jNaatavyam etena ca kaaraNena
lokasya doShebhya iti pravRttiH
yasmaan mriyante sa-rajas-tamaskaa
na jaayate viita-rajas-tamaskaH
16.18
What you must understand, again,
is this process of causation
Whereby striving is driven by the faults of man,
So that those imbued with redness and darkness
succumb to death,
While one without redness and darkness
is not reborn.
COMMENT:
The references to death and rebirth may be understood in the light of the statement in 16.6 that man is hoisted in the swing of mass unconscious reaction, dying in one samsaric realm and being reborn in another. Such demise in one realm and rebirth in another can happen numerous times, it seems to me, in the course of a human lifetime.
In my effort to understand how the movement of the samsaric swing is driven by faults, I came to Alexander work, and an Alexander teacher named Ray Evans drew my attention to the importance of a hierarchy that exists in the development of primitive vestibular reflexes. These reflexes, as I endeavored to explain here, can be regarded as the cornerstones of human behaviour.
The most primitive of all vestibular reflexes is the Moro, or baby panic reflex, an early forerunner of the mature startle reflex. Anybody who is at all familiar with the function of the Moro reflex knows that its colour is the colour of panic, red, and also that this redness tends to be accompanied by its opposite whose colour is the pallour of shock.
Thirty-five years ago my mind was very much occupied with the problem of going red. In certain circumstances, especially in cramped social situations like sitting on the school bus I suffered from what is sometimes known as “chronic blushing.” I did not suffer in other social situations when my energy was being strongly directed into some task, such as lifting weights, or playing rugby, or when I was able to combine social interaction with the consumption of large volumes of beer. So these observations alerted me to the fact that my problem with going red was not merely pyschological but had to do with physical energy, and also to do with brain chemistry. When I started my Alexander teacher training under Ray Evans, from 1995, I began to understand that the problem was rooted in vestibular dysfunction.
At the root of all vestibular dysfunction, in my experience, is the Moro reflex -- also known on this blog as the Mara reflex. The Moro reflex is the infantile panic/grasp reflex. Its dark underbelly is passive, paralytic fear.
Yes, tamas , as the Monier-Williams dictionary indicates, means mental darkness, gloom, depression, the winter of the mind. Darkness as a psychological force is pessimism, worry -- "can't do" as opposed to the Moro compulsion of "must do." But darkness in this verse, as I understand it, is not only psychological. It is physiological. It has to do with the withholding or conservation of energy, as a deep survival mechanism.
As such, darkness is a very deep obstruction to the lucidity of seeing what really is, as it is. Darkness is shock. Darkness is denial. And darkness is ignorance.
The darkness of shock and denial is, speaking from experience of the behaviour of self and others, a kind of fear of the truth. And fear always has at least one foot in the vestibular system.
In short, the red and dark of endgaining behaviour is always rooted in faults in the vestibular system. This is what I was taught by my Alexander head of training Ray Evans and this, I think the Buddha is saying here, is what must be understood -- and not only in theory.
VOCABULARY:
jNaatavya (gerundive of jNaa): to be known or understood or investigated or inquired after
etena = instrumental of etat: this
kaaraNena = instrumental of kaaraNa: cause, reason, the cause of anything; instrument, means; motive; origin, principle
lokasya = genitive of loka: world, the world, mankind, humanity
doShebhya = ablative, plural of doSha: fault
iti: thus, because
pravRttiH (nominative, singular): rolling forwards; moving onwards , advance , progress; active (as opposed to contemplative) life.
[see above; also 16.10; 16.17] end-gaining as opposed to attending to the means-whereby; active striving after ends; going directly for ends, relying on unconscious means, as opposed to the contemplative attitude of one who thinks out conscious means.
yasmaat: from which , from which cause , since , as , because , in order that
mriyante = 3rd person plural, present of mR: to die
sa: with (possessive suffix)
rajas: colour, passion, redness
tamaskaaH = nominative, plural of tamaska: (at end of compounds for tamas): darkness, mental darkness; gloom; ignorance, illusion, error
na: not
jaayate = 2nd person singular, present of jan: be born
viita: gone away , departed , disappeared , vanished , lost (in the beginning of compounds = free or exempt from , without , -less)
rajas: colour, passion, redness
tamaska = (at end of compounds for tamas): darkness, mental darkness; gloom; ignorance, illusion, error
EH Johnston:
And for this reason it is to be known that the active being of the world proceeds from the vices, so that those who are subject to passion and to mental darkness are subject to death and he who is devoid of them is not born again.
Linda Covill:
You must understand thereby that man's active life continues because of its faults. It follows that people who are subject to passion and mental darkness die repeatedly, while someone free from passion and mental darkness is not born again.
Showing posts with label Moro. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Moro. Show all posts
Monday, March 2, 2009
Sunday, February 1, 2009
SAUNDARANANDA 17.47: Realisation of the Second Realisation
ath' aa-vitarkam kramasho '-vicaaram
ek'-aagra-bhaavaan manasaH prasannam,
samaadhi-jaM priiti-sukhaM-dvitiiyaM
dhyaanaM tad aadhyaatma-shivaM sa dadhyau
17.47
So gradually dropping thought and deliberation,
Mind calm and clear, because of his unity of purpose,
He realised a second level of joy and ease, born of balance:
He realised that realisation which is inner well-being.
COMMENT:
In Line 1, following on from the previous verse, the thought and deliberation that were advocated before, as an antidote to end-gaining and as a function of the first realisation, have now become something bothersome, synonymous with SUFFERING. Picture a father teaching his son to ride a bicycle: with a firm hold on the saddle, the father initially causes the boy to feel safe and secure, so that he is released from the grip of fear and into free movement; then, as the son starts to pedal, the father gradually withdraws his hands from the saddle so that the boy’s own sense of balance and direction can take over. In this metaphor, reliance on reason, as an antidote to fearful grasping for the security of feeling right (i.e. end-gaining), is represented by the father’s helping hands which, as they start to become a hindrance, are gradually taken away.
Line 2 again relates to causation, indirectly pointing to irresolution, or lack of a clear sense of direction, as a CAUSE OF SUFFERING. In developmental terms, a factor which is vital in determining a person's sense of direction, or lack of it, is integration of the baby fencer/pointing reflex, whose name in neurology is the asymmetrical tonic neck reflex (ATNR). I think that we are now at the point in the progression of Ashvaghosha's description where it may help to understand the importance of reflexes relating to balance and direction. At the beginning of the practice of sitting with the mind, what is vital in the first instance is to discern the difference between sitting based on feeling (end-gaining) and sitting based on thinking (following a means-whereby principle). Associated with this distinction is (a) honest examination of what is going on within oneself, in the way of end-gaining, along with (b) reliance on thought-directions to release oneself from the grip of end-gaining. Those thought-directions may initially take the form of words, for example, as "I wish for an unlocking of the head from deep within the body, so that the spine is released into length, and as the spine lengthens the back is released out in a widening direction, while the legs are released out of the pelvis, and the arms and shoulders are released out, while the wrists remain open, and fingers and thumbs release into length, and the jaw is free, and the muscles of the eyes... et cetera, et cetera." These words are expressing a multiplicity of thoughts, but with persistence, and on a good day, the thoughts can turn a silent function of the thinking mind, like the reflection on calm water, or like the reflection of a moon in a dewdrop. This silent function of the thinking mind can be described as a unified field of awareness (as opposed to the tunnel vision of the fearful), but at the same time it is characterised by unity of purpose (as opposed to the lack of clarity of direction of the irresolute).
In Line 3, the reason I have translated samadhi as balance, instead of, for example, harmony, or integration, is that I am mindful of the a priori developmental hierarchy (a hierarchy preceding even the Buddha’s elucidation of the four noble truths), of four vestibular reflexes. The first of the four, the Mara reflex, or Moro reflex, or infantile panic/grasp reflex, might equally be called “the end-gaining reflex.” This first reflex opposes reason and reason opposes it. So the first realisation described by Ashvaghosha, as I see it, has a lot to do with inhibition of the activity of this most primitive fear reflex. Closely related to the baby panic reflex are two other vestibular reflexes which emerge in the womb a few weeks after the panic reflex. One, the baby pointing reflex, as mentioned above, is the foundation stone of a clear sense of direction. Another is the baby balance reflex, called in neurology “the tonic labyrinthine reflex.” In children and adults who retain this primitive balance reflex in immature form, balance and the many psycho-physical functions which centre upon the sense of balance are compromised. So attainment of balance in all spheres of human functioning is ultimately dependent upon INHIBITION of the baby balance reflex. Success in inhibiting balance and fear reflexes are very interdependent on each other, as is demonstrated by the example of learning to ride a bike -- if the rider freezes in fear and stops pedalling, he will soon topple over; but equally, joyous and energetic pedalling will not remove any rider from the ever-present threat of sickness, aging, and death, if there is no sense of balance and direction.
The use in Line 4 of a verb (dadhyau) and an object (dhyaanam) from the same root is reminiscent of phrases like “a twirling flower is a twirling flower,” “mountains are mountains” and “sitting is sitting.” In writing from the standpoint of A MEANS which, for the purpose of inhibiting suffering, really works, Ashvagohsa described the realisation of a realisation. That is why the practise that I used to call Zazen, using a Japanese word for something that I had not made my own, and then began to call sitting-zen, using a term that is half English and half Japanese, I have now begun to call sitting/realisation. I would like to consign the use of all Japanese terms, beginning with sesshin and extending even to Zazen itself, to the dustbin.
That the well-being expressed by aadhyaatma-shiva is inner, or inherent, again points to the effortless functioning of unconscious mechanisms, including the vestibular reflexes. From the developmental perspective of the four vestibular reflexes, I think it is fair to see: (1) the first realisation in terms of fear and end-gaining centred on the Moro reflex vs joy and ease stemming from that use of reason which constitutes part of a means-whereby fear reactions may be inhibited; and (2) the second realisation in terms of reason and conscious effort gradually giving way to relatively effortless functioning of unconscious, reflex mechanisms -- what FM Alexander called "the right thing doing itself."
VOCABULARY:
atha: so, then
a-vitarka: without thought
kramashas (from kram, to step): gradually, by degrees, in steps
a-vicaara: without deliberation
eka: one
agra: tip, top, foremost point or part, summit
ekaagra: one-pointed, closely attentive, undisturbed, undivided in one's awareness
bhaava: state, state of being; -ness (when added to an abstract noun)
bhaavaat = ablative of bhaava: due to the state, because of being
ek'-aagra-bhaavaan: due to the one-pointedness, because of the being of one point (like an arrow)
manasaH (genitive of manas): of the mind
prasannam: clear, bright, pure, calm, placid, tranquil, serene
samaadhi: balance, coming together, harmony
jan: born
priiti: joy
sukham: ease
dvitiiyam: further, redoubled, the second
dhyaanam (accusative, singular): realisation, level or stage of meditation
tad: that
aadhyaatma: one's own, belonging to self, inner
shiva: auspicious, in good health; well-being, welfare, happiness; prosperity, bliss
sa: he
dadhyau (perfect of dhyai, which is also the verbal root of dhyaana): produced, called to mind, realised
EH Johnston:
Then in due course he produced the second trance in which initial and sustained reflections are absent, which is calm from the intentness of the mind, is born of concentration and has ecstasy, bliss and inward happiness.
Linda Covill:
Then he gradually entered the second level of meditation, which has no initial or sustained application of the mind to its object. Born of concentration and calm due to mental one-pointedness, it is joyfully blissful and endowed with inner delight.
ek'-aagra-bhaavaan manasaH prasannam,
samaadhi-jaM priiti-sukhaM-dvitiiyaM
dhyaanaM tad aadhyaatma-shivaM sa dadhyau
17.47
So gradually dropping thought and deliberation,
Mind calm and clear, because of his unity of purpose,
He realised a second level of joy and ease, born of balance:
He realised that realisation which is inner well-being.
COMMENT:
In Line 1, following on from the previous verse, the thought and deliberation that were advocated before, as an antidote to end-gaining and as a function of the first realisation, have now become something bothersome, synonymous with SUFFERING. Picture a father teaching his son to ride a bicycle: with a firm hold on the saddle, the father initially causes the boy to feel safe and secure, so that he is released from the grip of fear and into free movement; then, as the son starts to pedal, the father gradually withdraws his hands from the saddle so that the boy’s own sense of balance and direction can take over. In this metaphor, reliance on reason, as an antidote to fearful grasping for the security of feeling right (i.e. end-gaining), is represented by the father’s helping hands which, as they start to become a hindrance, are gradually taken away.
Line 2 again relates to causation, indirectly pointing to irresolution, or lack of a clear sense of direction, as a CAUSE OF SUFFERING. In developmental terms, a factor which is vital in determining a person's sense of direction, or lack of it, is integration of the baby fencer/pointing reflex, whose name in neurology is the asymmetrical tonic neck reflex (ATNR). I think that we are now at the point in the progression of Ashvaghosha's description where it may help to understand the importance of reflexes relating to balance and direction. At the beginning of the practice of sitting with the mind, what is vital in the first instance is to discern the difference between sitting based on feeling (end-gaining) and sitting based on thinking (following a means-whereby principle). Associated with this distinction is (a) honest examination of what is going on within oneself, in the way of end-gaining, along with (b) reliance on thought-directions to release oneself from the grip of end-gaining. Those thought-directions may initially take the form of words, for example, as "I wish for an unlocking of the head from deep within the body, so that the spine is released into length, and as the spine lengthens the back is released out in a widening direction, while the legs are released out of the pelvis, and the arms and shoulders are released out, while the wrists remain open, and fingers and thumbs release into length, and the jaw is free, and the muscles of the eyes... et cetera, et cetera." These words are expressing a multiplicity of thoughts, but with persistence, and on a good day, the thoughts can turn a silent function of the thinking mind, like the reflection on calm water, or like the reflection of a moon in a dewdrop. This silent function of the thinking mind can be described as a unified field of awareness (as opposed to the tunnel vision of the fearful), but at the same time it is characterised by unity of purpose (as opposed to the lack of clarity of direction of the irresolute).
In Line 3, the reason I have translated samadhi as balance, instead of, for example, harmony, or integration, is that I am mindful of the a priori developmental hierarchy (a hierarchy preceding even the Buddha’s elucidation of the four noble truths), of four vestibular reflexes. The first of the four, the Mara reflex, or Moro reflex, or infantile panic/grasp reflex, might equally be called “the end-gaining reflex.” This first reflex opposes reason and reason opposes it. So the first realisation described by Ashvaghosha, as I see it, has a lot to do with inhibition of the activity of this most primitive fear reflex. Closely related to the baby panic reflex are two other vestibular reflexes which emerge in the womb a few weeks after the panic reflex. One, the baby pointing reflex, as mentioned above, is the foundation stone of a clear sense of direction. Another is the baby balance reflex, called in neurology “the tonic labyrinthine reflex.” In children and adults who retain this primitive balance reflex in immature form, balance and the many psycho-physical functions which centre upon the sense of balance are compromised. So attainment of balance in all spheres of human functioning is ultimately dependent upon INHIBITION of the baby balance reflex. Success in inhibiting balance and fear reflexes are very interdependent on each other, as is demonstrated by the example of learning to ride a bike -- if the rider freezes in fear and stops pedalling, he will soon topple over; but equally, joyous and energetic pedalling will not remove any rider from the ever-present threat of sickness, aging, and death, if there is no sense of balance and direction.
The use in Line 4 of a verb (dadhyau) and an object (dhyaanam) from the same root is reminiscent of phrases like “a twirling flower is a twirling flower,” “mountains are mountains” and “sitting is sitting.” In writing from the standpoint of A MEANS which, for the purpose of inhibiting suffering, really works, Ashvagohsa described the realisation of a realisation. That is why the practise that I used to call Zazen, using a Japanese word for something that I had not made my own, and then began to call sitting-zen, using a term that is half English and half Japanese, I have now begun to call sitting/realisation. I would like to consign the use of all Japanese terms, beginning with sesshin and extending even to Zazen itself, to the dustbin.
That the well-being expressed by aadhyaatma-shiva is inner, or inherent, again points to the effortless functioning of unconscious mechanisms, including the vestibular reflexes. From the developmental perspective of the four vestibular reflexes, I think it is fair to see: (1) the first realisation in terms of fear and end-gaining centred on the Moro reflex vs joy and ease stemming from that use of reason which constitutes part of a means-whereby fear reactions may be inhibited; and (2) the second realisation in terms of reason and conscious effort gradually giving way to relatively effortless functioning of unconscious, reflex mechanisms -- what FM Alexander called "the right thing doing itself."
VOCABULARY:
atha: so, then
a-vitarka: without thought
kramashas (from kram, to step): gradually, by degrees, in steps
a-vicaara: without deliberation
eka: one
agra: tip, top, foremost point or part, summit
ekaagra: one-pointed, closely attentive, undisturbed, undivided in one's awareness
bhaava: state, state of being; -ness (when added to an abstract noun)
bhaavaat = ablative of bhaava: due to the state, because of being
ek'-aagra-bhaavaan: due to the one-pointedness, because of the being of one point (like an arrow)
manasaH (genitive of manas): of the mind
prasannam: clear, bright, pure, calm, placid, tranquil, serene
samaadhi: balance, coming together, harmony
jan: born
priiti: joy
sukham: ease
dvitiiyam: further, redoubled, the second
dhyaanam (accusative, singular): realisation, level or stage of meditation
tad: that
aadhyaatma: one's own, belonging to self, inner
shiva: auspicious, in good health; well-being, welfare, happiness; prosperity, bliss
sa: he
dadhyau (perfect of dhyai, which is also the verbal root of dhyaana): produced, called to mind, realised
EH Johnston:
Then in due course he produced the second trance in which initial and sustained reflections are absent, which is calm from the intentness of the mind, is born of concentration and has ecstasy, bliss and inward happiness.
Linda Covill:
Then he gradually entered the second level of meditation, which has no initial or sustained application of the mind to its object. Born of concentration and calm due to mental one-pointedness, it is joyfully blissful and endowed with inner delight.
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