aNvyaa yath"aaNyaa vipul-aaNir anyaa
nirvaahyate tad-viduShaa nareNa
tadvat tad ev' aakushalaM nimittam
kShipen nimitt'antara-sevanena
16.72
Just as a deep splinter,
by means of the point of another sharp object,
Is removed by a man skilled in that task,
Likewise an unfavourable stimulus
May be despatched through the use of a different stimulus.
COMMENT:
An unfavourable stimulus, in this context, may be understood as synonymous with what is described previously and in the following verse as an unlovely or disagreeable thought; i.e. the thought that gets you down -- the human relationship that gives you grief, the investment that crashed, the mistake you made yesterday, et cetera.
A different stimulus might be "Take the backward step of turning light and shining, so that body and mind spontaneously fall away and your original features emerge," or might simply be "Just sit upright!" or might be "Allow the neck to release, to allow the head to go forward and up, to allow the back to lengthen and widen."
Using thought like this, as a stimulus to action, is a kind of thinking. It is a kind of thinking the state of not-thinking. It is a kind of thinking into the zone of not thinking.
If we call it "meditation," we should understand it not as meditation which is separate from sitting -- i.e. not as the kind of meditation characterized by techniques of meditation, the kind of meditation that is learned -- but should understand it as sitting-meditation, one thing with a physical and a mental aspect which are totally opposed but never separate.
I think this is what Master Dogen meant when he wrote IWAYURU ZAZEN WA SHUZEN NIWA ARAZU, "What is called sitting-dhyana is not meditation to be learned."
EH Johnston:
As a man, skilled in the job, uses a small wedge to knock out another bigger one, so a subject of meditation that has bad results should be driven out be selecting another one.
Linda Covill:
Just as a man expert in such matters removes a large pin by means of a smaller pin, likewise one should drop an ineffective meditational subject by focusing on a different one.
VOCABULARY:
aNvyaa = inst. aNii: f. the point of a needle or of a sharp stake
yathaa: just as
anyaa anyaa = nom. sg. f. anya, anya: the one, the other
vipula: large, extensive , wide , great , thick , long
aNiH = nominative, singular of aNi: m. the point of a needle or of a sharp stake
nirvaahyate = passive of nir vah: to lead out, carry off; remove
tad: it, that
viduShaa = instrumental of vidvas: one who knows , knowing , understanding , learned , intelligent , wise , mindful of , familiar with , skilled in
nareNa = instrumental of nara: a man
tadvat (correlative of yathaa): likewise
tad: that
eva: (empathic)
akushalam (acc. sg. m.): inauspicious, evil; not clever
nimittam (acc. sg.): m. stimulus, cause
kShipet = 3rd person singular, optative of kShip: to throw , cast , send , despatch; to strike or hit (with a weapon) ; to put or place anything on or in (loc.) ; to direct (the thoughts) upon (loc.); to throw away , cast away , get rid of
nimitta: stimulus, cause, antidote
antara: different from
sevanena = instrumental of sevana: practise or employment of (gen. or comp.)
Showing posts with label Thinking. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Thinking. Show all posts
Saturday, April 25, 2009
Thursday, April 23, 2009
SAUNDARANANDA 16.70: Keep On Keeping On
ekena kalpena sacen na hanyaat
sv-abhyasta-bhaavaad a-shubhaan vitarkaan
tato dvitiiyaM kramam aarabheta
na tv eva heyo guNavaan prayogaH
16.70
“It may not be possible,
following a single method, to destroy
Inauspicious ideas that habit has so deeply entrenched;
In that case, one might commit to a second course
But should never give up the practice and its merits.
COMMENT:
The final word of this verse, prayoga, seems to mean the practice (as opposed to theory) of working on the self to eliminate faults which (tackled in order of grossness, as per 16.80) may be reptilian, mammalian, or human -- having to do with energy, emotion, and thought. In the section that begins with this verse, particular intention is given to faulty thought.
In the 2nd line, as I read it, unlovely thoughts, a-shubhaan vitarkaan, means in other words negative thoughts -- negative in the sense of unhelpful, not constructive. For the practice now under discussion, any thought might be considered unhelpful that can be described by an adjective ending in -istic. So a pessimistic thought is an unlovely, negative thought, and so is an optimistic thought. And so is a realistic thought.
“I wish to allow the neck to be free, to allow the head to go forward and up, in such a way that the back lengthens and widens, while the limbs are released out of the body,” is a thought, or a series of thoughts, which is not necessarily optimistic, or pessimistic, or realistic. It is a thought that can be thought for the sake of thinking itself. But this kind of thinking is not what people usually understand by thinking. So it is maybe better to express this kind of thinking with a word other than thinking -- “non-thinking” for example.
Non-thinking like this it seems to me, can act as either a calming stimulus or a garnering stimulus, and also a starting point of not interfering: When the system is tense or over-excited, the wish for freedom in the joints facilitates freer breathing, and calming mindfulness thereof. When the system is too relaxed or under-excited, the wish to go up can be a garnering stimulus. The wish to allow, meanwhile, is synonymous with the decision not to interfere.
The 4th line as I read it is a confident statement intended to inspire confidence. This practice (as opposed to theory) of working to eliminate the faults, the Buddha seems confidently to be telling us, is what is truly good; it is where merit resides.
What kind of confidence is the Buddha expressing?
FM Alexander used to say, “To know we are wrong is all we shall ever know in this world.” This, I think, is where true certainty and true confidence lie, and this is where the merit of practice primarily lies: in seeing, and in endeavouring to eliminate, one’s own faults -- reptilian, mammalian, and human.
This, it seems to me, is where Buddha/Ashvaghosha found the confidence to encourage us never to give up, but to keep on keeping on with this practice. Theirs was not the confidence of fatuous optimism. Theirs was the confidence of truly knowing what trouble is, how it starts, and how to walk away from it -- in backward steps.
In a past life I learned that traditional interpretations of the four noble truths are rather pessimistic, whereas the true Buddhism of Master Dogen, as expressed for example in the opening paragraph of Fukan-zazengi is both optimistic and realistic. That, it seems to me now, was just faulty thinking. It is already clear from these first few months of translating Saundarananda that Dogen’s ancestor Ashvaghosha championed nothing but the traditional understanding of the four noble truths, in which optimism, pessimism, and realism are all just unlovely thoughts that cultural habits tend deeply to entrench.
EH Johnston:
'If by one means impure thoughts cannot be rooted out because the habit has become too strong, then another course should be tried, but in no circumstances is the meritorious practice to be abandoned.
Linda Covill:
"If one cannot destroy impure thoughts by this first method, because they have become so habitual, then one should try a second way; but the good practice should certainly not be given up.
VOCABULARY:
ekena = instrumental of eka: one, solitary , single , happening only once , that one only
kalpena = instrumental of kalpa: sacred precept , law , rule , ordinance (= vidhi , nyaaya) , manner of acting , proceeding , practice (esp. that prescribed by the vedas); one of two cases , one side of an argument , an alternative
sacet (3rd person singular, optative of sac: to have to do with, to belong to , be attached or devoted to , serve , follow) = if (?)
na: not
hanyaat = 3rd person singular, optative of han: to smite , slay , hit , kill , mar , destroy
su: (laudatory prefix) much, greatly
abhyasta: accumulated by repeated practice; practised , exercise; learnt by heart , repeated
bhaavaad = ablative of bhaava: being
a-shubhaan (acc. pl. m.): not beautiful, disagreeable, inauspicious ; bad , vicious (as thought or speech)
vitarkaan (acc. pl.): m. ideas, fancies, thoughts
tatas: in that place , there; in that case
dvitiiyam (acc. sg. m.): second
kramam (acc. sg.): m. a step, course, procedure, method
aarabheta = 3rd pers. sg. optative aa-√rabh: to lay or take hold of , keep fast , cling to ; to gain a footing ; to enter , reach , attain; to undertake , commence , begin
na: not
tu: but
eva: (emphatic) by any means, at all
heya: : to be left or quitted or abandoned or rejected or avoided
guNavaan = nominative, singular, masculine of guNavat: endowed with good qualities or virtues or merits or excellences , excellent , perfect
prayogaH = nominative, singular of prayoga: practice , experiment (opp. to , "theory")
sv-abhyasta-bhaavaad a-shubhaan vitarkaan
tato dvitiiyaM kramam aarabheta
na tv eva heyo guNavaan prayogaH
16.70
“It may not be possible,
following a single method, to destroy
Inauspicious ideas that habit has so deeply entrenched;
In that case, one might commit to a second course
But should never give up the practice and its merits.
COMMENT:
The final word of this verse, prayoga, seems to mean the practice (as opposed to theory) of working on the self to eliminate faults which (tackled in order of grossness, as per 16.80) may be reptilian, mammalian, or human -- having to do with energy, emotion, and thought. In the section that begins with this verse, particular intention is given to faulty thought.
In the 2nd line, as I read it, unlovely thoughts, a-shubhaan vitarkaan, means in other words negative thoughts -- negative in the sense of unhelpful, not constructive. For the practice now under discussion, any thought might be considered unhelpful that can be described by an adjective ending in -istic. So a pessimistic thought is an unlovely, negative thought, and so is an optimistic thought. And so is a realistic thought.
“I wish to allow the neck to be free, to allow the head to go forward and up, in such a way that the back lengthens and widens, while the limbs are released out of the body,” is a thought, or a series of thoughts, which is not necessarily optimistic, or pessimistic, or realistic. It is a thought that can be thought for the sake of thinking itself. But this kind of thinking is not what people usually understand by thinking. So it is maybe better to express this kind of thinking with a word other than thinking -- “non-thinking” for example.
Non-thinking like this it seems to me, can act as either a calming stimulus or a garnering stimulus, and also a starting point of not interfering: When the system is tense or over-excited, the wish for freedom in the joints facilitates freer breathing, and calming mindfulness thereof. When the system is too relaxed or under-excited, the wish to go up can be a garnering stimulus. The wish to allow, meanwhile, is synonymous with the decision not to interfere.
The 4th line as I read it is a confident statement intended to inspire confidence. This practice (as opposed to theory) of working to eliminate the faults, the Buddha seems confidently to be telling us, is what is truly good; it is where merit resides.
What kind of confidence is the Buddha expressing?
FM Alexander used to say, “To know we are wrong is all we shall ever know in this world.” This, I think, is where true certainty and true confidence lie, and this is where the merit of practice primarily lies: in seeing, and in endeavouring to eliminate, one’s own faults -- reptilian, mammalian, and human.
This, it seems to me, is where Buddha/Ashvaghosha found the confidence to encourage us never to give up, but to keep on keeping on with this practice. Theirs was not the confidence of fatuous optimism. Theirs was the confidence of truly knowing what trouble is, how it starts, and how to walk away from it -- in backward steps.
In a past life I learned that traditional interpretations of the four noble truths are rather pessimistic, whereas the true Buddhism of Master Dogen, as expressed for example in the opening paragraph of Fukan-zazengi is both optimistic and realistic. That, it seems to me now, was just faulty thinking. It is already clear from these first few months of translating Saundarananda that Dogen’s ancestor Ashvaghosha championed nothing but the traditional understanding of the four noble truths, in which optimism, pessimism, and realism are all just unlovely thoughts that cultural habits tend deeply to entrench.
EH Johnston:
'If by one means impure thoughts cannot be rooted out because the habit has become too strong, then another course should be tried, but in no circumstances is the meritorious practice to be abandoned.
Linda Covill:
"If one cannot destroy impure thoughts by this first method, because they have become so habitual, then one should try a second way; but the good practice should certainly not be given up.
VOCABULARY:
ekena = instrumental of eka: one, solitary , single , happening only once , that one only
kalpena = instrumental of kalpa: sacred precept , law , rule , ordinance (= vidhi , nyaaya) , manner of acting , proceeding , practice (esp. that prescribed by the vedas); one of two cases , one side of an argument , an alternative
sacet (3rd person singular, optative of sac: to have to do with, to belong to , be attached or devoted to , serve , follow) = if (?)
na: not
hanyaat = 3rd person singular, optative of han: to smite , slay , hit , kill , mar , destroy
su: (laudatory prefix) much, greatly
abhyasta: accumulated by repeated practice; practised , exercise; learnt by heart , repeated
bhaavaad = ablative of bhaava: being
a-shubhaan (acc. pl. m.): not beautiful, disagreeable, inauspicious ; bad , vicious (as thought or speech)
vitarkaan (acc. pl.): m. ideas, fancies, thoughts
tatas: in that place , there; in that case
dvitiiyam (acc. sg. m.): second
kramam (acc. sg.): m. a step, course, procedure, method
aarabheta = 3rd pers. sg. optative aa-√rabh: to lay or take hold of , keep fast , cling to ; to gain a footing ; to enter , reach , attain; to undertake , commence , begin
na: not
tu: but
eva: (emphatic) by any means, at all
heya: : to be left or quitted or abandoned or rejected or avoided
guNavaan = nominative, singular, masculine of guNavat: endowed with good qualities or virtues or merits or excellences , excellent , perfect
prayogaH = nominative, singular of prayoga: practice , experiment (opp. to , "theory")
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
SAUNDARANANDA 16.33: Mastery of the Thinking Mind
nyaayena saty'-aabhigamaaya yuktaa
samyak smRtiH samyag atho samaadhiH
idaM dvayaM yoga-vidhau pravRttaM
sham'aashrayaM citta-parigrahaaya
16.33
Harnessed methodically so as to lead one to the truth
Is true mindfulness, which goes with true balance:
These two, forming the protocol on formal practice,
Are for mastery, based on peace, of the thinking mind.
COMMENT:
A methodical approach to the harnessing of mindfulness is presented by Ashvaghosha in his description of the four dhyaana in Canto 17. How to harness the energy of true MINDFULNESS in order to approach the truth of extinction, as described in Line 1, is what we have been studying and are continuing to study.
In Line 2, in contrast, there are times when true BALANCE takes care of itself.
In Line 3, as I read it, formal practice means SITTING practice.
In Line 4, then, mastery of the thinking mind expresses a kind of REALISATION.
It might mean a realisation like this:
Sitting on a round cushion, each foot on the opposite thigh, and thinking the head and limbs out of the lengthening and widening back, so that the head and limbs do actually release out of the lengthening and widening back.
If anybody doesn't like this use of the word "thinking," please could they complain to Ashvaghosha about it. He is the one who put the word citta in the fourth line. And as the Sanskrit-English dictionary tells us, and as Dogen also tells us in Shobogenzo, citta means the thinking mind.
VOCABULARY:
nyaayena = instrumental of nyaaya: that into which a thing goes back i.e. an original type , standard , method , rule , (esp.) a general or universal rule , model , axiom , system , plan , manner , right or fit manner or way , fitness , propriety (nyaayena "in the right manner, regularly, duly")
satya: the truth, reality
abhigamaaya [or adhigamaaya, depending on which text is followed] = dative of abhigama: approaching, visiting
[or dative of adhigama]: m. the act of attaining , acquisition; acquirement, mastery
yuktaa (feminine, agreeing with smRti): yoked or joined or fastened or attached or harnessed to (loc. or instr.); set to work; furnished or endowed with, accompanied by, possessed of (instr. or comp.)
samyaJc: going along with or together, turned together or in one direction , combined , united; entire , whole , complete , all ; lying in one direction , forming one line (as foot steps); correct , accurate , proper , true , right
smRtiH = nominative, singular of smRti (f): remembering, mindfulness, awareness
samyaJc: true, right
atha: (connective particle) then, along with
samaadhiH (nom. sg.): m. putting together; coming together, balance, setting to rights, union, harmony, concentration [of energy]
idam (nom. sg. n.): this
dvayam (nom. sg. n.): couple, pair
yoga: use, performance; exertion, endeavor, attention; work; any junction, union; a means , expedient , device , way , manner , method; any simple act or rite conducive to yoga
vidhau = locative of vidhi: protocol
pravRttam (nom. sg. n.): circulated; arisen, produced; set out
shama: tranquillity , calmness , rest , equanimity ; peace
aashrayam (nom. sg. n.): that to which anything is annexed or with which anything is closely connected or on which anything depends or rests
citta: thinking, mind, the thinking mind
parigrahaaya = dative of parigraha: laying hold of on all sides; comprehending; getting , attaining , acquisition , possession , property (ifc. " being possessed of or furnished with ")
EH Johnston:
Right attention used in accordance with the plan in order to approach the Truths and right concentration of thought, these two, based on tranquillity, should be practised in the department of Yoga for the mastery of the mind.
Linda Covill:
Right mindfulness conjoined to the plan for the discovery of the truth, and right concentration -- these two occur in the ordinance on yogic practice, and are a basis for peace in order that one's thoughts may be circumscribed.
samyak smRtiH samyag atho samaadhiH
idaM dvayaM yoga-vidhau pravRttaM
sham'aashrayaM citta-parigrahaaya
16.33
Harnessed methodically so as to lead one to the truth
Is true mindfulness, which goes with true balance:
These two, forming the protocol on formal practice,
Are for mastery, based on peace, of the thinking mind.
COMMENT:
A methodical approach to the harnessing of mindfulness is presented by Ashvaghosha in his description of the four dhyaana in Canto 17. How to harness the energy of true MINDFULNESS in order to approach the truth of extinction, as described in Line 1, is what we have been studying and are continuing to study.
In Line 2, in contrast, there are times when true BALANCE takes care of itself.
In Line 3, as I read it, formal practice means SITTING practice.
In Line 4, then, mastery of the thinking mind expresses a kind of REALISATION.
It might mean a realisation like this:
Sitting on a round cushion, each foot on the opposite thigh, and thinking the head and limbs out of the lengthening and widening back, so that the head and limbs do actually release out of the lengthening and widening back.
If anybody doesn't like this use of the word "thinking," please could they complain to Ashvaghosha about it. He is the one who put the word citta in the fourth line. And as the Sanskrit-English dictionary tells us, and as Dogen also tells us in Shobogenzo, citta means the thinking mind.
VOCABULARY:
nyaayena = instrumental of nyaaya: that into which a thing goes back i.e. an original type , standard , method , rule , (esp.) a general or universal rule , model , axiom , system , plan , manner , right or fit manner or way , fitness , propriety (nyaayena "in the right manner, regularly, duly")
satya: the truth, reality
abhigamaaya [or adhigamaaya, depending on which text is followed] = dative of abhigama: approaching, visiting
[or dative of adhigama]: m. the act of attaining , acquisition; acquirement, mastery
yuktaa (feminine, agreeing with smRti): yoked or joined or fastened or attached or harnessed to (loc. or instr.); set to work; furnished or endowed with, accompanied by, possessed of (instr. or comp.)
samyaJc: going along with or together, turned together or in one direction , combined , united; entire , whole , complete , all ; lying in one direction , forming one line (as foot steps); correct , accurate , proper , true , right
smRtiH = nominative, singular of smRti (f): remembering, mindfulness, awareness
samyaJc: true, right
atha: (connective particle) then, along with
samaadhiH (nom. sg.): m. putting together; coming together, balance, setting to rights, union, harmony, concentration [of energy]
idam (nom. sg. n.): this
dvayam (nom. sg. n.): couple, pair
yoga: use, performance; exertion, endeavor, attention; work; any junction, union; a means , expedient , device , way , manner , method; any simple act or rite conducive to yoga
vidhau = locative of vidhi: protocol
pravRttam (nom. sg. n.): circulated; arisen, produced; set out
shama: tranquillity , calmness , rest , equanimity ; peace
aashrayam (nom. sg. n.): that to which anything is annexed or with which anything is closely connected or on which anything depends or rests
citta: thinking, mind, the thinking mind
parigrahaaya = dative of parigraha: laying hold of on all sides; comprehending; getting , attaining , acquisition , possession , property (ifc. " being possessed of or furnished with ")
EH Johnston:
Right attention used in accordance with the plan in order to approach the Truths and right concentration of thought, these two, based on tranquillity, should be practised in the department of Yoga for the mastery of the mind.
Linda Covill:
Right mindfulness conjoined to the plan for the discovery of the truth, and right concentration -- these two occur in the ordinance on yogic practice, and are a basis for peace in order that one's thoughts may be circumscribed.
Friday, January 30, 2009
SAUNDARANANDA 17.45: Thoughts vs Thinking
kSHobhaM prakurvanti yath" ormayo hi
dhiira-prasann'-aambu-vahasya sindhoH
ek'-aagra-bhuutasya tath" ormi-bhuutaash
citt'-aambhasaH kSHobha-karaa vitarkaaH
17.45
For, just as waves induce rippling
Upon a river bearing calm, clear water,
So too do thought waves, upon unitary awareness.
It is thoughts that cause ripples
upon the water of the thinking mind.
COMMENT:
Line 1 offers as a metaphor for SUFFERING the disturbance induced by waves.
In Line 2 a river of water is an ACCUMULATION OF MATTER/ENERGY, flowing in inexorable agreement with the prediction of the 2nd law of thermodynamics: that energy will spread out, unless prevented from doing so.
In Line 3 unitary awareness is INHIBITION and INHIBITION is awareness. It is a virtuous circle of stopping and becoming aware. In my final year of Alexander teacher-training, in 1997-98, I felt as if I was living inside this virtuous circle. That was the year in my Zazen life that bitter gourds became sweet melons. (And conversely, sweet melons turned into bitter gourds.) Alexander teachers like Ray Evans, Ron Colyer, Marjory Barlow and Nelly Ben-Or caused me to see for myself what had been demonstrated to them: that the flood of conscious awareness can only rise when we stop off at source our unconscious patterns of doing. And the more deeply and widely the flood of conscious awareness spreads, the deeper lies our own stillness and the less perturbed we are prone to be, by those habitual or reflex patterns. So it can be a viruous circle of stopping and becoming aware of what is to be stopped.
Line 4 highlights a vital distinction that I have been struggling for 15 years to clarify, for self and others. The distinction is between thoughts and what FM Alexander called 'thinking.' In discussing this distinction between thoughts and thinking, we run into a couple of serious problems. The first is that words express thoughts, but words cannot express thinking itself. The second problem is Alexander’s observation that “When you think you are thinking, you are actually feeling. And when you think you are feeling, you are doing." So I do not know what thinking is, cannot feel what thinking is, and cannot say what thinking is. But here, to give us at least a hint at what thinking is, Ashvaghosha uses the metaphor of water. Deeply ingrained in the brain and nervous system are patterns which are triggered by the tiniest thought and which generate suffering. As a MEANS for inhibiting those unconscious patterns, Ashvaghosha is telling us, thinking is like water.
VOCABULARY:
kSHobham (accusative, singular): undulation, disturbance, trembling, rippling
prakurvanti (from pra + kRi): make, produce, effect; induce, move
yathaa: just as...
uurmayaH (nominative, plural): waves, billows
hi: for
dhiira: steady, constant, calm
prasanna: clear, tranquil, placid
ambu: water
vahasya = genitive of vaha: carrying, flowing, bearing along (said of rivers)
sindhaH = genitive of sindhu: river (esp. Indus), stream, flood, sea
eka: one
agra: foremost point or part, tip:
ekaagra: one-pointed, having one point, fixing one's attention upon one point or object, closely attentive, intent, absorbed in; undisturbed, unperplexed
bhuutsaya = genitive of bhuuta: (at the end of a compound) being or being like anything
ekaagra-bhuutsaya: lit. “towards/upon being one-pointed/undivided”
tathaa: so too...
uurmi: wave
uurmi-bhuutaaH (nominative, plural): [thoughts] that are like waves
citta: ‘noticed’; thinking, reflecting; mind; intention; the thinking mind
ambhasaH = genitive of ambhas: water
kSHobha: rippling
kara: making, doing, causing
vitarkaaH (nominative, plural): thoughts
EH Johnston:
For as waves disturb a stream running with calm clear water, so thoughts are the waves of the water of the mind and disturb it when it is in a state of concentration.
Linda Covill:
For just as waves make ripples in a river bearing calm, limpid water, waves of thought make ripples in the waters of the one-pointed mind.
dhiira-prasann'-aambu-vahasya sindhoH
ek'-aagra-bhuutasya tath" ormi-bhuutaash
citt'-aambhasaH kSHobha-karaa vitarkaaH
17.45
For, just as waves induce rippling
Upon a river bearing calm, clear water,
So too do thought waves, upon unitary awareness.
It is thoughts that cause ripples
upon the water of the thinking mind.
COMMENT:
Line 1 offers as a metaphor for SUFFERING the disturbance induced by waves.
In Line 2 a river of water is an ACCUMULATION OF MATTER/ENERGY, flowing in inexorable agreement with the prediction of the 2nd law of thermodynamics: that energy will spread out, unless prevented from doing so.
In Line 3 unitary awareness is INHIBITION and INHIBITION is awareness. It is a virtuous circle of stopping and becoming aware. In my final year of Alexander teacher-training, in 1997-98, I felt as if I was living inside this virtuous circle. That was the year in my Zazen life that bitter gourds became sweet melons. (And conversely, sweet melons turned into bitter gourds.) Alexander teachers like Ray Evans, Ron Colyer, Marjory Barlow and Nelly Ben-Or caused me to see for myself what had been demonstrated to them: that the flood of conscious awareness can only rise when we stop off at source our unconscious patterns of doing. And the more deeply and widely the flood of conscious awareness spreads, the deeper lies our own stillness and the less perturbed we are prone to be, by those habitual or reflex patterns. So it can be a viruous circle of stopping and becoming aware of what is to be stopped.
Line 4 highlights a vital distinction that I have been struggling for 15 years to clarify, for self and others. The distinction is between thoughts and what FM Alexander called 'thinking.' In discussing this distinction between thoughts and thinking, we run into a couple of serious problems. The first is that words express thoughts, but words cannot express thinking itself. The second problem is Alexander’s observation that “When you think you are thinking, you are actually feeling. And when you think you are feeling, you are doing." So I do not know what thinking is, cannot feel what thinking is, and cannot say what thinking is. But here, to give us at least a hint at what thinking is, Ashvaghosha uses the metaphor of water. Deeply ingrained in the brain and nervous system are patterns which are triggered by the tiniest thought and which generate suffering. As a MEANS for inhibiting those unconscious patterns, Ashvaghosha is telling us, thinking is like water.
VOCABULARY:
kSHobham (accusative, singular): undulation, disturbance, trembling, rippling
prakurvanti (from pra + kRi): make, produce, effect; induce, move
yathaa: just as...
uurmayaH (nominative, plural): waves, billows
hi: for
dhiira: steady, constant, calm
prasanna: clear, tranquil, placid
ambu: water
vahasya = genitive of vaha: carrying, flowing, bearing along (said of rivers)
sindhaH = genitive of sindhu: river (esp. Indus), stream, flood, sea
eka: one
agra: foremost point or part, tip:
ekaagra: one-pointed, having one point, fixing one's attention upon one point or object, closely attentive, intent, absorbed in; undisturbed, unperplexed
bhuutsaya = genitive of bhuuta: (at the end of a compound) being or being like anything
ekaagra-bhuutsaya: lit. “towards/upon being one-pointed/undivided”
tathaa: so too...
uurmi: wave
uurmi-bhuutaaH (nominative, plural): [thoughts] that are like waves
citta: ‘noticed’; thinking, reflecting; mind; intention; the thinking mind
ambhasaH = genitive of ambhas: water
kSHobha: rippling
kara: making, doing, causing
vitarkaaH (nominative, plural): thoughts
EH Johnston:
For as waves disturb a stream running with calm clear water, so thoughts are the waves of the water of the mind and disturb it when it is in a state of concentration.
Linda Covill:
For just as waves make ripples in a river bearing calm, limpid water, waves of thought make ripples in the waters of the one-pointed mind.
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