yaavat tattvam na bhavati hi dRShTaM shrutaM vaa
taavac chraddhaa na bhavati bala-sthaa sthiraa vaa
dRShTe tattve niyama-paribhuut'-endriyasya
shraddaa-vRkSho bhavati sa-phalash c'aashrayash ca
= = = = - - - - - = = - = =
= = = = - - - - - = = - = =
= = = = - - - - - = = - = =
= = = = - - - - - = = - = -
saundaranande mahaa-kaavye pratyavamarsho naama dvaadashaH sarghaH
= - - = = - = = = = - - = = = = = - = = =
12.43
For so long as the real truth is not seen or heard,
Confidence does not become strong or firm;
But when, through restraint,
the power of the senses is circumvented
and the real truth is realised,
The tree of confidence bears fruit and weight.
The 12th Canto of the epic poem Handsome Nanda, titled
'Gaining Hold.'
COMMENT:
What is the real truth?
My view of the real truth is not the real truth.
I came to England at the end of 1994 with the strong intention of getting to the bottom of the discoveries of FM Alexander, because initial experience of Alexander lessons in Tokyo awakened a shoot of confidence in me with regard to the real truth of Alexander work. Alexander work is a means of circumventing the senses and allowing the right to do itself, via inhibition of the wrong. In this work, I am confident, there is real truth.
I used to believe that my sitting practice was practically bursting with real truth. But Alexander work falsified my former belief. Alexander work showed me that there was not so much real truth in my sitting practice as I had believed there was. To put it another way, my sitting practice was much fuller of faults than I realised. Those faults, I have come to realise, are profoundly related with four vestibular reflexes which have to do with (1) fear, (2) balance, (3) side-to-side coordination (see above photo), and (4) top-to-bottom coordination. Because I was practising these faults unconsciously, my sitting practice was much fuller of faults than I realised.
To put it simply, in 7 words:
What I felt was up was down.
Or to put it in 13 words:
What I felt to be true uprightness
Turned out to be just uptightness.
Any confidence I have now to mine for Ashvaghosha's gold has grown from the clear realisation, which Alexander work practically forced upon me, of the distinction that exists between the fool's gold of uptightness and the true gold of uprightness. Alexander work gave me a shoot of confidence in the existence of true gold.
Before Alexander work, I sincerely believed in the truth of Master Dogen's teaching, but it was only belief, not confidence. I loved then as I have continued to love, Master Dogen's teaching of learning the backward step, so that body and mind drop off, and the original face appears. I appreciated the beauty of Master Dogen's words and sensed the truth in them, but I had not understood the meaning of those words as well as I believed I had.
To see and hear the real truth might be to really experience body and mind dropping off and one's original face emerging; in other words, to experience the right thing doing itself. But to express a view on it which one sincerely believes to be true, is not it.
There is, however, a criterion other than verbal expression by which to judge whether or not a person has seen and heard the real truth. That criterion, the Buddha tells us now, is confidence. Real experience of the real truth causes a person's confidence in the real truth to grow strong and firm, like a healthy sapling that grows over 10, 20, 30, 50 or 70 years into a great tree.
A protege of FM Alexander named Patrick Macdonald who was notorious for his wry sense of humour apparently used to say that the first 10 years were the worst. But as he got older he started saying that the first 20 years were the worst. Then he started saying that the first 40 years were the worst, and so on. Once in his old age Patrick Macdonald asked my teacher how long she had been teaching, and she told him: 35 years. "Oh, really?" Macdonald inquired, "Is that all?" I think he was making the same point that the Buddha is making with the metaphor of the tree: real confidence does not grow strong or firm in one or two summers.
Patrick Macdonald, they say, placed a great deal of emphasis on the importance of taking a pupil UP. But he famously remarked that for the first 30 years he himself was taking everybody down. He understood that despite his wish to leave his wrists totally open so that he might take his pupil up, some recalcitrant downward, depressive, or controlling tendency had remained in him which was not willing to partake in that wish.
To practice the real truth, it seems to me, is to say no to reliance on all such wayward depressing tendencies. Those tendencies have both intellectual and sensory roots.
Nanda had reached the point at the beginning of this Canto when he was able to retreat from his former thirst for heaven, which was sustained by a wrong intellectual conception about the satisfaction to be found among celestial nymphs. He had reached the point of giving up an idea that was putting him wrong.
Here at the end of the Canto, the challenge that still faces Nanda is to circumvent those senses of his which, Ashvaghosha tells us in 12.18, are still set against ultimate good. This circumvention is the subject of Canto 13.
In discussing the senses, sometimes Ashvaghosha cites the five senses of sight, smell, hearing, taste and touch, which he calls in 13.56 a-kushala-karaaNaam ariiNaaM, "evil-causing enemies." But often in records of the Buddha's teaching, for example in the Heart Sutra, six senses are enumerated. This caused me often to wonder, when I was in Japan, how to understand and how to translate the sixth sense, called in Sanskrit manendriya. Those questions were answered, to my satisfaction at least, when I got into Alexander work and started hearing about proprioception, and what Alexander called "debauched kinaesthesia."
On its own man means to perceive, know, understand, or comprehend, so manendriya suggests the compound sense of proprioception, central to which is the vestibular sense. It was my Alexander head of training, Ray Evans, who when I met him in 1995 first alerted me to the primary importance, at the centre of all the senses, of the vestibular sense. The vestibular system, calibrated by the semi-circular canals of the inner ear, is central to our sense of the body as a structure in or out of balance, as the body remains still, or moves through space, as it floats weightlessly in water, or as the body stands on the earth, bearing weight.
EH Johnston:
For so long as the real path is not seen or heard, so long faith does not become strong or firm, but when a man by restraining his senses with self-control sees the real truth, the tree of his faith bears fruit and becomes the vehicle (of further advance).'
Linda Covill:
As long as reality is not seen or heard, faith is not firm or strongly fixed. But when a man's senses are governed by the rules of restraint and he sees reality, then the tree of faith is fruitful and supportive.
End of Canto 12: Comprehension.
VOCABULARY:
yaavat (correlative of taavat): insofar as
tattvam (accusative): what is, reality ; n. true or real state , truth , reality ; (in phil.) a true principle
na: not
bhavati: is, becomes
hi: for
dRShTa: seen, looked at
shruta: mfn. heard , listened to , heard about or of , taught , orally transmitted or communicated from age to age
vaa: or
taavat (correlative of yaavat): so
shraddhaa: confidence, trust, belief,
na: not
bhavati: is, becomes
bala-stha: mfn. " being in strength or power " , strong , powerful , vigorous
sthira: mfn. firm , hard , solid , compact , strong ; fixed , immovable , motionless , still , calm ; firm , not wavering or tottering , steady
vaa: or
dRShTe = locative of dRShTa: seen
tattve = locative of tattva: what is, reality
niyama: restraining, checking, holding back, preventing, controlling
paribhuuta: overpowered, conquered, slighted, disregarded, despised
indriyasya = genitive of indriya: sense, power of the senses
shraddhaa: confidence, trust, belief,
vRkShaH = nominative of vRkSha: tree
bhavati: is, becomes
sa-phalaH (nominative): fruitful, bearing fruit
ca: and
aashrayaH (nominative): something on which to rely, depend, or rest upon
ca: and
Showing posts with label backward step. Show all posts
Showing posts with label backward step. Show all posts
Sunday, July 5, 2009
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
SAUNDARANANDA 12.24: For Twenty-four Carat Happiness, Dig Deeper
ari-bhuuteShv a-nityeShu
satataM duHkha-hetuShu
kaam'-aadiShu jagat saktaM
na vetti sukham avyayam
- - = = - = - -
- - = = - - - -
= = - - - - - =
- = - - - = - -
12.24
Upon transient whims which are akin to enemies,
Being eternally the causes of suffering,
Upon whims like love, the world fixates.
It does not know
the happiness that is immune to change.
COMMENT
This verse is an encouragement to believe in, and thence to pursue, the kind of happiness that is always there, as opposed to the temporary ups that are invariably followed by downs.
The four elements of the four pada ('steps' or 'feet') of this verse, as I read it, are (1) the changeable, (2) the eternal, (3) the fixed, and (4) that which is neither fixed nor subject to change.
The verse seems to ask me to ask myself:
(1) What is transient?
(2) What is eternal?
(3) How, why, and upon what does the world fixate?
(4) Do I myself know, or at least believe in the existence of, this happiness of which the Buddha speaks, which is imperishable, or immune to change?
Here for what it is worth is my attempt to answer those questions:
(1) Things that we tend to presume to be permanent, like concrete floors, or mountains, or the strong chemistry between two human beings who fall in love, on further investigation turn out not to be permanent after all, but to be transient. Everything which has energy turns out to be transient, because sooner or later the energy dissipates. Thus, marine fossils defy our presumptions by turning up on top of the highest mountains, and the majority of marriages defy the sincerest of vows that "till death do us part," by ending up in divorce.
(2) If permanence is to be sought anywhere, it might be sought in certain laws of the universe, chief among which might be impermanence itself, a.k.a. "the 2nd law of thermodynamics." Another law that might be eternally valid, the 2nd line suggests, is the noble truth of the origin of suffering.
(3) "You all fix!" said FM Alexander to his student-teachers, and "Fixing is our greatest evil." Why is it that we cling irrationally to things from which we derive a false sense of security? It might have something to do with faulty sensory appreciation, and it might equally have something to do with the infantile panic/grasp reflex. Again, faulty sensory appreciation and the panic reflex might, in many cases, have a lot to do with each other.
(4) FM Alexander said to his niece Marjory Barlow, "You know, dear, I am always happy." And Marjory said how she treasured those words. So I quizzed on her on them: What did FM mean? From his biography FM clearly had plenty of troubles to contend with, not least the libel case that he decided to contest in his old age. So what did he mean by saying "I am always happy"? Marjory's answer was given not only in words. When I think back to how Marjory answered my question, and try to put Marjory's answer into a word or two of my own choosing, Marjory's answer was to point me back in the direction of learning the backward step.
I am impelled to keep writing about the backward step, like a person with failing memory writing out a list, because my mind is so fickle that I wake up every morning more or less lost, full of surface doubts and regrets, seemingly having forgotten everything. Then I get up and sit and remember and want to write it down and publish it for posterity (as if the blogosphere were eternal): The backward step. The backward step. The backward step.
Do I believe in the sukham avayayam, imperishable happiness, of the fourth line? Yes, I do. Do I know it? I don't know if I know it or not. I know that I don't understand it. Though I dare to judge that it must be profoundly related with acceptance of the 2nd law of thermodynamics, and with learning of the backward step of turning light and shining, I do not understand what it is. I do not understand imperishable happiness any more than a miner understands the sub-atomic particles that constitute gold. I only know that happiness for me, these days, lies in endeavouring to answer Ashvaghosha's call through the centuries to dig deeper for it.
What's Nirvana?
I don't know.
A loser losing
His will to flow?
Submariners say
When hurricanes blow
That it gets stiller
The deeper you go.
EH Johnston:
The world clings to love and the rest, which are perpetual causes of suffering, transitory, and in reality its enemies, and it does not know the pleasure which does not pass away.
Linda Covill:
The world fastens on lust and other desires, which are inimical to us, transitory, and an ongoing cause of suffering. It does not know imperishable bliss.
VOCABULARY:
ari: not liberal , envious , hostile ; an enemy
bhuuteShv = locative, plural of bhuuta: (ifc.) being or being like anything , consisting of
anityeShu = locative, plural of anitya: impermanent, transient
satatam: constantly , always , ever
duHkha: suffering
hetuShu = locative plural of hetu: cause
kaama: wish, desire; pleasure, enjoyment; love, especially sexual love or sensuality
aadiShu = locative, plural of aadi: beginning with, et cetera
jagat (nominal, singular): people, mankind; the world
saktam (accusative): clinging or adhering to , sticking in (loc); committed to; fixed or intent upon, addicted or devoted to (loc)
na: not
vetti = 3rd person singular of vid: to know
sukham (accusative): happiness, ease
avyayam (accusative): not liable to change , imperishable , undecaying
satataM duHkha-hetuShu
kaam'-aadiShu jagat saktaM
na vetti sukham avyayam
- - = = - = - -
- - = = - - - -
= = - - - - - =
- = - - - = - -
12.24
Upon transient whims which are akin to enemies,
Being eternally the causes of suffering,
Upon whims like love, the world fixates.
It does not know
the happiness that is immune to change.
COMMENT
This verse is an encouragement to believe in, and thence to pursue, the kind of happiness that is always there, as opposed to the temporary ups that are invariably followed by downs.
The four elements of the four pada ('steps' or 'feet') of this verse, as I read it, are (1) the changeable, (2) the eternal, (3) the fixed, and (4) that which is neither fixed nor subject to change.
The verse seems to ask me to ask myself:
(1) What is transient?
(2) What is eternal?
(3) How, why, and upon what does the world fixate?
(4) Do I myself know, or at least believe in the existence of, this happiness of which the Buddha speaks, which is imperishable, or immune to change?
Here for what it is worth is my attempt to answer those questions:
(1) Things that we tend to presume to be permanent, like concrete floors, or mountains, or the strong chemistry between two human beings who fall in love, on further investigation turn out not to be permanent after all, but to be transient. Everything which has energy turns out to be transient, because sooner or later the energy dissipates. Thus, marine fossils defy our presumptions by turning up on top of the highest mountains, and the majority of marriages defy the sincerest of vows that "till death do us part," by ending up in divorce.
(2) If permanence is to be sought anywhere, it might be sought in certain laws of the universe, chief among which might be impermanence itself, a.k.a. "the 2nd law of thermodynamics." Another law that might be eternally valid, the 2nd line suggests, is the noble truth of the origin of suffering.
(3) "You all fix!" said FM Alexander to his student-teachers, and "Fixing is our greatest evil." Why is it that we cling irrationally to things from which we derive a false sense of security? It might have something to do with faulty sensory appreciation, and it might equally have something to do with the infantile panic/grasp reflex. Again, faulty sensory appreciation and the panic reflex might, in many cases, have a lot to do with each other.
(4) FM Alexander said to his niece Marjory Barlow, "You know, dear, I am always happy." And Marjory said how she treasured those words. So I quizzed on her on them: What did FM mean? From his biography FM clearly had plenty of troubles to contend with, not least the libel case that he decided to contest in his old age. So what did he mean by saying "I am always happy"? Marjory's answer was given not only in words. When I think back to how Marjory answered my question, and try to put Marjory's answer into a word or two of my own choosing, Marjory's answer was to point me back in the direction of learning the backward step.
I am impelled to keep writing about the backward step, like a person with failing memory writing out a list, because my mind is so fickle that I wake up every morning more or less lost, full of surface doubts and regrets, seemingly having forgotten everything. Then I get up and sit and remember and want to write it down and publish it for posterity (as if the blogosphere were eternal): The backward step. The backward step. The backward step.
Do I believe in the sukham avayayam, imperishable happiness, of the fourth line? Yes, I do. Do I know it? I don't know if I know it or not. I know that I don't understand it. Though I dare to judge that it must be profoundly related with acceptance of the 2nd law of thermodynamics, and with learning of the backward step of turning light and shining, I do not understand what it is. I do not understand imperishable happiness any more than a miner understands the sub-atomic particles that constitute gold. I only know that happiness for me, these days, lies in endeavouring to answer Ashvaghosha's call through the centuries to dig deeper for it.
What's Nirvana?
I don't know.
A loser losing
His will to flow?
Submariners say
When hurricanes blow
That it gets stiller
The deeper you go.
EH Johnston:
The world clings to love and the rest, which are perpetual causes of suffering, transitory, and in reality its enemies, and it does not know the pleasure which does not pass away.
Linda Covill:
The world fastens on lust and other desires, which are inimical to us, transitory, and an ongoing cause of suffering. It does not know imperishable bliss.
VOCABULARY:
ari: not liberal , envious , hostile ; an enemy
bhuuteShv = locative, plural of bhuuta: (ifc.) being or being like anything , consisting of
anityeShu = locative, plural of anitya: impermanent, transient
satatam: constantly , always , ever
duHkha: suffering
hetuShu = locative plural of hetu: cause
kaama: wish, desire; pleasure, enjoyment; love, especially sexual love or sensuality
aadiShu = locative, plural of aadi: beginning with, et cetera
jagat (nominal, singular): people, mankind; the world
saktam (accusative): clinging or adhering to , sticking in (loc); committed to; fixed or intent upon, addicted or devoted to (loc)
na: not
vetti = 3rd person singular of vid: to know
sukham (accusative): happiness, ease
avyayam (accusative): not liable to change , imperishable , undecaying
Saturday, June 6, 2009
SAUNDARANANDA 12.14: A Foothold for the Backward Step
shrutvaa hy aavartakaM svargam
saMsaarasya ca citrataam
na martyeShu na deveShu
pravRttir mama rocate
12.14
For since I have heard what a fleeting whirl is heaven,
And what varieties there are of aimless wandering,
Neither among mortal beings
nor among heavenly beings
Does the onward cycle of doing appeal to me.
COMMENT:
Every verse that contains the word pravRtti, “progressive doing,” or its antonym, nivRtti, “non-doing,” reminds me what I am mainly here to learn: the backward step of turning light and shining.
It is not a question of learning how to do the right thing. The principle of non-doing is to stop doing the wrong thing, so that the right thing can do itself.
The backward step is, in other words, the backward step of letting the neck be free, to let the head go forward and up, to let the back lengthen and widen, while letting the arms and legs out of the back.
Just because sitting like this is opposed to the onward cycle of doing does not mean that it is a condition of laziness. A certain constancy of effort is required to keep at bay the wrong thing. “The wrong thing” means those wrong inner patterns, the doing that must be stopped.
A stimulus that sets off the wrong thing might be something as gross as lifting up a wooden sleeper, or something as subtle as an impulse from a buried optimistic or pessimistic thought. At the point where such a stimulus reaches consciousness, there is a very fleeting window of opportunity to prevent the army of wrong inner patterns from being mobilized. When the moment is missed, the neck grabs the chance to stiffen (or collapse), so that the head, arms and legs get pulled in to the body, and the breath becomes more or less held.
Insofar as a person is a slave to this pattern of reaction, even if he is lucky enough to find himself between the sheets with the heavenly goddess of his dreams, he will be liable to suffer the misfortune of stiffening his neck, pulling his head back, restricting his breathing.... and so the onward cycle of doing will continue. His inability to stop doing the wrong thing might even bring about a certain droopiness which might, in the end, prevent his long longed-for union with the heavenly goddess from being consummated!
To stop doing the wrong thing is not so easy. I, for one, am not very good at it. For most of my waking hours I am unconsciously giving consent to the onward cycle of doing, wherein what tends to happen unconsciously is that the neck stiffens (or collapses), so that the head, arms and legs get pulled in to the body, and the breath becomes more or less held.
Like Nanda, I find that this cycle of doing does not hold any appeal for me; but insofar as I fail to give up all those layers of end-gaining ideas which set the cycle in motion, I continue to be held in the onward cycle. How about right now, for example?
EH Johnston:
For since I have heard of the impermanence of Paradise and of the vicissitudes of the cycle of existence, the continuance of active being either among mortals or among gods has no delights for me.
Linda Covill:
For I have heard of the cyclical nature of heaven and of the variety of rebirths in samsara, and neither among men nor among gods does active existence hold any appeal for me.
VOCABULARY:
shrutvaa = absolutive of shru: to hear
hi: for
aavartakam (accusative): whirlpool ; revolution
svargam (accusative): heaven
saMsaarasya = genitive of saMsaara: m. going or wandering through ; the circuit of mundane existence, the cycle of mass unconscious reaction, samsara
ca: and
citra: conspicuous ,distinguished ; bright-coloured ; variegated , spotted , speckled ; various , different , manifold
-taa: -nature, -ness (abstract noun suffix)
citrataam (accusative): variety, manifold nature
na: not, neither
martyeShu: locative, plural of martya: a mortal, man
na: not, nor
deveShu = locative, plural of deva: a god, heavenly being
pravRttiH = nominative, singular of pravRtti: f. moving onwards , advance , progress ; active life (as opposed to ni-vRtti and to contemplative devotion , and defined as consisting of the wish to act , knowledge of the means , and accomplishment of the object)
mama (genitive): for me
rocate = 3rd person singular of ruc: to shine , be bright or radiant or resplendent ; to be splendid or beautiful or good ; to be agreeable to , please (dat. or gen.)
saMsaarasya ca citrataam
na martyeShu na deveShu
pravRttir mama rocate
12.14
For since I have heard what a fleeting whirl is heaven,
And what varieties there are of aimless wandering,
Neither among mortal beings
nor among heavenly beings
Does the onward cycle of doing appeal to me.
COMMENT:
Every verse that contains the word pravRtti, “progressive doing,” or its antonym, nivRtti, “non-doing,” reminds me what I am mainly here to learn: the backward step of turning light and shining.
It is not a question of learning how to do the right thing. The principle of non-doing is to stop doing the wrong thing, so that the right thing can do itself.
The backward step is, in other words, the backward step of letting the neck be free, to let the head go forward and up, to let the back lengthen and widen, while letting the arms and legs out of the back.
Just because sitting like this is opposed to the onward cycle of doing does not mean that it is a condition of laziness. A certain constancy of effort is required to keep at bay the wrong thing. “The wrong thing” means those wrong inner patterns, the doing that must be stopped.
A stimulus that sets off the wrong thing might be something as gross as lifting up a wooden sleeper, or something as subtle as an impulse from a buried optimistic or pessimistic thought. At the point where such a stimulus reaches consciousness, there is a very fleeting window of opportunity to prevent the army of wrong inner patterns from being mobilized. When the moment is missed, the neck grabs the chance to stiffen (or collapse), so that the head, arms and legs get pulled in to the body, and the breath becomes more or less held.
Insofar as a person is a slave to this pattern of reaction, even if he is lucky enough to find himself between the sheets with the heavenly goddess of his dreams, he will be liable to suffer the misfortune of stiffening his neck, pulling his head back, restricting his breathing.... and so the onward cycle of doing will continue. His inability to stop doing the wrong thing might even bring about a certain droopiness which might, in the end, prevent his long longed-for union with the heavenly goddess from being consummated!
To stop doing the wrong thing is not so easy. I, for one, am not very good at it. For most of my waking hours I am unconsciously giving consent to the onward cycle of doing, wherein what tends to happen unconsciously is that the neck stiffens (or collapses), so that the head, arms and legs get pulled in to the body, and the breath becomes more or less held.
Like Nanda, I find that this cycle of doing does not hold any appeal for me; but insofar as I fail to give up all those layers of end-gaining ideas which set the cycle in motion, I continue to be held in the onward cycle. How about right now, for example?
EH Johnston:
For since I have heard of the impermanence of Paradise and of the vicissitudes of the cycle of existence, the continuance of active being either among mortals or among gods has no delights for me.
Linda Covill:
For I have heard of the cyclical nature of heaven and of the variety of rebirths in samsara, and neither among men nor among gods does active existence hold any appeal for me.
VOCABULARY:
shrutvaa = absolutive of shru: to hear
hi: for
aavartakam (accusative): whirlpool ; revolution
svargam (accusative): heaven
saMsaarasya = genitive of saMsaara: m. going or wandering through ; the circuit of mundane existence, the cycle of mass unconscious reaction, samsara
ca: and
citra: conspicuous ,distinguished ; bright-coloured ; variegated , spotted , speckled ; various , different , manifold
-taa: -nature, -ness (abstract noun suffix)
citrataam (accusative): variety, manifold nature
na: not, neither
martyeShu: locative, plural of martya: a mortal, man
na: not, nor
deveShu = locative, plural of deva: a god, heavenly being
pravRttiH = nominative, singular of pravRtti: f. moving onwards , advance , progress ; active life (as opposed to ni-vRtti and to contemplative devotion , and defined as consisting of the wish to act , knowledge of the means , and accomplishment of the object)
mama (genitive): for me
rocate = 3rd person singular of ruc: to shine , be bright or radiant or resplendent ; to be splendid or beautiful or good ; to be agreeable to , please (dat. or gen.)
Friday, May 29, 2009
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
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
Thursday, May 28, 2009
SAUNDARANANDA 12.5: Wrong Road, Right Direction
tasya svargaan nivavRte
saMkalp'aashvo mano-rathaH
mahaa-ratha iv' onmaargaad
a-pramattasya saaratheH
12.5
Turning back from heaven,
The chariot of his mind,
whose horse was willpower,
Was like a great chariot turned back
from a wrong road
By an attentive charioteer.
COMMENT:
Even for one who has gone down a wrong road, there is a right direction; and that direction is backwards.
But the decision to turn back, as many of us know from our own driving experience, is not an easy one to take. The unconscious tendency that many of us have, rather than being truly attentive and responsive to what is, is to plough on with false optimism, driven by some blind instinctive fear of showing weakness through the admission "It was my fault. I went wrong."
This form of denial, familiar to those of us who are not so heroic as Nanda but more inclined to immaturity and insecurity, is often endured to the tune of carping and exasperation from the passenger seat along the lines of "Why don't we stop and ask for directions?"; and "What IS the matter with you?!"
The serious point of the verse may be to highlight what for Nanda is a turning point, whereby out of painful mental experiences such as shame, irresolution, inner conflict, and agitation, good is about to emerge.
EH Johnston:
The chariot of his mind, desire, whose steeds are the fancies, turned back out of the road to Paradise, like the great chariot of a heedful charioteer from the wrong road.
Linda Covill:
The chariot of his mind, with its horses of inclination, turned back from heaven like a great chariot is turned back from the wrong path by an attentive charioteer.
VOCABULARY:
tasya: of him, his
svargaan (ablative): from heaven
nivavRte = past tense of nivRt: to turn back
saMkalpa: will
ashvaH (nominative, singular): horse
mano-rathaH (nominative, singular): mind-chariot
mahaa-rathaH (nominative, singular): a great chariot
iva: like
onmaargaad (ablative): from the wrong path
apramattasya = genitive of apramatta: not careless or inattentive
saaratheH = genitive of saarathi: charioteer
saMkalp'aashvo mano-rathaH
mahaa-ratha iv' onmaargaad
a-pramattasya saaratheH
12.5
Turning back from heaven,
The chariot of his mind,
whose horse was willpower,
Was like a great chariot turned back
from a wrong road
By an attentive charioteer.
COMMENT:
Even for one who has gone down a wrong road, there is a right direction; and that direction is backwards.
But the decision to turn back, as many of us know from our own driving experience, is not an easy one to take. The unconscious tendency that many of us have, rather than being truly attentive and responsive to what is, is to plough on with false optimism, driven by some blind instinctive fear of showing weakness through the admission "It was my fault. I went wrong."
This form of denial, familiar to those of us who are not so heroic as Nanda but more inclined to immaturity and insecurity, is often endured to the tune of carping and exasperation from the passenger seat along the lines of "Why don't we stop and ask for directions?"; and "What IS the matter with you?!"
The serious point of the verse may be to highlight what for Nanda is a turning point, whereby out of painful mental experiences such as shame, irresolution, inner conflict, and agitation, good is about to emerge.
EH Johnston:
The chariot of his mind, desire, whose steeds are the fancies, turned back out of the road to Paradise, like the great chariot of a heedful charioteer from the wrong road.
Linda Covill:
The chariot of his mind, with its horses of inclination, turned back from heaven like a great chariot is turned back from the wrong path by an attentive charioteer.
VOCABULARY:
tasya: of him, his
svargaan (ablative): from heaven
nivavRte = past tense of nivRt: to turn back
saMkalpa: will
ashvaH (nominative, singular): horse
mano-rathaH (nominative, singular): mind-chariot
mahaa-rathaH (nominative, singular): a great chariot
iva: like
onmaargaad (ablative): from the wrong path
apramattasya = genitive of apramatta: not careless or inattentive
saaratheH = genitive of saarathi: charioteer
Sunday, May 17, 2009
SAUNDARANANDA 16.94: Endeavour to Do, Endeavour to Achieve, Endeavour to Succeed, and Endeavour Not to Do
viiryaM paraM kaarya-kRtau hi muulaM
viiryaad Rte kaacana n' aasti siddhiH
udeti viiryaad iha sarva-sampan
nir-viiryataa cet sakalash ca paapmaa
16.94
Endeavour is paramount:
for, in doing what needs to be done, it is the foundation;
Without endeavour there is no accomplishment at all;
All success in this world arises from endeavour --
And in the absence of endeavour wrongdoing is rampant.
COMMENT:
In doing what needs to be done, endeavour is fundamental. And in stopping the doing that needs to be stopped, endeavour is even more fundamental.
So this verse, as I read it, is saying by all means do your best, strive to achieve, try your hardest to succeed -- and don't forget the backward step of turning your light and letting it shine.
EH Johnston:
Energy is of the greatest import, for it is the foundation for carrying through what is to be done and without energy nothing can be accomplished; all success in the world arises from energy, and if there be a lack of it there is nothing but sin.
Linda Covill:
Endeavor is paramount, for it is the foundation of doing what needs to be done, and without endeavor there would be no accomplishment at all. All success in the world arises from endeavor, and if there were no endeavor evil would be complete.
VOCABULARY:
viiryam (nom. sg.): n. energy, manly endeavour
param (nom. sg. m.) best, highest , supreme
kaarya: to be done
kRtau = locative of kRti: f. the act of doing , making , performing
hi: for
muulam (nom. sg. m.): root, basis , foundation
viiryaad = ablative of viirya: endeavour
Rte: under pain of , with the exclusion of , excepting , besides , without , unless (with ablative)
kaa = kad = interrogative pronoun
cana = ca + na (gives a negative force to the pronoun)
kaacana: at all
na: not
aasti: there is
siddhiH = nominative, singular of siddhi: accomplishment
udeti = 3rd person singular of ud- √ i: to arise
viiryaad (ablative of viirya): from endeavour
iha: in this place , here; in this world
sarva: all
sampad: f. success , accomplishment , completion , fulfilment , perfection
nis: put of, away from, without
viirya: endeavour
taa (abstract noun suffix): -ness
nirviiryataa (nom. sg.): f. unmanliness , powerlessness , impotence , exhaustion
ced: when, if
sakalaH (nom. sg. m.): possessing all its component parts , complete , entire , whole
ca: and
paapmaa = nom. sg. paapman: m. evil , unhappiness , misfortune , calamity , crime , sin , wickedness ; evil demon , devil
viiryaad Rte kaacana n' aasti siddhiH
udeti viiryaad iha sarva-sampan
nir-viiryataa cet sakalash ca paapmaa
16.94
Endeavour is paramount:
for, in doing what needs to be done, it is the foundation;
Without endeavour there is no accomplishment at all;
All success in this world arises from endeavour --
And in the absence of endeavour wrongdoing is rampant.
COMMENT:
In doing what needs to be done, endeavour is fundamental. And in stopping the doing that needs to be stopped, endeavour is even more fundamental.
So this verse, as I read it, is saying by all means do your best, strive to achieve, try your hardest to succeed -- and don't forget the backward step of turning your light and letting it shine.
EH Johnston:
Energy is of the greatest import, for it is the foundation for carrying through what is to be done and without energy nothing can be accomplished; all success in the world arises from energy, and if there be a lack of it there is nothing but sin.
Linda Covill:
Endeavor is paramount, for it is the foundation of doing what needs to be done, and without endeavor there would be no accomplishment at all. All success in the world arises from endeavor, and if there were no endeavor evil would be complete.
VOCABULARY:
viiryam (nom. sg.): n. energy, manly endeavour
param (nom. sg. m.) best, highest , supreme
kaarya: to be done
kRtau = locative of kRti: f. the act of doing , making , performing
hi: for
muulam (nom. sg. m.): root, basis , foundation
viiryaad = ablative of viirya: endeavour
Rte: under pain of , with the exclusion of , excepting , besides , without , unless (with ablative)
kaa = kad = interrogative pronoun
cana = ca + na (gives a negative force to the pronoun)
kaacana: at all
na: not
aasti: there is
siddhiH = nominative, singular of siddhi: accomplishment
udeti = 3rd person singular of ud- √ i: to arise
viiryaad (ablative of viirya): from endeavour
iha: in this place , here; in this world
sarva: all
sampad: f. success , accomplishment , completion , fulfilment , perfection
nis: put of, away from, without
viirya: endeavour
taa (abstract noun suffix): -ness
nirviiryataa (nom. sg.): f. unmanliness , powerlessness , impotence , exhaustion
ced: when, if
sakalaH (nom. sg. m.): possessing all its component parts , complete , entire , whole
ca: and
paapmaa = nom. sg. paapman: m. evil , unhappiness , misfortune , calamity , crime , sin , wickedness ; evil demon , devil
Sunday, April 19, 2009
SAUNDARANANDA 16.66: What the Goldsmith Ought Not to Do
dahet suvarNaM hi dhamann akaale
jale kShipan saMshamayed akaale
na c'api samyak paripaakam enaM
nayed akaale samupekShamaaNaH
16.66
For he might burn the gold
by blowing at the wrong time,
He might make it unworkable
by plunging it into water at the wrong time,
And he would not bring it to full perfection
If at the wrong time he were just to leave it be.
COMMENT:
Again, the inhibitory or precautionary side is not left unspoken.
The point that is being emphasized through repetition is the importance of knowing, at a particular time in a particular situation, what is NOT to be done. There are times when doing something, even something that might have worked in the past, is not appropriate. And lest this seems to lend one-sided support to a rigid philosophy of non-doing (inexperienced Alexander teachers beware), this metaphor brilliantly reminds us that there are also times when it is not appropriate not to do.
Ashvaghosha is like an accountant doing double-entry book-keeping, or drawing up a balance sheet. He seems ever wary of advocating positive awareness of what is required to be done, without adding, on the negative side of the ledger, a stimulus for preventive awareness of what is required NOT to be done, and what is required NOT to be not done, in the pursuit of full perfection.
What is there in the realm of human experience that corresponds to the full perfection of refined gold?
Master Dogen wrote that we should learn the backward step of turning light and shining, in which case body and mind spontaneously drop off, and the original face emerges.
EKO HENSHO NO TAIHO O GAKU SU BESHI, SHINJIN JINNEN NI DATSU RAKU SHITE HONRAI NO MENMOKU GENZEN SEN.
Inspiring words. But the metaphor of the goldsmith reminds us that a lot of work is required to be done both before and after a point where the right thing can be left to do itself -- temporarily.
EH Johnston:
For by using the bellows at the wrong time he would burn the gold, by throwing it into the water at the wrong time he would make it too soft and by letting it cool off at the wrong time he would not bring it to maturity properly.
Linda Covill:
For in blowing at the wrong time he might burn the gold; casting it into water at the wrong time he would make it cool down; and in merely observing it at the wrong time, he might not bring it to perfect readiness.
VOCABULARY:
dahet = 3rd person singular, optative of dah: to burn
suvarNam (acc. sg.): n. gold
hi: for
dhaman = nom. sg. m. present participle dham: to blow
akaale (locative): at the wrong time
jale (locative): in water
kShipan = nom. sg. m. present participle of kShip: to put or place anything on or in (loc.)
saMshamayed = 3rd person singular, optative of saM-√sham: to be or become ineffective; to calm , allay; to extinguish ; to bring to rest , remove , destroy , kill
akaale (locative): at the wrong time
na: not
ca: and
api: also
samyak: full, proper, correct
paripaakam = accusative of paripaaka: ripening , maturity , perfection
enam (acc. sg. m.): it
nayet = 3rd person singular optative of nii: to lead ; bring to any state or condition
akaale (locative): at the wrong time
samupekShamaaNaH = nom. sg. m. present participle sam-upa-viikS: to look completely over or beyond , take no notice of , disregard , neglect , abandon
jale kShipan saMshamayed akaale
na c'api samyak paripaakam enaM
nayed akaale samupekShamaaNaH
16.66
For he might burn the gold
by blowing at the wrong time,
He might make it unworkable
by plunging it into water at the wrong time,
And he would not bring it to full perfection
If at the wrong time he were just to leave it be.
COMMENT:
Again, the inhibitory or precautionary side is not left unspoken.
The point that is being emphasized through repetition is the importance of knowing, at a particular time in a particular situation, what is NOT to be done. There are times when doing something, even something that might have worked in the past, is not appropriate. And lest this seems to lend one-sided support to a rigid philosophy of non-doing (inexperienced Alexander teachers beware), this metaphor brilliantly reminds us that there are also times when it is not appropriate not to do.
Ashvaghosha is like an accountant doing double-entry book-keeping, or drawing up a balance sheet. He seems ever wary of advocating positive awareness of what is required to be done, without adding, on the negative side of the ledger, a stimulus for preventive awareness of what is required NOT to be done, and what is required NOT to be not done, in the pursuit of full perfection.
What is there in the realm of human experience that corresponds to the full perfection of refined gold?
Master Dogen wrote that we should learn the backward step of turning light and shining, in which case body and mind spontaneously drop off, and the original face emerges.
EKO HENSHO NO TAIHO O GAKU SU BESHI, SHINJIN JINNEN NI DATSU RAKU SHITE HONRAI NO MENMOKU GENZEN SEN.
Inspiring words. But the metaphor of the goldsmith reminds us that a lot of work is required to be done both before and after a point where the right thing can be left to do itself -- temporarily.
EH Johnston:
For by using the bellows at the wrong time he would burn the gold, by throwing it into the water at the wrong time he would make it too soft and by letting it cool off at the wrong time he would not bring it to maturity properly.
Linda Covill:
For in blowing at the wrong time he might burn the gold; casting it into water at the wrong time he would make it cool down; and in merely observing it at the wrong time, he might not bring it to perfect readiness.
VOCABULARY:
dahet = 3rd person singular, optative of dah: to burn
suvarNam (acc. sg.): n. gold
hi: for
dhaman = nom. sg. m. present participle dham: to blow
akaale (locative): at the wrong time
jale (locative): in water
kShipan = nom. sg. m. present participle of kShip: to put or place anything on or in (loc.)
saMshamayed = 3rd person singular, optative of saM-√sham: to be or become ineffective; to calm , allay; to extinguish ; to bring to rest , remove , destroy , kill
akaale (locative): at the wrong time
na: not
ca: and
api: also
samyak: full, proper, correct
paripaakam = accusative of paripaaka: ripening , maturity , perfection
enam (acc. sg. m.): it
nayet = 3rd person singular optative of nii: to lead ; bring to any state or condition
akaale (locative): at the wrong time
samupekShamaaNaH = nom. sg. m. present participle sam-upa-viikS: to look completely over or beyond , take no notice of , disregard , neglect , abandon
Thursday, March 26, 2009
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.
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.
Saturday, March 21, 2009
SAUNDARANANDA 16.37: The Ultimate Step in Dropping Off the Faults
tri-skandham etaM pravigaahya maargam
prapaShTam aShT'-aaNgam a-haaryam aaryam
duHkhasya hetuun prajahaati doShaan
praapnoti c'aatyanta-shivam padam tat
16.37
Giving oneself to this path with its three divisions
And eight branches
-- this straightforward, irremovable, noble path --
One abandons the faults,
which are the causes of suffering,
And comes to that step which is total well-being.
COMMENT:
The three divisions are integrity (shiila), balance (samaadhi), and wisdom (prajnaa).
The eight branches are insight, thinking, initiative (prajnaa); use of voice, use of body, livelihood (shiila); mindfulness, balance (samaadhi).
The faults, which all begin with thirsting are, for example: (1) undue excitement in the nervous system, or hyper-tonus vs (2) the opposite state of mental sluggishness, or hypo-tonus; (3) greed, (4) hatred, and (5) ignorance/delusion.
That step which is total well-being, as I understand Ashvaghosha's words, is the same step that Master Dogen exhorted us to learn, which he called EKO-HENSHO NO TAIHO, or "the backward step of turning one's light and letting it shine."
VOCABULARY:
tri-skandham (acc. sg. m.): consisting of three skandhas
tri: three
skandha: part, division
etam (acc. sg. m.): this
pravigaahya = absolutive of pra-vi-√gAh: to dive into , enter (acc.)
pra: (prefix indicating forward motion)
vi-√gaah: to plunge or dive into , bathe in , enter , penetrate , pervade , betake one's self into (acc. or loc.)
maargam (acc. sg.): m. path
pra: (suffix indicating forward motion)
spaShTam (acc. sg. m.): clearly perceived or discerned , distinctly visible , distinct , clear , evident , plain , intelligible; straight (opp. to " crooked "); real , true , correct
aShTaaNgam (acc. sg. m.): eight-limbed
aShTa: eight
aNga: a limb , member; any subdivision
ahaaryam (acc. sg. m.): not to be stolen , not to be removed; unalterable
aaryam (acc. sg. m.): noble
duHkhasya (genitive): of suffering
hetuun (acc. pl.): cause
prajahaati = 3rd person singular of pra-√ haa: to leave ; to desert , quit , abandon , give up , renounce
doShaan (acc. pl.): faults
praapnoti = 3rd person singular of pra- √Ap: to reach, arrive at, find; to obtain , receive;
ca: and
atyanta: beyond the proper end or limit; excessive , very great , very strong; endless , unbroken , perpetual; absolute , perfect; to the end
shivam (acc. sg. n.): mfn. auspicious , propitious , gracious , favourable , benign , kind , benevolent , friendly , dear ; happy , fortunate; m. happiness , welfare, liberation; n. welfare , prosperity , bliss
well-being, happiness
padam (acc. sg.): n. step, footing, foundation, stage, state
tat (acc. sg. n.): that
EH Johnston:
By entering on this straight, noble, incorruptible Path with its three divisions and eight members, one eliminates the faults which are the causes of suffering and reaches the supremely blessed stage.
Linda Covill:
On penetrating this clear and irremovable noble path, with its three divisions and eight branches, one abandons the faults, which are the causes of suffering, and reaches the state of utter happiness.
prapaShTam aShT'-aaNgam a-haaryam aaryam
duHkhasya hetuun prajahaati doShaan
praapnoti c'aatyanta-shivam padam tat
16.37
Giving oneself to this path with its three divisions
And eight branches
-- this straightforward, irremovable, noble path --
One abandons the faults,
which are the causes of suffering,
And comes to that step which is total well-being.
COMMENT:
The three divisions are integrity (shiila), balance (samaadhi), and wisdom (prajnaa).
The eight branches are insight, thinking, initiative (prajnaa); use of voice, use of body, livelihood (shiila); mindfulness, balance (samaadhi).
The faults, which all begin with thirsting are, for example: (1) undue excitement in the nervous system, or hyper-tonus vs (2) the opposite state of mental sluggishness, or hypo-tonus; (3) greed, (4) hatred, and (5) ignorance/delusion.
That step which is total well-being, as I understand Ashvaghosha's words, is the same step that Master Dogen exhorted us to learn, which he called EKO-HENSHO NO TAIHO, or "the backward step of turning one's light and letting it shine."
VOCABULARY:
tri-skandham (acc. sg. m.): consisting of three skandhas
tri: three
skandha: part, division
etam (acc. sg. m.): this
pravigaahya = absolutive of pra-vi-√gAh: to dive into , enter (acc.)
pra: (prefix indicating forward motion)
vi-√gaah: to plunge or dive into , bathe in , enter , penetrate , pervade , betake one's self into (acc. or loc.)
maargam (acc. sg.): m. path
pra: (suffix indicating forward motion)
spaShTam (acc. sg. m.): clearly perceived or discerned , distinctly visible , distinct , clear , evident , plain , intelligible; straight (opp. to " crooked "); real , true , correct
aShTaaNgam (acc. sg. m.): eight-limbed
aShTa: eight
aNga: a limb , member; any subdivision
ahaaryam (acc. sg. m.): not to be stolen , not to be removed; unalterable
aaryam (acc. sg. m.): noble
duHkhasya (genitive): of suffering
hetuun (acc. pl.): cause
prajahaati = 3rd person singular of pra-√ haa: to leave ; to desert , quit , abandon , give up , renounce
doShaan (acc. pl.): faults
praapnoti = 3rd person singular of pra- √Ap: to reach, arrive at, find; to obtain , receive;
ca: and
atyanta: beyond the proper end or limit; excessive , very great , very strong; endless , unbroken , perpetual; absolute , perfect; to the end
shivam (acc. sg. n.): mfn. auspicious , propitious , gracious , favourable , benign , kind , benevolent , friendly , dear ; happy , fortunate; m. happiness , welfare, liberation; n. welfare , prosperity , bliss
well-being, happiness
padam (acc. sg.): n. step, footing, foundation, stage, state
tat (acc. sg. n.): that
EH Johnston:
By entering on this straight, noble, incorruptible Path with its three divisions and eight members, one eliminates the faults which are the causes of suffering and reaches the supremely blessed stage.
Linda Covill:
On penetrating this clear and irremovable noble path, with its three divisions and eight branches, one abandons the faults, which are the causes of suffering, and reaches the state of utter happiness.
Friday, March 13, 2009
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.
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.
Thursday, March 12, 2009
SAUNDARANANDA 16.28: A Spent Lamp Reaches Nothing But Extinction (3)
diipo yathaa nirvRtim abhyupeto
n' aaiv' aavaniM gacchati n' aantarikSham
dishaM na kaaM cid vidishaM na kaaM cit
sneha-kShayaat kevalam eti shaantim
16.28
A lamp that has gone out
Reaches neither to the earth nor to the sky,
Nor to any cardinal nor to any intermediate point:
Because its oil is spent it reaches nothing but extinction.
COMMENT:
This verse, and the verses which follow it, reverberate deeply with Master Dogen's teaching of the backward step.
Picture a baby, its eyes wide, its face flushed, and its arms splayed out in distress, reaching out, as if to plead, "Pick me up, mummy!"
In very many of us, a trace of that infantile redness remains, like emotional fuel. Many is the moment during a day when I would like to throw my toys out of the pram.
But a lamp that has gone out is not like that. A lamp that has gone out emits no trace of that.
VOCABULARY:
diipaH (nominative, singular): m. light, lamp, lantern
yathaa: (correlative of evam in the next verse) just as
nirVrtim = accusative, nirVrti: f. complete satisfaction or happiness , bliss , pleasure , delight; emancipation , final beatitude; attainment of rest; extinction (of a lamp)
abhyupetaH = nom. sg. m. past participle of abhyupe: to go near , approach , arrive at , enter; to enter a state or condition , obtain , share
na: not
eva: at all
avanim (accusative): to the earth
gacchati (3rd person singular, gam): goes, reaches
na: not
antarikSham (accusative): to 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
sneha: oil
kShayaat = ablative of kShaya: loss , waste , wane , diminution , destruction , decay , wasting or wearing away (often ifc.)
kevalam: ind. only, merely, solely
eti = 3rd person singular (aa- √i): to come near or towards , go near , approach; to reach , attain , enter , come into (a state or position)
shaantim (accusative): peace; extinction (of fire &c )
EH Johnston:
Just as a lamp, which has reached the stage of extinction, does not depart to the earth or the sky or any of the quarters or intermediate quarters but from exhaustion of the oil merely goes out.
Linda Covill:
Just as a light which is extinguished does not travel to the earth or the sky, nor to the directions or any intermediate directions but, because its oil is used up, merely ceases,
n' aaiv' aavaniM gacchati n' aantarikSham
dishaM na kaaM cid vidishaM na kaaM cit
sneha-kShayaat kevalam eti shaantim
16.28
A lamp that has gone out
Reaches neither to the earth nor to the sky,
Nor to any cardinal nor to any intermediate point:
Because its oil is spent it reaches nothing but extinction.
COMMENT:
This verse, and the verses which follow it, reverberate deeply with Master Dogen's teaching of the backward step.
Picture a baby, its eyes wide, its face flushed, and its arms splayed out in distress, reaching out, as if to plead, "Pick me up, mummy!"
In very many of us, a trace of that infantile redness remains, like emotional fuel. Many is the moment during a day when I would like to throw my toys out of the pram.
But a lamp that has gone out is not like that. A lamp that has gone out emits no trace of that.
VOCABULARY:
diipaH (nominative, singular): m. light, lamp, lantern
yathaa: (correlative of evam in the next verse) just as
nirVrtim = accusative, nirVrti: f. complete satisfaction or happiness , bliss , pleasure , delight; emancipation , final beatitude; attainment of rest; extinction (of a lamp)
abhyupetaH = nom. sg. m. past participle of abhyupe: to go near , approach , arrive at , enter; to enter a state or condition , obtain , share
na: not
eva: at all
avanim (accusative): to the earth
gacchati (3rd person singular, gam): goes, reaches
na: not
antarikSham (accusative): to 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
sneha: oil
kShayaat = ablative of kShaya: loss , waste , wane , diminution , destruction , decay , wasting or wearing away (often ifc.)
kevalam: ind. only, merely, solely
eti = 3rd person singular (aa- √i): to come near or towards , go near , approach; to reach , attain , enter , come into (a state or position)
shaantim (accusative): peace; extinction (of fire &c )
EH Johnston:
Just as a lamp, which has reached the stage of extinction, does not depart to the earth or the sky or any of the quarters or intermediate quarters but from exhaustion of the oil merely goes out.
Linda Covill:
Just as a light which is extinguished does not travel to the earth or the sky, nor to the directions or any intermediate directions but, because its oil is used up, merely ceases,
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
SAUNDARANANDA 16.27: Reaching Extinction (2), Not a Positive Step
yasmin na jaatir na jaraa na mRtyur
na vyaadhayo n'aa-priya-samprayogaH
n'ecchaa-vipanna priya-viprayogaH
kShemaM padaM naiShThikam a-cyutam tat.
16.27
In which there is no becoming, no aging, no dying,
No illnesses, no being touched by unpleasantness,
No disappointment, or separation from what is pleasant:
It is a fundamental step -- ultimate and indestructible.
COMMENT:
If the ending of suffering were a position in a community, then it could be taken away. Somebody might come along thinking "You are not yet senior enough to sit there," or somebody might come along saying, "You have become too senior to stay here." If the ending of suffering were a condition of harmony within a community, again, some troublemaker could come along and disrupt that harmony. So a community might not always be an ultimate and indestructible place to seek the ending of suffering.
If the ending of suffering were an experience or a state of being -- for example, a state of enlightenment, a state of Buddha -- that state also could easily be taken away, by sickness, aging, or death. So a state of enlightenment might not always be an ultimate and indestructible place to seek the ending of suffering.
But insofar as the ending of suffering is a step, once that step has been realised as the ending of suffering, nobody can take it away. Not even time can take it away.
That is why, here, as also in verse 3.7, I have stayed with the very literal translation of padam, as a step. Not a stage. Not a place. Not a state. A step.
A step is not static. A step has direction -- for example:
up, as opposed to gravity; and
back, as opposed to progressive striving; and
away, as opposed to trouble.
A step is a bit of a process of following a path that leads in a certain direction, which is not necessarily always forward.
Thus, even if foreign invaders and exotic ideas laid to waste the whole of a great Aryan civilization in India, destroying Buddhas and breaking up Sanghas, up is still up, back is still back, and away is still away. This, as I read it and as I endeavor to sit it, is the ultimate, indestructible Dharma of Ashvaghosha. This is Ashvaghosha's gold.
VOCABULARY:
yasmin (locative): in which
na: no
jaatiH (nominative, singular): birth, becoming
na: no
jaraa (nominative, singular): growing old, old age
na: no
mRtyuH (nominative, singular): death, dying
na: no
vyaadhayaH = nominative, plural of vyaadhi: disorder , disease , ailment , sickness
na: no
a-priya: disagreeable , disliked ; unkind , unfriendly
samprayogaH (nominative, singular): joining together , attaching , fastening ; conjunction , union , connection , contact with
na: no
icchaa: wish , desire , inclination ,
vipanna: mfn. gone wrong , failed , miscarried
priya: beloved , liked , favourite , wanted; love , kindness , favour , pleasure
viprayogaH (nominative, singular): disjunction , dissociation , separation from
kShemam (acc. sg. n.): (from √kSi) habitable; giving rest or ease or security; at ease , prosperous , safe; m. basis , foundation; residing , resting , abiding at ease; safety , tranquillity , peace , rest , security , any secure or easy or comfortable state
kSi: to abide , stay , dwell , reside (used especially of an undisturbed or secret residence)
padam (acc. sg.): n. step, footing, state
naiShThikam (acc. sg. n.): forming the end , final , last; definitive , fixed , firm; highest , perfect , complete
acyutam (acc. sg. n.): not fallen; firm , solid; imperishable , permanent; not leaking
cyuta: mfn. moved , shaken ; disappeared
tat: it, that [referring back to dharma in 16.26(b)]
EH Johnston:
The stage in which there is neither birth, old age, death, disease, nor contact with what is disagreeable, neither failure of wishes nor separation from the agreeable, which is peaceful, final and imperishable.
Linda Covill:
in which there is no birth, no old age, no death, no sickness, no association with anything unpleasant, no failure of wishes and no separation from anything pleasant; it is an ultimate, unfallen state of ease.
na vyaadhayo n'aa-priya-samprayogaH
n'ecchaa-vipanna priya-viprayogaH
kShemaM padaM naiShThikam a-cyutam tat.
16.27
In which there is no becoming, no aging, no dying,
No illnesses, no being touched by unpleasantness,
No disappointment, or separation from what is pleasant:
It is a fundamental step -- ultimate and indestructible.
COMMENT:
If the ending of suffering were a position in a community, then it could be taken away. Somebody might come along thinking "You are not yet senior enough to sit there," or somebody might come along saying, "You have become too senior to stay here." If the ending of suffering were a condition of harmony within a community, again, some troublemaker could come along and disrupt that harmony. So a community might not always be an ultimate and indestructible place to seek the ending of suffering.
If the ending of suffering were an experience or a state of being -- for example, a state of enlightenment, a state of Buddha -- that state also could easily be taken away, by sickness, aging, or death. So a state of enlightenment might not always be an ultimate and indestructible place to seek the ending of suffering.
But insofar as the ending of suffering is a step, once that step has been realised as the ending of suffering, nobody can take it away. Not even time can take it away.
That is why, here, as also in verse 3.7, I have stayed with the very literal translation of padam, as a step. Not a stage. Not a place. Not a state. A step.
A step is not static. A step has direction -- for example:
up, as opposed to gravity; and
back, as opposed to progressive striving; and
away, as opposed to trouble.
A step is a bit of a process of following a path that leads in a certain direction, which is not necessarily always forward.
Thus, even if foreign invaders and exotic ideas laid to waste the whole of a great Aryan civilization in India, destroying Buddhas and breaking up Sanghas, up is still up, back is still back, and away is still away. This, as I read it and as I endeavor to sit it, is the ultimate, indestructible Dharma of Ashvaghosha. This is Ashvaghosha's gold.
VOCABULARY:
yasmin (locative): in which
na: no
jaatiH (nominative, singular): birth, becoming
na: no
jaraa (nominative, singular): growing old, old age
na: no
mRtyuH (nominative, singular): death, dying
na: no
vyaadhayaH = nominative, plural of vyaadhi: disorder , disease , ailment , sickness
na: no
a-priya: disagreeable , disliked ; unkind , unfriendly
samprayogaH (nominative, singular): joining together , attaching , fastening ; conjunction , union , connection , contact with
na: no
icchaa: wish , desire , inclination ,
vipanna: mfn. gone wrong , failed , miscarried
priya: beloved , liked , favourite , wanted; love , kindness , favour , pleasure
viprayogaH (nominative, singular): disjunction , dissociation , separation from
kShemam (acc. sg. n.): (from √kSi) habitable; giving rest or ease or security; at ease , prosperous , safe; m. basis , foundation; residing , resting , abiding at ease; safety , tranquillity , peace , rest , security , any secure or easy or comfortable state
kSi: to abide , stay , dwell , reside (used especially of an undisturbed or secret residence)
padam (acc. sg.): n. step, footing, state
naiShThikam (acc. sg. n.): forming the end , final , last; definitive , fixed , firm; highest , perfect , complete
acyutam (acc. sg. n.): not fallen; firm , solid; imperishable , permanent; not leaking
cyuta: mfn. moved , shaken ; disappeared
tat: it, that [referring back to dharma in 16.26(b)]
EH Johnston:
The stage in which there is neither birth, old age, death, disease, nor contact with what is disagreeable, neither failure of wishes nor separation from the agreeable, which is peaceful, final and imperishable.
Linda Covill:
in which there is no birth, no old age, no death, no sickness, no association with anything unpleasant, no failure of wishes and no separation from anything pleasant; it is an ultimate, unfallen state of ease.
Sunday, March 1, 2009
SAUNDARANANDA 16.17: A Cluster of Faults Causes Suffering
pravRtti-duHkhasya ca tasya loke
tRShn" adayo doSha-gaNaa nimittam
n'aiv' eshvaro na prakRtir na kaalo
n' aapi svabhaavo na vidhir yadRcchaa
16.17
And this suffering from progressive striving in the world
Has its cause in a cluster of faults
which start with thirsting --
Certainly not in God,
nor in primordial matter, nor in time;
Nor even in one’s inherent constitution,
and not in predestination or self-will.
COMMENT:
Line 1 describes the frenetic SUFFERING of progressive (endgaining) behaviour in the world, as opposed to the backward step of turning one’s light and being lucid.
Line 2 describes the CAUSE of this suffering as a cluster of faults, and seems to pinpoint the central or original cause as tRShna, which means thirsting, craving, avidly desiring to gain some end.
I selected the word “cluster” advisedly, because part of my work as a reflex inhibition therapist is to identify a cluster of aberrant primitive reflexes in people exhibiting the symptoms of dyslexia, dyspraxia, irrational anxiety, et cetera. There is a profound relation, as I see it, between aberrant vestibular reflexes and what Ashvaghosha called doSha-vyaalaan (14.29) -- most excellently translated by Linda Covill as “reptilian faults.” Equally, there is a profound relation between these faults and the universal human delusion that FM Alexander called “faulty sensory appreciation.” Faulty sensory appreciation is the reason that people’s endgaining behaviour in the world produces harmful, unintended side-effects.
Line 3 expresses NEGATION of three kinds of false notions of what might be causing us to suffer; namely, God, matter, and bad timing. The progression of the three follows the dialectic progression observable so often in Master Dogen’s Shobogenzo and identified by Gudo Nishijima as the philosophy of idealism, the philosophy of materialism, and the philosophy of action here and now.
Line 4 can be interpreted as an invitation to get on with it, to slog on, to step ahead on a PATH, instead of worrying about things one cannot do anything about, such as one's genetic inheritance; or about philosophical problems.
VOCABULARY:
pravRtti: rolling forwards; moving onwards , advance , progress; active (as opposed to contemplative) life; [end-gaining as opposed to attending to the means-whereby]
duHkhasya = gen. sg. duHkha: suffering
ca: and
tasya (gen. sg.): of it
loke (locative): in the world
tRShNaa: thirst, desire, avidity
aadayaH = nominative, plural of aadi: beginning with, et cetera
doSha: faults
gaNaaH (nom. pl.): flock , troop , multitude , number , tribe , series , class (of animate or inanimate beings) , body of followers or attendants
nimittam = nom. sg. nimitta: n. a butt, mark, target; the point, the aim; sign, omen; cause, motive, ground, reason; (in philosophy) instrumental or efficient cause (opposed to upAdAna, the operative or material cause)
na: not
eva: [emphatic]
iishvaraH (nominative, singular): capable one, lord, God, the Supreme Being; the supreme soul (Atman); Shiva
na: not
prakRtiH (nominative, singular): "making or placing before or at first", the original or natural form or condition of anything, original or primary substance; cause, original source; origin; nature, character, constitution, temper, disposition; fundamental form, pattern
na: not
kaalaH (nominative, singular): time, season, hour
na: not
api: also, even
svabhaavaH (nominative, singular): own condition or state of being , natural state or constitution , innate or inherent disposition , nature , impulse , spontaneity
na: not
vidhiH (nom. sg.): a rule , formula , injunction , ordinance , statute , precept , law , direction; fate, destiny
yadRcchaa (nom. sg.): f. self-will , spontaneity , accident , chance
EH Johnston:
And the cause of this suffering from active being in the world is to be found in the category of vices such as desire and the rest, not in a Creator or Primordial Matter of Time or the Nature of Things or Fate or Chance.
Linda Covill:
The reason for this suffering during one's active life in the world is not a God, not nature, not time, not the inherent nature of things, not predestination, not accident, but the host of faults such as desire.
tRShn" adayo doSha-gaNaa nimittam
n'aiv' eshvaro na prakRtir na kaalo
n' aapi svabhaavo na vidhir yadRcchaa
16.17
And this suffering from progressive striving in the world
Has its cause in a cluster of faults
which start with thirsting --
Certainly not in God,
nor in primordial matter, nor in time;
Nor even in one’s inherent constitution,
and not in predestination or self-will.
COMMENT:
Line 1 describes the frenetic SUFFERING of progressive (endgaining) behaviour in the world, as opposed to the backward step of turning one’s light and being lucid.
Line 2 describes the CAUSE of this suffering as a cluster of faults, and seems to pinpoint the central or original cause as tRShna, which means thirsting, craving, avidly desiring to gain some end.
I selected the word “cluster” advisedly, because part of my work as a reflex inhibition therapist is to identify a cluster of aberrant primitive reflexes in people exhibiting the symptoms of dyslexia, dyspraxia, irrational anxiety, et cetera. There is a profound relation, as I see it, between aberrant vestibular reflexes and what Ashvaghosha called doSha-vyaalaan (14.29) -- most excellently translated by Linda Covill as “reptilian faults.” Equally, there is a profound relation between these faults and the universal human delusion that FM Alexander called “faulty sensory appreciation.” Faulty sensory appreciation is the reason that people’s endgaining behaviour in the world produces harmful, unintended side-effects.
Line 3 expresses NEGATION of three kinds of false notions of what might be causing us to suffer; namely, God, matter, and bad timing. The progression of the three follows the dialectic progression observable so often in Master Dogen’s Shobogenzo and identified by Gudo Nishijima as the philosophy of idealism, the philosophy of materialism, and the philosophy of action here and now.
Line 4 can be interpreted as an invitation to get on with it, to slog on, to step ahead on a PATH, instead of worrying about things one cannot do anything about, such as one's genetic inheritance; or about philosophical problems.
VOCABULARY:
pravRtti: rolling forwards; moving onwards , advance , progress; active (as opposed to contemplative) life; [end-gaining as opposed to attending to the means-whereby]
duHkhasya = gen. sg. duHkha: suffering
ca: and
tasya (gen. sg.): of it
loke (locative): in the world
tRShNaa: thirst, desire, avidity
aadayaH = nominative, plural of aadi: beginning with, et cetera
doSha: faults
gaNaaH (nom. pl.): flock , troop , multitude , number , tribe , series , class (of animate or inanimate beings) , body of followers or attendants
nimittam = nom. sg. nimitta: n. a butt, mark, target; the point, the aim; sign, omen; cause, motive, ground, reason; (in philosophy) instrumental or efficient cause (opposed to upAdAna, the operative or material cause)
na: not
eva: [emphatic]
iishvaraH (nominative, singular): capable one, lord, God, the Supreme Being; the supreme soul (Atman); Shiva
na: not
prakRtiH (nominative, singular): "making or placing before or at first", the original or natural form or condition of anything, original or primary substance; cause, original source; origin; nature, character, constitution, temper, disposition; fundamental form, pattern
na: not
kaalaH (nominative, singular): time, season, hour
na: not
api: also, even
svabhaavaH (nominative, singular): own condition or state of being , natural state or constitution , innate or inherent disposition , nature , impulse , spontaneity
na: not
vidhiH (nom. sg.): a rule , formula , injunction , ordinance , statute , precept , law , direction; fate, destiny
yadRcchaa (nom. sg.): f. self-will , spontaneity , accident , chance
EH Johnston:
And the cause of this suffering from active being in the world is to be found in the category of vices such as desire and the rest, not in a Creator or Primordial Matter of Time or the Nature of Things or Fate or Chance.
Linda Covill:
The reason for this suffering during one's active life in the world is not a God, not nature, not time, not the inherent nature of things, not predestination, not accident, but the host of faults such as desire.
Thursday, February 26, 2009
SAUNDARANANDA 16.14: Suffering, Suffering, Suffering, Suffering
pratyakSham aalokya ca janma duHkhaM
duHkhaM tath" atiitam ap' iti viddhi
yathaa ca tad duHkham idaM ca duHkhaM
duHkham tath" an-aagatam apy avehi.
16.14
Seeing now before your eyes that birth is suffering,
Recognise that likewise in the past it was suffering.
And just as that was suffering and this is suffering,
Know that likewise in the future it will be suffering.
COMMENT
Birth, we can understand from the previous verses, means the birth of a body that feels pain and discomfort, and of an expectant mind, pregnant with dissatisfaction.
We experience the discomfort and dissatisfaction, or pain and anguish, in the present, as we have experienced it in the past. We cannot deny it. Ashvaghosha is not letting us deny it. That was suffering and this is suffering. But what can we expect in the future?
Ashvaghosha holds out the possibility of finding in sitting practice, at the level of the fourth realisation, a lucidity in which there is indifference and pure awareness.
Dogen, similarly, advocates learning a backward step of turning light and shining, such that body and mind will naturally drop off.
The point of this and the next verse, as I read them, is to scupper in advance any unrealistic expectations that such a teaching might engender. Drop off though they naturally will, the body will continue to feel pain, as it always has done, and the mind will continue to tend towards dissastisfaction, as it always has done.
What we can realistically hope for, I believe, is that through genuine and persistent learning of the backward step, our suffering can become more meaningful. For a start, we can understand more deeply in practice what the truth of suffering is.
This is what I am taking from this difficult section of verses in which Ashvaghosha seems to want to soak us ever more deeply and thoroughly in the truth of suffering -- leaving no room for even a shred of naive optimism to remain.
VOCABULARY:
pratyakSa: present before the eyes, visible, perceptible; clear, distinct, manifest, direct, immediate, actual, real
aalokya (absolutive of aa-√ lok, to look at): having seen or looked at , beholding
ca: and
janma: birth
duhKham: suffering
duhKham: suffering
tathaa: likewise
aatiita: past
api: also
iti: that
viddhi = imperative of vid: to know, understand, perceive, learn; experience, feel; recognise
yathaa: just as
ca: and
tad: that
duhKham: suffering
idam: this
ca: and
duhKham: suffering
duhKham: suffering
tathaa: likewise
an-aagata: not come, not arrived; future; unknown; n. the future.
api: also
avehi = imperative of ave: to look upon, consider; to perceive, conceive, understand, learn, know
EH Johnston:
And seeing the suffering of birth present before your eyes, know that there has been similar suffering in the past ; and as suffering has been and is, understand that there will be similarly suffering in the future.
Linda Covill:
Having seen with your own eyes that birth is suffering, understand that past birth was suffering too. Just as that was suffering and this is suffering, be aware that future birth will also be suffering.
duHkhaM tath" atiitam ap' iti viddhi
yathaa ca tad duHkham idaM ca duHkhaM
duHkham tath" an-aagatam apy avehi.
16.14
Seeing now before your eyes that birth is suffering,
Recognise that likewise in the past it was suffering.
And just as that was suffering and this is suffering,
Know that likewise in the future it will be suffering.
COMMENT
Birth, we can understand from the previous verses, means the birth of a body that feels pain and discomfort, and of an expectant mind, pregnant with dissatisfaction.
We experience the discomfort and dissatisfaction, or pain and anguish, in the present, as we have experienced it in the past. We cannot deny it. Ashvaghosha is not letting us deny it. That was suffering and this is suffering. But what can we expect in the future?
Ashvaghosha holds out the possibility of finding in sitting practice, at the level of the fourth realisation, a lucidity in which there is indifference and pure awareness.
Dogen, similarly, advocates learning a backward step of turning light and shining, such that body and mind will naturally drop off.
The point of this and the next verse, as I read them, is to scupper in advance any unrealistic expectations that such a teaching might engender. Drop off though they naturally will, the body will continue to feel pain, as it always has done, and the mind will continue to tend towards dissastisfaction, as it always has done.
What we can realistically hope for, I believe, is that through genuine and persistent learning of the backward step, our suffering can become more meaningful. For a start, we can understand more deeply in practice what the truth of suffering is.
This is what I am taking from this difficult section of verses in which Ashvaghosha seems to want to soak us ever more deeply and thoroughly in the truth of suffering -- leaving no room for even a shred of naive optimism to remain.
VOCABULARY:
pratyakSa: present before the eyes, visible, perceptible; clear, distinct, manifest, direct, immediate, actual, real
aalokya (absolutive of aa-√ lok, to look at): having seen or looked at , beholding
ca: and
janma: birth
duhKham: suffering
duhKham: suffering
tathaa: likewise
aatiita: past
api: also
iti: that
viddhi = imperative of vid: to know, understand, perceive, learn; experience, feel; recognise
yathaa: just as
ca: and
tad: that
duhKham: suffering
idam: this
ca: and
duhKham: suffering
duhKham: suffering
tathaa: likewise
an-aagata: not come, not arrived; future; unknown; n. the future.
api: also
avehi = imperative of ave: to look upon, consider; to perceive, conceive, understand, learn, know
EH Johnston:
And seeing the suffering of birth present before your eyes, know that there has been similar suffering in the past ; and as suffering has been and is, understand that there will be similarly suffering in the future.
Linda Covill:
Having seen with your own eyes that birth is suffering, understand that past birth was suffering too. Just as that was suffering and this is suffering, be aware that future birth will also be suffering.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)