominative, singular): m. disorder , disease , ailment , sickness ,
iva: like
aaturasya = genitive of aatura: suffering , sick (in body or mind)

SAUNDARANANDA 16.55: Again, What Not to Do

sham'-aavahaM yan niyataM nimittaM
sevyaM na tac cetasi liiyamaane
evaM hi bhuuyo layam eti cittam
an-iiryamaaNo 'gnir iv' aalpa-saaraH

16.55
The stimulus ascertained to bring calm

Does not serve when one's mind is dormant;

For thus the mind sinks further into lifelessness,

Like a feeble fire left unfanned.

COMMENT:
With regard to fault no. 2 -- non-mobilization of energy, or hypotonus -- again, the first consideration is not what might be the right stimulus to which to give consent, but rather what stimulus might have become a wrong one.

What is under discussion in this verse, it seems to me, is neither meditation nor formalistic sitting practice, but rather a conscious decision not to give consent to a certain pattern of stimulus-response.

Ashvaghosha has presented to us in sexy wrapping paper a meticulous treatise on practice -- a record of an approach to giving up afflictions that had been practised and preserved, through 12 transmissions, from the Buddha through to his own generation. But where in the world today is such an approach being practised?

Maybe it corresponds to what Matthieu Ricard, who belongs to the Tibetan tradition, describes as cultivation or training of the mind -- he also eschews the word "meditation."

Any incipient understanding of this approach that I have got (which cannot be very deep, judging from the emotional waves that continue to buffet me) comes from Alexander work.

EH Johnston:
When the mind is sluggish, he should not resort to the subject of meditation prescribed for inducing tranquillity; for thus the mind becomes still more sluggish, like a fire of little substance when not fanned.

Linda Covill:
The meditational technique prescribe for bringing tranquillity should not be practiced when the mind is depressed, for thus the mind, like a little unfanned fire, sinks still further into depression.

VOCABULARY:
shama: tranquillity , calmness; peace; indifference
aavaham (nom. sg. n.): bringing , bringing to pass , producing
yat (nom. sg. n.): [that] which
niyatam (nom. sg. n.): established, determined, ascertained
nimitttam (nom. sg.): n. cause, stimulus

sevyam (nom. sg. n.): to be used, practised, cultivated
na: not
tat: that, the
cetasi = locative of cetas: mind
liiyamaane = loc. present participle lii: to cling or press closely , stick or adhere to (loc.); to remain sticking ; to lie , recline , alight or settle on , hide or cower down in (loc.)

evam: thus, in this manner
hi: for
bhuuyas: further, still more
layam (accusative): lying down , cowering ; extinction , destruction , death ; mental inactivity , spiritual indifference; making the mind inactive or indifferent
eti = 3rd person singular of i: to go to or towards (with acc.)
cittam (nom. sg.): the mind, the thinking mind

an-iiryamaaNaH (see 16.53): not being fanned
agniH (nominative, singular): fire
iva: like
aalpa: small, little
saaraH (nominative, singular): the core or pith or solid interior of anything ; firmness , strength, power , energy; the substance or essence or marrow or cream or heart or essential part of anything

SAUNDARANANDA 16.53: First What Not to Do

pragraahakam yat tu nimittam uktam
uddhanyamaane hRdi tan na sevyam
evaM hi cittaM prashamaM na yaati
[- - -]naa vahnir iv' eryamaaNaH

16.53
A "garnering" stimulus

Does not serve when the emotions are excited,

For thus the mind does not find peace

Like a fire being fanned by [the wind].


COMMENT:
To illustrate what I think is the meaning of this verse, following on from the discussion of strength and weakness in the previous verse, I will cite the example of a sensitive woman in a caring vocation -- for example, in medicine -- who has a bad back. Her sensitivity and compassion can be regarded as strengths. But her bad back is a symptom of weakness.

Let us say that the compassionate nurse with a bad back comes for a series of Alexander lessons to address the misuse of herself -- a fundamental weakness -- that is causing her back pain. If the teacher adopts a more direct approach, his first instinct might be to tell the nurse to care less for others and more for the integrity of her own spine; and to teach her how to strengthen her spine, by garnering her energy in an upward direction during the acts of sitting and standing.

First instincts are generally direct and interventionist: our first instinct when confronted with any problem tends to be to do something, in a hurry. But such instinctive interventions have a tendency to turn out badly, to do more harm than good.

So I see it as significant that Buddha/Ashvaghosha's detailed explanation of the means whereby afflictions are given up, is begun with a negative direction, i.e., a preventive direction. The primary thing, Buddha/Ashvaghosha seems to be saying, is not learning what to do. The primary thing is learning, in a given situation, what not to do. Thus, when there is already undue excitement in one's energetic system, which for most of us there generally is, the first thing is not to do anything that might pour fuel on the flames.

So the Alexander teacher in the above example, confronted with the nurse with the bad back, will do well to inhibit his first instinct to read her the riot act and get her immediately going "up." He might be wise not to do anything until having listened for a while with hands, ears, and eyes, to what is really going on. It may well transpire that the nurse's fear reflexes are unduly excited, in which case the best starting point, before trying to teach her anything, might be to draw the nurse's attention to stimuli that will tend to calm her system down.

Pertinent here is a passage that FM Alexander wrote in the preface (1941) to The Use of the Self:

Those who have written asking for help in teaching themselves are obviously almost wholly occupied with the idea of learning 'to do it right'. In reply I would refer them to the first chapter of this book, where I put down as exactly as possible what I did and (what was still more important in the end) what I did not do in teaching myself... At the beginning of my experimentation I found that I must not concern myself primarily with 'doing' as I then understood 'doing', but with preventing myself from doing.

In the first line nimittam literally means "a cause." I have given the translation of this word considerable thought since Linda Covill's translation "meditational technique" rattled my cage a few months ago. In this verse I considered translating nimittam as "starting point," and in future verses I intend to translate nimittam as "antidote."

In the end, however, "stimulus" seemed to fit best: here: it carries a medical connotation, like a needle for sitting-dhyana; it includes the sense of a causal factor; and it ties in very neatly with the teaching of FM Alexander, who saw the act of living as basically a matter of constantly reacting (directly, unconsciously, emotionally) or responding (indirectly, consciously, reasonably) to stimuli.

VOCABULARY:
pragraahakam (nom. sg. n.): seizing , taking , bearing , carrying; a rein , bridle
graahaka: one who seizes or takes captive; one who seizes (the sun or moon) , who eclipses; one who receives or accepts; m. a hawk, falcon
yat (nom. sg. n.): [that] which
tu: but
nimittam (nom. sg.): n. a butt, mark, target; the point, the aim; sign, omen; cause, motive, ground, reason; (in philosophy) instrumental or efficient cause (opposed to upaadaana, the operative or material cause)
uktam = nom. sg. n. ukta (past participle of √vac): spoke, said; called; declared, promised

uddhanyamaane = locative of present passive participle ud- √han: to move or push or press upwards or out, lift up, throw away; to root up or out
hRdi = locative of hRd: the heart (as the seat of feelings and emotions) , soul , mind
tat (correlative of yat): it, that
na: not
sevyam = nom. sg. n. sevya: mfn. to be resorted to, followed, practised etc.

evam: thus, in this manner
hi: for
cittam (non. sg.): mfn. "noticed"; n. thinking, the thinking mind, the mind
prashamam (acc. sg.): m. calmness , tranquillity (esp. of mind) , quiet , rest , cessation , extinction , abatement
na: not
yaati = 3rd person singular yaa: to go , proceed ; go to, come to; find out, discover

[- - -]naa: [3 missing syllables] + inst. ending?
vahniH = nom. sg. vahni: m. the conveyer or bearer of oblations to the gods (esp. said of agni , " fire "); fire
iva: like
iiryamaaNaH: nom. sg. m. present passive participle √iir: to agitate , elevate , raise (one's voice); to excite ; to cause to rise ; to bring to life

EH Johnston:
But when the soul is excited, he should not resort to the subject of meditation known as 'inducing energy'; for thus the mind does not reach tranquillity, as fire fanned by (the wind) does not die down.

Linda Covill:
The meditational technique known to promote energy should not be practiced when one's spirits are excited, for thus the mind, like a fanned fire [- - -], does not become peaceful.

SAUNDARANANDA 16.47: Direct Flow, Stop Leaks -- Not Spiritually

tasmaat paraM saumya vidhaaya viiryaM
shiighraM ghaTasv aasrava saMkShayaaya
duHkhaan a-nityaaMsh ca nir-aatamakaaMsh ca
dhaatunn visheSheNa pariikShamaaNaH

16.47
Therefore, good man, direct all your energy

And strive quickly to stop energetic leakage,

Examining in detail
-- as suffering and impermanent and devoid of self --

The elements.

COMMENT:
Line 1 and Line 2 can be read as expressing the same thing from opposite viewpoints -- for example, directing the flow of energy up one's spine, which may be a very good way of stopping it flowing where it ought not to go. "Direction is the truest form of inhibition," as is said in the world of Alexander work.

With respect to the word shiigram, "quickly," another favourite saying of FM Alexander may be relevant, namely that "The conscious mind must be quickened!" The reason FM used to emphasize that the conscious mind must be quickened, I think, is that the unconscious misdirection of energy is prone to happen extremely rapidly. A person has got to be really on the ball to stop it. Recently I have been observing this on TV in Cesar Millan's work with dogs. A bulldog can go from a calm-submissive 0 to a red-eyed killing-mode 10 in just a couple of seconds. So Cesar endeavors to stay on the ball and nip the unwanted response in the bud before it gets to 1 or 2. My wife and I shared a poignant moment a few weeks ago when Cesar was explaining all this while correcting a bulldog. We looked at each other and smiled wryly, exchanging no words but sharing the same recognition that in describing the tendency of the bulldog Cesar was just exactly describing the tendency of yours truly.

In Line 3, suffering, impermanence and absence of self are three characteristics of what is real, but in Line 4 the elements -- as investigated by scientists, and as prone to be overlooked by workers in the spiritual sphere -- are just what is.

So with this translation I have struggled to maintain the essence of the original four-phased expression that may be observed within the verse.

VOCABULARY:
tasmaat: from that, therefore
param: utmost, in a high degree, completely
saumya (voc.): " O gentle Sir! " " O good Sir! " " O excellent man! " as the proper mode of addressing a Brahman
vidhaaya = absolutive of vidhaa: to give out, supply, effect, make ready, direct
viiryam (accusative): manliness , valour , strength , power , energy

shiighram: quickly
ghaTasu = imperative of ghaT: to be intently occupied about , be busy with , strive or endeavour after , exert one's self for (loc. dat. acc.)
aasrava: leakage
saMkShayaaya = dative of saMkShaya: complete destruction or consumption , wasting , waning , decay , disappearance

duHkhaan (acc. pl. m.): uneasy , uncomfortable , unpleasant , difficult
a-nityaan (acc. pl. m.): not everlasting , transient , occasional , incidental; irregular , unusual; unstable; uncertain
ca: and
nir-aatamakaan (acc. pl. m.): having no separate soul or no individual existence
ca: and

dhaatuun = acc. pl. dhaatu: m. element , primitive matter
visheSheNa (inst. visheSha): particularly, especially, in detail
pariikShamaaNaH = nom. sg. m. present participle of pari-√iikSh: to look round , inspect carefully , try , examine , find out , observe , perceive


EH Johnston:
Therefore, applying your utmost energy, strive quickly for the destruction of the infections, and in especial examine the elements which are full of suffering, impermanent and devoid of self.

Linda Covill:
Therefore apply your utmost energy, dear friend, and be quick to strive for the eradication of the rebirth-producing tendencies, investigating in particular the elements, which are full of suffering, impermanent and without self.

SAUNDARANANDA 16.42: Forward and Backward Steps

tasmaat pravRttiM parigaccha duHkhaM
pravartakaan apy avagaccha doShaan
nivRttim aagaccha ca tan-nirodhaM
nivartakaM c' aapy avagaccha maargaM


16.42
Accordingly, comprehend suffering as end-gaining,

And understand the faults as doing.

Realise the stopping of all that as non-doing,

And understand the path as a turning back.

COMMENT:
The first difficulty with this verse has been plucking up the courage to translate pravRtti as "end-gaining," instead of a less overtly Alexandrian term such as "progressive striving."

A second difficulty has been deciding what is the object of nirodha in the 3rd line. Does tan-nirodha mean the inhibition/suppression/stopping of those [faults], the stopping of that [suffering], the stopping of that [end-gaining], or the inhibition/stopping of all that [stuff in the first two lines]?

My ears are, I hope, open to feedback.

Notwithstanding the above difficulties, I am very happy to have arrived at this translation of this verse. My sense is that the argument I have been struggling to make for 15 years has, with this translation of this verse, already become obsolete -- because this verse is just Ashvaghosha's teaching, just the Buddha's teaching, just the teaching of all the ancestors in India, and there is not any room for argument.

This verse is also just the teaching of FM Alexander. There is, as I see it, no contradiction at all.

That being so, I would like to illustrate the meaning of each of the four lines of this verse with some quotes from FM Alexander and some of the teachers he taught.

(1)
Whenever a person sets out to achieve a particular end his procedure will be based on one of two principles which I have called "end-gaining" and the "means-whereby" principles. The "end-gaining" principle involves a direct procedure on the part of the person endeavouring to gain the desired "end." This direct procedure is associated with dependence upon subsconscious guidance and control, leading, in cases where a condition of mal-coordination is present, to an unsatisfactory use of the mechanisms and to an increase in the defects and peculiarities already existing.

(FM Alexander, Constructive Conscious Control of the Individual)


When a person has reached a given stage of unsatisfactory use and functioning, his habit of end-gaining will prove to be the impeding factor in all his attempts to profit by any teaching method whatsoever. Ordinary teaching methods, in whatever sphere, cannot deal with this impeding factor, indeed, they tend actually to encourage 'end-gaining.'

(FM Alexander, The Use of the Self)

"In most people their direction of the use of themselves is habitual and instinctive... Unfortunately, with the increasing prevalence of untrustworthy sensory appreciation, this instinctive direction of use tends, as time goes on, to become more and more a misdirection, having a harmful effect, as was proved in my own case, upon functioning and consquently, upon the reactions which result." (Ibid)

(2)
"The wrong inner patterns are the doing which has to be stopped."

(Marjory Barlow, 1965 Memorial Lecture)

(3)
Non-doing is, above all, an attitude of mind. It's a wish. It's a decision to leave everything alone and see what goes on, see what happens. Your breathing and your circulation and your postural mechanisms are all working and taking over. The organism is functioning in its automatic way, and you are doing nothing.

If you're going to succeed in doing nothing, you must exercise control over your thinking processes. You must really wish to do nothing. If you're thinking anxious, worried thoughts, if you're thinking exciting thoughts that are irrelevant to the situation at hand, you stir up responses in your body that are not consistent with doing nothing. It's not a matter of just not moving--that can lead to fixing or freezing--it's a matter of really leaving yourself alone and letting everything just happen and take over.

This is what we're aiming at in an Alexander lesson, and if we're wise, and we understand, it's also what we aim at in our own practice of non-doing. It is something that requires practice. Like most other things in life, it isn't some-thing that you can achieve by simply wishing to do so, by just thinking, 'Well, I will now leave myself alone and not do anything.' Unfortunately, it doesn't work out like that. The whole process requires a lot of practice, and a lot of observation. Out of this process a tremendous lot of experience is to be gained...

(Walter Carrington, Thinking Aloud)


Of course, non-doing is a kind of doing, but it is very subtle. The difference is that, in doing, you do it, whereas in non-doing, it does you.

(Patrick Macdonald, The Alexander Technique As I See It.)

(4)
It is owing to this habit of rushing from one extreme to another -- a habit which, as I have pointed out, seems to go hand in hand with subconscious guidance and direction -- to this tendency, that is, to take the narrow and treacherous sidetracks instead of the great, broad, midway path, that our plan of civilization has proved a comparative failure.

(FM Alexander, Constructive Conscious Control of the Individual)

I venture to predict that before we can unravel the horribly tangled skein of our present existence, we must come to a full STOP, and return to conscious, simple living, believing in the unity underlying all things, and acting in a practical way in accordance with the laws and principles involved. (Ibid.)

VOCABULARY:
tasmaat: from that, on that account, therefore
praVrttim (accusative): moving onwards , advance , progress; active life (as opp. to ni-vRtti [q.v.] and to contemplative devotion)
parigaccha = imperative of pari-√ gam: to go round or about or through , circumambulate , surround , inclose; to come to any state or condition , get , attain (acc.)
pari: ind. round , around, fully

pravartakam (acc. sg.): acting , proceeding; setting in motion or action , setting on foot , advancing , promoting , forwarding
api: also
avagaccha = imperative of ava-√ gam: to understand
ava: ind. off , away , down
doShaan (accusative, plural): m. faults

nivRttim (accusative): returning; ceasing , cessation; ceasing from worldly acts , inactivity , rest
aagaccha = imperative aa-√ gam: to come, arrive at , attain , reach ; to fall into (any state of mind) , have recourse to
aa: near, near to towards; with roots like gam it reverses the action ; e.g. aa-gacchati , " he comes "
ca: and
tat: those [faults]; that [suffering/end-gaining]; [all] that; the
nirodhaM (accusative): suppression, inhibition, stopping

nirvartakam (acc. sg.): turning back ; causing to cease , abolishing , removing; desisting from , stopping , ceasing
ca: and
api: also
avagaccha (imperative): understand
maargam (acc. sg.): m. the path


EH Johnston:
Accordingly recognise suffering to be identical with active being and understand that the faults are the cause of active being; realise that inactivity is the suppression of active being and understand that it is the Path which leads to inactivity.

Linda Covill:
Therefore accept that active life is suffering, and understand faults as being related to active life; recognize cessation of suffering to be the ceasing of active life, and know the path as being related to cessation.

SAUNDARANANDA 16.41: A Medical Metaphor for the Four Truths

tad vyaadhi-saMjNaaM kuru duHkha-satye
doSheShv' api vyaadhi-nidaana-saMjNaaM
aarogya-saMjNaaM ca nirodha-satye
bhaiShajya-saMjNaaM api maarga-satye


16.41
So with regard to the truth of suffering,
see suffering as a disease;

With regard to the faults,
see the faults as causes of disease;

With regard to the truth of inhibition,
see inhibition as freedom from disease;

And with regard to the truth of a path,
see a path as a remedy.

COMMENT:
The philosophy of action is not a translation but is one man's subjective interpretation of the meaning of nirodha-satya. The philosophy of action has become a term that is redolent with suffering for me. Maybe I would be wiser not to dwell on it at all, but the philosophy of action was a kind of thesis to which I reacted in many ways. One way I reacted was by pursuing the most literal translation of Shobogenzo I could manage. The philosophy of action was a thesis, a starting point. It was part of a kind of bubble that I was part of, pumped up with subjective meaning during the period of Japan's post-war bubble economy.

The truth of cessation is closer to the literal meaning of nirodha as defined below in the Monier-Williams dictionary -- a definition which is full of scary words liable to win the disapproval of feminist vegans, such as "suppression" and "destruction." The truth of cessation , feeble though it seems to me now, is the translation I favoured when working on the Nishijima-Cross Shobogenzo translation. But what does the truth of cessation mean in practice? Cessation of what, in practice? Let nobody try to tell me. Who can actually show me?

Ray Evans & Ron Colyer showed me. Marjory Barlow showed me. Nelly Ben-Or showed me.

So quash the thesis and deliver the anti-thesis to the dustbin. The truth of inhibition is the translation that hits the target -- insofar as the truth of inhibition is what real people actually struggle to see and to practice in Alexander work, as also in neuro-developmental work. We struggle, on many levels, to inhibit, to suppress, to destroy the unconscious misdirection of energy that blights our life, and thereby to become more conscious, more free, more whole, more healthy.

So see inhibition, the Buddha says through Ashvaghosha's mouth, as freedom from disease -- as a bit of freedom, a bit of nothing.

To see inhibition as a bit of nothing. That is why a friend of mine who shall remain nameless, grounded now in years of Alexander work, aware of the imperfect integration of his own Moro reflex, walks shaven-headed through the forest, alone, unbeknowns to anybody, looking for a place to see inhibition as a bit of nothing. Looking for a good place to allow the whole body to come undone, allowing the head out and the arms and legs out -- out of a bit of nothing.

VOCABULARY:
tad: so, therefore
vyaadhi: disease, illness
saMjNaam (accusative): consciousness , clear knowledge or understanding or notion or conception; (with Buddhists) perception (one of the 5 skandhas)
kuru = imperative of kR: make
duHkha-satye (locative): with regard to the truth of suffering

doSheShu (locative, plural): faults
api: also, again
vyaadhi: disease
nidaana: cause
saMjNaam (accusative): conception

aarogya: freedom from disease, health
saMjNaam (accusative): conception
ca: and
nirodha-satye: (locative): with regard to the truth of inhibition
nirodha: [Monier-Williams definitions, verbatim] m. confinement , locking up , imprisonment; investment , siege ; enclosing , covering up ; restraint , check , control , suppression , destruction ; (in dram.) disappointment , frustration of hope; (with Buddh. ) suppression or annihilation of pain (one of the 4 principles)

bhaiShajya: n. curativeness , healing efficacy; any remedy , drug or medicine; n. the administering of medicines
saMjNaam (accusative): conception
api: also, again
maarga-satye: (locative): with regard to the truth of a path


EH Johnston:
Therefore in the first Truth think of suffering as disease, in the second of the faults as the cause of disease, in the third of the destruction of suffering as good health and in the fourth of the Path as the medicine.

Linda Covill:
So with regard to the Truth about suffering, think of suffering as a disease; with regard to the faults, consider them as the cause of illness; concerning the Truth of cessation, think of it as good health, and as for the Truth about the path, regard it as the remedy.

SAUNDARANANDA 16.40: Appreciating One's Own Illness, Tended by Friends in the Know

yo vyaadhito vyaadhim avaiti samyag
vyaadher nidaanaM ca tad-auShadhaM ca
aarogyam aapnoti hi so 'cireNa
mitrair abhijNair upacaryamaaNaH

16.40
He who fully appreciates his illness,
as the illness it is,

Who sees the cause of the illness
and its remedy:

It is he who wins, before long,
freedom from disease --

Attended by friends in the know.

COMMENT:
Love sickness, sea sickness, glandular fever, and hay fever are four illnesses I have experienced, if not always fully appreciated -- mental sickness, physical sickness, a serious illness, and an illness that is real here and now, by whatever name it goes.

The cause in each case, as I see it, has to do with lack of inhibitory circuits in the brain and nervous system. Where there is a lack of inhibition, the consequence tends to be undue activity, or over-excitement, in the nervous system, which in turn tends to weaken the functioning of the immune system.

I sort of knew this on some level as a teenager when, not wishing to be seen as the kind of wimpy guy who suffered from hay-fever, or fear of girls, I used to drink large quantities of beer, lift weights to build myself up, and direct a lot of energy into playing rugby... but then when I was 17 I got glandular fever and stayed wimpishly in bed for weeks, growing thin.

Twenty years later, when I walked into the teaching room of Marjory Barlow, the niece of FM Alexander, she seemed to know all this background without ever being told. She then proceeded to demonstrate to me how she understood the practice of inhibition, as it had been demonstrated to her by her uncle FM Alexander. Marjory was indeed a true friend in the know.

I have another friend in the know, a homeopath by vocation, to whom also this verse might mean something.

VOCABULARY:
yaH: [he] who
vyaadhi: disorder , disease , ailment , sickness
-taH: (ablative suffix) "in accordance with," "in respect of"
vyaadhitaH: as disease, as the illness
vyaadhim = accusative vyaadhi: illness
avaiti = 3rd person singular of ave: to perceive , conceive , understand , learn , know
samyak: correctly , fully, truly , properly , fitly

vyaadheH (genitive): of the illness
nidaanaM (accusative): the cause
ca: and
tat: it, that
auShadham (accusative): n. herbs collectively, a herb; n. herbs used in medicine , a medicament , drug , medicine in general
ca: and

aarogyam (accusative): freedom from disease, health
aapnoti = 3rd person singular aap: obtain, gain
hi: for, because, on account of; (or emphatic) indeed , assuredly , surely , of course , certainly
saH: he
acireNa: not long, not for long

mitraiH (inst. pl.): with friends
abhijNaiH (inst. pl.): mfn. knowing, skilful, clever
upacaryamaaNaH = nom. sg. m. present passive participle upa-√car: to attend on (a patient)


EH Johnston:
For instance, he, who understands disease correctly as disease, its cause and its cure, quickly regains sound health, being treated by skilful friends.

Linda Covill:
The sick man who understands his disease correctly, and its cause and its remedy will, when tended by knowledgeable friends, soon win good health.

SAUNDARANANDA 16.29: A Saved Person Attains Nothing But Extinction (4)

evaM kRtii nirvRtim abhyupeto
n' aaiv' aavaniM gacchati n'aantarikSham
dishaM na kaaM cid vidishaM na kaaM cit
klesha-kShayaat kevalam eti shaantim

16.29
In the same way,
a man of action who has found salvation

Reaches neither to the earth nor to the sky,

Nor to any cardinal nor to any intermediate point:

From the ending of his afflictions
he attains nothing but extinction.

COMMENT:
Nothing to attain but extinction.
We are here in diligent pursuit of a bit of nothing.

Up is nothing but up -- it is just a direction, not something that can be done. Back is nothing but back. The backward step is not a route to anything. The backward step is a route to a bit of nothing.

But a bit of nothing is a lot.
A bit of nothing is the lifeblood.
A bit of nothing is Ashvaghosha's gold.
A bit of nothing is the pot of gold at the end of this epic tale of Hansome Nanda's journey, which is, in the end, a success story, a story of redemption.

Should we reach outside of ourselves for this pot of gold? In the past, I have done that, repeatedly -- with an expectant mind, pregnant with suffering.
Should we reach out to others, like evangelists, in our desire to share with them what we believe in our minds to be the good news? In the past, I have done that too, travelling over the ocean from Japan to America, for example, weighed down with a heavy load of books.
Should we, even though we are not yet fully enlightened, and even though we have never truly met a person who was fully enlightened, take it upon ourselves to instruct others in what we have not yet mastered? I have done that, in spades, and am still tempted to do it.
Or should we simply devote ourselves, as simply and single-mindedly as we are able, to the backward step of turning light and shining? This is the preaching I have heard and have endeavored to live by, but all too often while preaching with one ear I have failed to listen with the other ear.

The above verse is Ashvaghosha's concluding expression on the 3rd noble truth, the truth of inhibition. From the next verse he turns our attention to the inhibitory eightfold path itself, on which we are truly to master, sooner or later, the backward step of turning light and shining.

VOCABULARY:
evam: thus, in this way
kRtii (nominative, singular, masculine): one who acts, a man of action
nirVrtim = accusative, nirVrti: f. complete satisfaction or happiness , bliss , pleasure , delight; emancipation , final beatitude; attainment of rest; extinction (of a lamp)
abhyupeta: arrived at, attained

na: not
eva: at all
avani: the earth
gacchati (3rd person singular, gam): goes
na: not
antarikSha: the sky

disham = accusative, plural of dish: f. quarter or region pointed at, direction, cardinal point (E,W, S, N)
na kaaM cit: not any of them
vidisham = accusative, plural of vidish: f. an intermediate point of the compass (as south east)
na kaaM cit: not any of them

klesha: affliction
kShayaat = ablative of kShaya: loss , waste , wane , diminution , destruction , decay , wasting or wearing away (often ifc.)
kevalam: only , merely , solely
eti: reaches, attains, enters, comes into
shaantim (accusative): peace; extinction (of fire &c )

EH Johnston:
So the Saint who has reached Nirvana does not depart to the earth or the sky or any of the quarters or intermediate quarters but from the exhaustion of the vices merely goes to peace.

Linda Covill:
so he who has reached nirvana travels not to the earth, not to the sky, nor to any of the directions or intermediate directions, but, because his defilements have ended, just attains peace.

SAUNDARANANDA 16.21: Afflictions Develop Personality, Life by Life

krodha-praharSh'aadibhir aashrayaaNaam
utpadyate c'eha yathaa visheShah
tath" aiva janmasv api n'aika-ruupo
nirvartate klesha-kRto visheShaH

16.21
Just as the anger, lust, and so on
of sufferers of those afflictions

Give rise in the present to a personality trait,

So too in new lives, in various manifestations,

Does the affliction-created trait develop:

COMMENT:
Ain't it funny how your new life didn't change things?
You're still suffering from the same old affliction you used to have.
It somehow doesn't scan as well as the old Eagles lyric, but I think it makes Ashvaghosha's point here.

As a translation of klesha, I like "affliction" because it means both SUFFERING itself and also a delusory tendency that CAUSES SUFFERING.

To be grumpy, to return to that example, is not only to suffer from grumpiness (suffering itself) but also to see the world as if through grumpiness-tainted spectacles (a cause of suffering to self and others).

And here again, a bit of knowledge about early vestibular reflexes may help to deepen our understanding of how afflictions afflict us.

If the Moro, or infantile panic/grasp reflex, fails to be INHIBITED during the initial window of inhibition lasting till around 6 months after birth, the reflex will tend to remain stuck in the system of the child and adult as a big obstacle to enlightened behaviour.

The affliction of an immature Moro reflex directly brings suffering itself, in the form of irrational fear, anger, over-excitement and hypersensitivity. But more than that, because of its wide-ranging effects on the functioning of the ears, eyes, vestibular/proprioceptive and other senses, an immature Moro reflex plays a big role in what FM Alexander called "faulty sensory appreciation." Faulty sensory appreciation is the antithesis of lucidity; it is akin to seeing the world through coloured and distorted lenses, and is thus the indirect cause of suffering.

FM Alexander was way ahead of his time in understanding the importance of the afflictions he termed "unduly excited fear reflexes and emotions" and "faulty sensory appreciation." Not only did he see the problem clearly, he also devised a MEANS-WHEREBY the misuse of the self associated with an immature Moro reflex might be inhibited, and the faulty sensory appreciation associated with it might be by-passed. Thus Alexander's MEANS-WHEREBY involved, as also the realisation of the four dhyaana as described by Ashvaghosha involved, at least in the early stages of their application, reliance on reason.

Specifically, Alexander taught verbal directions which point precisely away from the stiffening of the neck, holding of the head, narrowing and arching of the back, and holding in of the limbs, which characterizes the Moro pattern. Those verbal directions go something like this:

"I wish to let my neck be free,
To let the head go forward and up,
To let the back lengthen and widen,
Sending the legs and the arms out of the back...."


VOCABULARY:
krodha: anger
praharSha: erection (or greater erection) of the male organ; erection of the hair, extreme joy , thrill of delight , rapture
aadibhiH = instrumental [indicating agent of passive construction], plural of aadi: beginning with, and so on
aashrayaaNaam = genitive, plural of aashraya: that to which anything is annexed or with which anything is closely connected or on which anything depends or rests ; a recipient , the person or thing in which any quality or article is inherent or retained or received

utpadyate = 3rd person singular passive utpad: to arise , rise , originate , be born or produced ; to come forth , become visible , appear ; to be ready ; to take place , begin ; to produce , beget , generate ; to cause , effect ; to cause to issue or come forth , bring forward
ca: and; (sometimes emphatic = eva) , even , indeed , certainly , just
iha: in this place , here ; to this place ; in this world; now
yathaa: (correlative of tathaa in the following sentence) just as
visheShah = nominative singular of visheSha: distinction , difference between ; characteristic difference, peculiar mark, special property, speciality, peculiarity ; a kind , species , individual

tathaa: similarly, in the same manner
eva: just so
janmasu = locative plural of janman: birth, production; origin; existence , life
api: and , also , moreover , besides
n'aika: not one, many, various
ruupaH = nominative, singular of ruupa: form, shape, figure

nirvartate = 3rd person singluar of nir- √ vRt: to cause to roll out or cast (as dice); to take place , happen ; to come forth , originate , develop , become; to be accomplished or effected or finished, come off ;
klesha: pain , affliction , distress , pain from disease , anguish; (the Buddhists reckon ten , viz. three of the body [murder , theft , adultery] , four of speech [lying , slander , abuse , unprofitable conversation] , three of the mind [covetousness , malice , scepticism])
kRtaH: done, made, created
visheShaH (see above): peculiarity, personality trait

EH Johnston:
And as the special character of the bodily constitution in this existence is brought about by anger, joy, etc., similarly a special character, effected by the vices, is developed in various forms in their (new) births also.

Linda Covill:
Just as the distinctive character of embodied individuals arises because of their anger, joy and so on, so does their distinctive defilement-created character develop in various formats in future births too.

SAUNDARANANDA 16.20: We Become What We Practise

sattvaany abhiShvaNga-vashaani dRShTvaa
svajaatiShu priiti-paraaNy atiiva
abhyaasa-yogaad upapaaditaani
tair eva doShair iti taani viddhi

16.20
See sentient beings in the grip of attachment,

Dead set on pleasure among their own kind;

And, from their habitual practice of faults,

Observe them presenting with those very faults.

COMMENT:
Line 1 describes the SUFFERING of emotional enslavement.

Line 2, as I read it, is less about the perils of taking pleasure and more about the perils of lacking the will to be free. In other words, the problem discussed in this line is that of MOTIVATION. Priiti, meaning pleasure or joy, pops up several times in Ashvaghosha's descriptions of realisation of the four dhyaana, and especially in the earlier stages of that process. So Ashvaghosha is no killjoy. The distinction to be made is between (a) setting one's sights on freedom, in which case, if one is skillful, pleasure is liable to be part of the scenery; and (b) accepting pleasure as one's chief object, in which case one not only sacrifices freedom at the altar of the pleasure principle, but one also buckles oneself securely into the swing of samsaric suffering. So whereas (a) the pursuit of freedom (if one is skillful) is blessed by experience of pleasure, at a certain level, as a criterion; (b) direct pursuit of pleasure as one's chief object invariably tends towards attachment and suffering.

Pleasure svajaatiShu, "among one's own kind," may have been intended to carry a connotation of pleasure from human sexual contact, in which case the line might have been translated as "Being too devoted to the pleasures of kindred flesh." But if we actually look around us, as the Buddha is recommending Nanda to do, gross sensualists, being motivated primarily by the desire for sexual gratification, are not much in evidence. But what we do observe is many people like sheep who are indeed primarily motivated, in diverse ways, by the pleasure principle. The main motivation of many people does indeed seem to be the desire to be pleasurably rewarded, through being shown the love, appreciation and respect not only of sexual partners but also of other family members, professional peers, and other flocks/groups to which they regard themselves as belonging. That desire for positive reinforcement from the approval of others might be manifested, for example, in the support of a particular football team, in the purchase of a particular brand of training shoes or mobile phone, or even, on a subtler level, the writing of a popular book.

Line 3 expresses the rightful object of INHIBITION, which is habitual patterns. Insofar as this verse does point to attachment to pleasures of the flesh as a source of suffering, the target of INHIBITION, or suppression, in that case, is not sexual desire itself, but rather the practice of the habits that are typically observable around sexual desire -- on the positive side are the kind of celebration of sexual greed discernible in a hip-hop video, along with young lovers' over-exuberant expectations of their partners, and other habits of romantic thinking, et cetera; on the negative side, instances of bitter disappointment, jealous rage, et cetera, are not difficult to find. Understood like this, as a process targeted at habits, INHIBITION is not a tool of repression (as is generally indicated when psychologists talk of sexual inhibitions): INHIBITION is rather a key to freedom (as was indicated by FM Alexander when he spoke of inhibition of endgaining ideas and endgaining habits). Freedom, as Alexander said, "involves carrying out an activity against the habits of life."

Line 4 is the punch-line, expressing the truth that the faults which we have practised in the past have left us in the present with an unconscious tendency towards those same faults. And such an unconscious tendency can never be eradicated, however hard and long a person practises, through unconscious practice. Hence the indispensability of finding a conscious PATH. But even having found such a path, it is still a very long way to Tiperary, because a conscious path is always so difficult to practice.

While in the process of writing this comment, I had to go and pick up my wife's car from a local garage. I came back complaining about the attitude of the guy manning the service reception desk. "You are such a grumpy man!" my wife remarked. Maybe so, but I was not a grumpy child. People have reliably told me that I was not a grumpy child. So I haven't always been this grumpy. No, it has taken me a lifetime of unskillful, unconscious practice to become as grumpy as this.

VOCABULARY:
sattvaani = accusative, plural of sattva: a living or sentient being, creature
abhiShvaNga: intense attachment or affection to
vashaani = accusative, plural vasha: will, wish, desire; authority, power, control, dominion; (at the end of compounds) by command of, by force of, on account of
dRShTvaa = absolutive from dRsh: to see

svajaatiShu = locative, svajaati: one's own kind
sva: own
jaati: birth; form of existence fixed by birth; kind, species
priiti: any pleasurable sensation , pleasure , joy
paraani = accusative, plural of paraa: (at end of compounds) having as the chief object , given up to , occupied with , engrossed in
atiiva: exceedingly , very; excessively

abhyaasa: the act of adding anything; reduplication; repetition; repeated or permanent exercise , discipline , use , habit , custom
yogaat = ablative of yoga: employment , use , application , performance; partaking of; engagement in
upapaadita: effected , accomplished , performed , done; given , delivered , presented ; proved , demonstrated; treated medically
upa-√ pad: to take place , come forth , be produced , appear , occur , happen

taiH (instrumental, plural): with those
eva: very same
doShaiH = instrumental, plural of doSha: fault
iti: that
taani (accusative, plural): them, those [living beings]
viddhi = imperative of vid: know, understand, perceive; notice, observe; experience, feel

EH Johnston:
Seeing all beings to be under the spell of attachment and excessively given to taking pleasure in their particular types, know that they are brought to birth again accompanied by the same vices in consequence of their habitual practice of them (in their previous births).

Linda Covill:
Having seen that living beings are ruled by attachment, entirely engrossed in pleasure-seeking among their own kind, know that because of their engagement in these habits they will be reborn with those very faults.

SAUNDARANANDA 16.5: One After Another & All Together

ity aarya-satyaany avabudhya buddhyaa
catvaari samyak pratividhya c' aiva
sarv'-aasravaan bhaavanay" abhibhuuya
na jaayate shaantim avaapya bhuuyaH

16.5
Understanding these noble truths,
by a process of reasoning

While also befriending the four as one,

He contains all energetic leaks,
through the means of directed thought,

And, on finding peace,
is no longer subject to becoming.

COMMENT:
Line 1, as I understand it, is an affirmation of knowing that 2 + 2 = 4, i.e. an affirmation of REASON.

Line 2 can be read as a NEGATION OF REASON. Reason deals in logical sequences of elements that come one after another, like 1 + 2 + 3 + 4 = 10; or like (1) thesis vs (2) antithesis leading to (3) synthesis and (4) a real path transcending threefold dialectic . But reason cannot realise all things as part of one picture, which is the function of intuitive reflection. I know this paradox from Alexander work, where it is expressed in the phrase "all together, one after another." The four Alexandrian thought-directions, or orders, are to be given one after another in a certain order (which, as I see it, parallels the hierarchical development of four vestibular reflexes). The order of the orders is: (1) let the neck be free, (2) to let the head go forward and up, (3) to let the back lengthen and widen, (4) while releasing the limbs out. As verbal orders, however, these four orders cannot be thought all together. To think them all together requires an altogether different kind of thinking -- which might be called "non-thinking."

Line 3 describes the practice of INHIBITION, the truest form of which is direction of one's energy.

Line 4, following on from the previous verse, is an expression of a peaceable PATH.


VOCABULARY:
iti: thus, what precedes
aarya: noble, aryan
satyaani (accusative, plural of satya): truth, reality
avabudhya = absolutive of avabudh: become sensible or aware of, perceive, know
buddhyaa = instrumental of buddhi: the power of forming and retaining conceptions and general notions, intelligence, reason, intellect, mind, discernment , judgement; understanding; presence of mind, ready wit
buddhyaa: ind. with the intention of, designedly, deliberately

catvaari: four
samyak: in one or the same direction, in the same way, at the same time, together
pratividhya = absolutive of pratividh: to perceive, understand; to become acquainted with
ca: and
eva: [emphatic]

sarva: all
aasravaan (accusative, plural aasrava): leakage, affliction
bhaavanayaa = instrumental of bhaavana: forming in the mind, conception, apprehension, imagination, supposition, thought, meditation
bhaavanayaa: in thought, in imagination; (with locative) direct one's thoughts to
abhibhuuya = absolutive of abhibhuu: to overcome, overpower, conquer, overspread; defeat

na: not
jaayate = present indicative of jan: be born, arise, become
shaantim = accusative, shaanti: tranquillity, peace, quiet; cessation, abatement, inhibition
avaapya = absolutive, avaap: reach, gain, get, arrive at, attain
bhuuyaH = nominative/accusative, singular bhuuyas: becoming; the act of becoming; 'becoming in a greater degree' i.e. more, further, once more, again, anew.


EH Johnston:
Thus understanding with his intellect the four Noble Truths and penetrating to their core, he overcomes all the infections by the cultivation of meditation and, arriving at tranquility, he is not born again.

Linda Covill:
By using his intellect to understand and completely penetrate the Four Noble Truths, and by using meditation to overpower all the rebirth-producing tendencies, he attains peace and is not born again.

SAUNDARANANDA 16.2: One Most Magical and Four Lesser Powers of Knowing

Rddhi-pravekaM ca bahu-prakaaraM
parasya cetash-carit'-aavabodham
atiita-janma-smaraNam ca diirghaM
divye vishuddhe shruti-cakShuShii ca

16.2
The most magical feat of all, which is adaptability;

Then being awake to what others are thinking;

And remembering past lives from long ago;

And divine lucidity of ear; and of eye.

COMMENT:
Line 1 might more literally be translated: "The chief magic power, taking many forms." The first of the five powers is sometimes understood (as per the Monier-Williams definition of abhijnaa) as the super-human power of taking any form at will -- like Arnold Schwarzenneger’s Terminator; but I would prefer to understand it, if the Sanskrit permits, as the distinctly human ability of being versatile or adaptable, which, some say, is the secret of the success of our species. If the Sanskrit does not permit "adaptability" as a literal translation of bahu-prakaara in Line 1, I would be grateful as ever for the input of any pandit who may be reading this.

A fourfold progression, which I would like to identify in each verse insofar as one exists, can then be observed in the remaining four powers:
(1) knowing what is going on in another person’s MIND;
(2) remembering the CAUSAL/HISTORICAL FACTS of past lives;
(3) unimpeded, untainted functioning of the central organ of INHIBITION,
(4) and of the instrument of SEEING THE PATH.

In Shobogenzo, the eye, or eyeball -- in expressions like “gouging out Bodhidharma’s eyeball” -- means the eye as the instrument of seeing. What Bodhidharma’s eyeball represents, as I understand it, is not a viewpoint but sitting as an instrument of realisation.

VOCABULARY:
Rddhi: growth, success; accomplishment, feat, perfection, supernatural power; magic
pravekam = accusative of praveka (from √ vic): choicest, most excellent, principal, chief (always at the end of compounds).
vic: to sift, separate (esp. grain from chaff by winnowing); discern, discriminate
ca: and
bahu: much, many
prakaara (from pra +√kR): manner, kind, sort; a kind of (mostly at end of compounds; tri-prakAraH of three kinds; bahu-prakaaraH, of many kinds); similitude or difference
pra- √kR: to make, produce, accomplish, perform, achieve, effect; to enable to, make fit for
bahu-prakaaram = accusative of bahu-prakaara: of many kinds; taking many forms [hence, capable of taking many forms, adaptable, versatile (?)]

parasya (genitive): of others
cetaH (in compounds for cetas): consciousness, intelligence, thinking soul, heart, mind
carita: going, moving, course
avabodha: waking, being awake, knowing

atiita = ati + ita [gone beyond]: past
janma = in compouds for janman: birth, existence, life; production, origin; re-birth
smaraNam (accusative): remembering
ca: and
diirgha: long (in space and time)

divye = accusative, dual of divya: divine, heavenly, celestial; supernatural, wonderful, magical
vishuddhe = accusative, dual of vishuddha: completely cleansed or purified
shruti-cakSHuSHii = accusative, dual of shruti-cakSHus: hearing and seeing
shruti: hearing, listening, the ear
cakSHus: seeing, the eye
ca: and

EH Johnston:
To wit, the most excellent magic powers of many kinds, awareness of the motions of others' thoughts, remembrance of past births far back, pure and heavenly sight and hearing.

Linda Covill:
all manner of wonderful psychic powers, knowing the movements of the minds of other people, remembering past births from long ago, and divine, purified hearing and sight.

SAUNDARANANDA 16.1: A Methodical Process

evaM mano-dhaaraNayaa krameNa
vyapohya kim cit samupohya kim cit
dhyaanaani catvaary adhigamya yogii
praapnoty abhijNaa niyamena paNca

16.1
"Thus, methodically, by an act of stilling the mind,

With a certain amount of negation
and a certain amount of integration,

The practitioner comes to the four realisations

And duly acquires the fivefold power of knowing:

COMMENT:
Line 1 describes an act of sitting-dhyana as the most MENTAL act there is -- not a doing that is accomplished solely by direct physical means.

Line 2, as I read it, has to do with regulation of ENERGY. What I have been struggling towards, in the very nearly 50 years since I was conceived, through a very slow and faltering process, is greater conscious control in directing the flow of that temporary concentration of energy which is me. So that's my basis for understanding Line 2. I think it expresses from a MATERIALISTIC standpoint what goes on in the sitting practitioner's brain and nervous system, through the re-direction of his ENERGY in sitting. The line can be understood as expressing, in even more explicitly neurological terms, the pruning out of certain circuits of neurones and the making of new connections between certain circuits of neurones. So the line could have been translated "Pruning bits here and connecting bits there." What this means in practice I endeavored to express, from the standpoint of a student of Master Dogen and FM Alexander, in this article. Energetic patterns to negate, or neuronal circuits to prune out, might be those associated with emotional clinging to relationships that belong to the past, or emotional grasping for outcomes that belong to the future -- together with all the other kinds of emotional habits associated with infantile fear reflexes. New connections to make, in the way of integration, might be those associated with a new and improved use of the head, neck and back. When this breaking and making of connections is investigated (as verse 17.50 says) "through experience, with the body," then (1) breaking away from unconscious reactions, and (2) making conscious connections between body parts, may turn out to be two ways of describing one process. Hence, "the truest form of inhibition is direction."

Line 3 describes what happens in PRACTICE.

Line 4 describes not the acquisition of knowledge but THE REAL power of knowing. The prefix abhi, which means "over" suggests what is transcendent, or real.

VOCABULARY:
evam: thus
mano = (in compounds) manas: mind
dhAraNayA = instrumental dhaaraNa: holding, bearing, keeping (in remembrance), retention, preserving, protecting, maintaining, possessing; the act of holding, bearing; keeping in remembrance, memory; immovable concentration of the mind upon (locative); restraining, keeping back
kramena = instrumental of krama: step, course, method

vyapohya = absolutive of vya + apa + hRi: to cut off, take away, remove, destroy
kimcit: something, somewhat, a little, a certain amount
samupohya = absolutive of sam + uuh: to sweep together, bring or gather together, collect, unite
kim cit: something, somewhat, a little, a certain amount

dhyAnAni (accusative, plural): realisations, stages of Zen
catvAri (nominative, neuter): four
adhigamya (absolutive of adhi + gam): on coming to, obtaining, accomplishing
yogI = nominative, singular of yogin: a practitioner of yoga, a devotee of bodymind work

prApnoti: he/she acquires
abhijNA: (nominative, singular, feminine): knowing; supernatural science or faculty of a buddha (of which five are enumerated , viz. 1. taking any form at will ; 2. hearing to any distance ; 3. seeing to any distance ; 4. penetrating men's thoughts ; 5. knowing their state and antecedents).
niyamena (instrumental of niyama): as a rule, necessarily, invariably, surely
niyama: any fixed rule or law, necessity, obligation
paNca: five, fivefold

EH Johnston:
'Thus in due course by subtracting something and adding something through immobility of the mind and by attaining the four trances, the Yogin spontaneously acquires the five supernatural powers.

Linda Covill:
"So by using mental concentration to gradually take a little away and to add a little, the practitioner attains the four meditative states, and then inevitably acquires the five supernormal faculties:

SAUNDARANANDA 17.50: The Third Realisation

17.50
priter viraagaat sukham aarya-juSHTam
kaayena vindann atha samprajaanan
upekSHakaH sa smRtimaan vyahaarSHiid
dhyaanaM tRtiiyam pratilabhya dhiiraH

17.50
The ease enjoyed by the noble ones,
from non-attachment to joy,

He then knew fully, through experience, with his body.

Going well, he remained indifferent, mindful,

And, having gained the third realisation, steady.


COMMENT:
Line 1 describes a condition of MIND.

Line 2 describes learning through experience with the BODY.

Line 3 features the verb vihR, which featured often in Canto 3, where Ashvoghasha gave us a sense of observance of the precepts not as something gloomily restrictive but as an aid to roaming freely, to faring or going well. FM Alexander spent his life investigating how a person who habitually went badly might improve his use of himself so that he would gradually fare better. And the key to such improvement was stopping the wrong thing so that the right thing could do itself. The key, in short, was inhibition. So true INHIBITION, and FREEDOM IN ACTION, can be seen as two faces of the same coin.

In Line 4, as I read it, Ashvaghosha is hinting that the third realisation is not necessarily heralded by trumpets. The sense of A PATH continued quietly and with determination, as opposed to a thunderbolt heralded by trumpets, is conveyed both by the word dhiiraH, constancy or steadiness, and also (I think) grammatically by the gerundive (or 'future passive participle') ending -ya in pratilabhya. The gerundive ending -ya, if I understand correctly, conveys a wide, characterizing sense of what will duly happen to something in a natural course of events.

This verse, then, also reflects a four-phased progression, which is easily linkable to the fourfold noble truth of suffering, if one accepts the argument of the person who introduced me to the fourfold system, Gudo Nishijima, that (1) suffering is the philosophy of subjectivism, idealism, mind; and (2) effort to identify the cause of suffering arises from the standpoint of objectivism, materialism, body.

VOCABULARY:
priiteH (ablative/genitive): from/of/to joy
viraagaat (ablative): through/from/because of dispassion, indifference,non-attachment, loss of colour, absence of redness
Lit. "because of absence of redness from joy" (?)
sukham (accusative): ease, happiness
aarya: a respectable or honourable or faithful man, an inhabitant of Aryavarta; name of the race which immigrated from Central Asia into Aaryaavarta; (with Buddhists) a man who has thought on the four chief truths of Buddhism and lives accordingly; behaving like an Aryan, honourable, respectable, noble
juSHTa: pleased, loved, agreeable, usual, practised, possessed of (in compounds)
aarya-juSHTa: enjoyed by noble ones

kaayena (instrumental): with/through the body
vindan (present participle of vid) finding, discovering, feeling, experiencing
atha: then
samprajaana: full consciousness [MW 1174]
samprajaanan = present participle (?) of sam + pra + jNa: distinguish, discern, know accurately or perfectly

upekSHakaH (nominative, singular): overlooking, indifferent, disregarding
sa: he
smRti: remembering, mindfulness, awareness, attention
-mant: possessive suffix
smRtimaan (nominative, singular): having mindfulness, being mindful
vyahaarSHiid = from vi + hR: to fare or fare well, rove or walk, spend or pass time, roam, wander; walk or roam for pleasure

dhyaanam (accusative): realisation, stage or level of Zen
tRtiiyam: the third
pratilabh: obtain, get back; (with accusative) partake of
pratilabhya = gerundive (expressing obligation, necessity, inevitability etc.) of prati + labh
dhiiraH: steady, constant, firm, resolute, brave, energetic, courageous, self-possessed, composed, calm

EH Johnston:
Then experiencing with his body through freedom from ecstasy that bliss which the Saints feel, and fully aware of all things, he remained indifferent and attentive and gained the third trance.

Linda Covill:
Through his non-attachment to joy he then discovered the physical bliss enjoyed by the noble ones, and with full comprehension he passed the time in equanimity, attentive and steady; and he attained the third level of meditation.

SAUNDARANANDA 17.49: Sweet Melons, Bitter Gourds

priitiH paraa vastuni yatra yasya
viparyayaat tasya hi tatra duHkham
priitaav ataH prekSHya sa tatra doSHaan
priiti-kSHaye yogam upaaruroha

17.49
For when a man finds extreme joy in something,

Paradoxically, suffering for him is right there.

So seeing the pitfalls there, in joy,

He continued on an upward path
with practice directed beyond joy.

COMMENT:
Line 1 describes a particular form of SUFFERING, which is great joy in something. In philosophy, the Monier-Williams dictionary tells us, vastu means the real, as opposed to a-vastu, that which does not really exist, the unreal. The distinction calls to mind Master Dogen's discussion of 'existence as' (U) and 'being without' (MU), the Buddha-nature. For Master Dogen the latter is the ultimate. For Ashvaghosha similarly, it may be that the ultimate goal towards which the Buddha has pointed Nanda is not so much something as a bit of nothing.

Line 2 identifies, as a CAUSE OF SUFFERING, the paradoxical tendency that all things have to turn into their opposite, and in particular the inexorable tendency that extreme joy has to turn into its opposite. In his commentary on suffering in the four abodes of mindfulness, Master Dogen writes of sweet melons turning into bitter gourds. Nanda’s former misery in being separated from his lovely sweetheart Sundari, described at length by Ashvaghosha in the earlier Cantos, and beatifully translated by Linda Covill, was a case in point of sweet melons turning.

Line 3 again relates to the virtuous circle of INHIBITION and awareness, awarness and INHIBITION -- i.e. seeing faults and not practising them, seeing pitfalls and avoiding them.

A more literal translation of Line 4 would be “He ascended to practice [directed] at ending of joy.” I think the point, though, is that Nanda was simply continuing on a PATH with heart, regardless of any joy and suffering it brought with it -- more in the spirit of a climber than in the spirit of a killjoy. For the same reason, I think the richest seam of gold in this verse might be buried in the final word: upaaruroha. In context, the word means entered on or undertook [yogic practice]. But its vital connotation, as I read it, is of the continuing upwardness of A PATH of non-buddha.

VOCABULARY:
priitiH (nominative, singluar, feminine): joy
paraa (feminine): exceeding, extreme, superlative, highest, greatest, deepest
vastuni (locative, singular of vastu): in a thing
yatra (used to express locative of ya): in which case, wherein, wherever
yasya (genitive): of whom

viparyayaat (ablative of viparyaya): because of turning round, reversal, turning into its opposite
tasya (genitive; correlative of yasya): to/of/for him
hi: for [moved to previous line]
tatra: in that, there
duHkham: suffering, unsatisfactoriness

pritau (locative): in joy
ataH: therefore, from this, hence
prekSHya (absolutive of prekSH): on seeing; having seen, noticed, discerned, observed
sa: he
tatra: in that, there
doSHaan (accusative, plural): faults, defects, drawbacks, pitfalls

priiti: joy
kSHaye = locative, kSHaya: loss, waste, wane, diminution, destruction, decay, wasting or wearing away; abatement; end, termination
yogam = accusative, yoga: the act of yoking [body and mind]; practice, yogic practice; means, expedient, method
upaaruroha = perfect upaa + ruh: to ascend or go up to, mount, arrive at, reach

EH Johnston:
For by the law of opposites suffering is present in any matter in which the highest ecstasy is experienced by man; therefore seeing the defects ensuing at this stage from ecstasy, he entered on Yoga for its abolition.

Linda Covill:
For he who takes profound joy in anything will also find unsatisfactoriness in it, because of the possibility of its alteration; so noticing the flaws in joy, he undertook yogic practice to destroy joy.