loke 'sminn aalay'-aaraame
nivRttau dur-labhaa ratiH
vyathante hy a-punar-bhaavaat
prapaataad iva baalishaaH
12.22
In this world which likes what is close to home,
A fondness for non-doing is rare;
For men shrink from the end of becoming
Like the puerile from the edge of a cliff.
COMMENT:
Non-doing involves going against the habit of a lifetime, which we find uncomfortable, and it is a journey into the unknown, which we find fearful.
How rare is a fondness for non-doing? Maybe rarer than we realise.
Alexander work is supposed to be all about non-doing, but when one looks deeply into it, a lot of what passes for non-doing, both within and without the self, is actually a subtle form of doing.
Marjory Barlow said that the wrong inner patterns are the doing that has to be stopped. I think those ‘wrong inner patterns’ generally have to do with noise emanating from aberrant survival reflexes. If that noise had a voice, it might say: “What’s in it for me?”
Similarly, to work in service of the Buddha is to give up one’s own agenda, but again when one looks deeply into it, a lot of what passes for obedient service of the Buddha, both within and without the self, is actually more or less subtle pursuit of a personal agenda. A noisy trace too often remains of “What’s in it for me?”
I could easily criticize others at this point, following the mirror principle, but the only noise I have any hope of preventing is the noise in my own system. That, after all, is what I am here on my own in France for. To get to the end of becoming in myself.
When Zinadine Zidane dropped the nut on his opponent’s chest in a World Cup Final, I wrote in a blog post at the time that I saw great beauty in Zidane’s act. Zidane’s action, as I saw it, was tempered by compassion: if it had been an untrammelled act of brutal malevolence, Zidane would have gone for his opponent’s nose, or throat, or testicles. What I saw in Zidane’s action was a kind of total negation of “what is in it for me?” It was not the kind of puerile petulance to be seen among the pampered premiership prima donnas of today. In Zidane’s spontaneous release of energy there was a kind of full stop, a decisive expression of the end of becoming.
The phrase a-punar-bhaava, as I read it, is by no means lending any support to the dubious ancient idea of karma and rebirth, which has nothing to with true scientific pursuit, not being subject to empirical verification, but everything to do with maintaining a political status quo. The only end of becoming that I know is a moment of leaving it all on the pitch, or in the dojo, or in the garden, or on the round cushion. I think of Stuart Pearce, former left-back for England, going in for a tackle, with a certain manly commitment, without any trace of boyish shrinking back from the edge.
To have done my best to translate one verse per day, and to have spoken my mind on it without fear or favour, might be a kind of end of becoming. If I die tomorrow, so be it. I refuse to be in a hurry about this translation, or to worry about heaven or hell. If, aided by the wonderful natural energy of this place where I am, I could manage some time today to allow just one moment of true non-doing, that would be great.
Listening
From in the womb
The end of becoming
Is a stream flowing
And a bird singing
All out
EH Johnston:
In this world, which rejoices in attachment, it is hard to find delight in the cessation of active being ; for fools shrink back from release from rebirth as from a precipice.
Linda Covill:
In this world with its liking for the household life, it is hard to take pleasure in abstention from activity; for fools shrink from the prospect of the end of rebirth as from the edge of a cliff.
VOCABULARY:
loke = locative of loka: world
asmin = locative of ayam: this
aalaya (from aa-li): a house , dwelling
aa -li: to come close to ; to settle down upon ; a receptacle, asylum
aaraame = locative of aarama: m. delight , pleasure ; place of pleasure , a garden , grove
nivRttau = locative of nivRtti: abstention; ceasing from worldly acts , inactivity , rest , repose; antonym of pra-vRtti, end-gaining
dur-labhaa: difficult to be found, rare
ratiH (nominative): f. rest , repose ; pleasure , enjoyment , delight in , fondness for (loc.)
vyathante = 3rd person plural of vyath: to tremble , waver , go astray
hi: for
a-punar-bhaavaat (ablative): not again becoming
prapaataad = ablative of prapaata: a steep rock , cliff , precipice
iva: like, as if
baalishaaH = nominative, plural of baalisha: mf(A)n. young , childish , puerile , ignorant , simple , foolish; m. a fool , simpleton , blockhead
Showing posts with label energy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label energy. Show all posts
Sunday, June 14, 2009
Saturday, June 13, 2009
SAUNDARANANDA 12.21: Anxiously Desiring Detachment
adya te sa-phalaM janma
laabho 'dya su-mahaaMs tava
yasya kaama-rasa-jNasya
naiShkramyaay' otsukaM manaH
12.21
Today your birth bears fruit;
Your gain today is great;
For though you know the taste of love,
Your mind is yearning for indifference.
COMMENT:
Quite unlike the dog which is right now pining and whimpering and straining at the leash to which he is tied in my neighbour’s front garden, in blind reaction to the scent of love he has sensed in the morning air through his moist nostrils, a human being can be inspired to aspire to the state of zero. Guided by a skilful trainer, service dogs, guard dogs, sniffer dogs and the like can achieve remarkable things, but their training is always driven by instinct, especially the instinctive desire to please their pack leader. Again, balanced though dogs tend to be, that balance is not a function of intelligence. After a while next door’s dog, as he did yesterday, will stretch out in the sun and fall asleep. Dogs, more quickly than humans tend to do, quickly and naturally return to balance. Dogs, however, do not consciously aspire to balance; they do not consciously aspire to that freedom of the neck which is not caring. The story of Handsome Nanda, in contrast, is the story of a human being who is consciously inspired by the Buddha to aspire toward the state of zero. And in telling Nanda’s story, Ashvaghosha’s conscious intention is to inspire us consciously to aspire in the same direction.
This all sounds very reasonable and conscious. At least it made sense to me as I thought it out. So I thought of translating the last line “Your mind aspires towards detachment.” Then a nagging doubt arose and I went back to the dictionary, which seems to confirm that the word utsuka, in the fourth line, includes a greater sense of negative emotion than does the word “aspire.” Utsuka carries a connotation of restlessness, disquiet, anxiety, unease. These words certainly describe the kind of vibes that my neighbour’s dog is emanating right now, really, unconsciously, instinctively; maybe they also describe Nanda’s state as he stands trembling before the Buddha, with tearful eyes and lowered head. So the use of the word utsuka in the fourth line requires us to dig deeper.
How come the Buddha is praising Nanda for being in an anxiously desirous state?
The anxiety associated with attachment to the gaining of an end is prone to be regarded as a bad thing. Isn’t that why as a translator I am liable to be drawn unconsciously, notwithstanding the dictionary definition, to a translation such as 'aspire toward,' that does not carry the negative connotation? A teaching that contradicts this unconscious tendency (which might be regarded as a variety of naive optimism) was expressed to me by a woman who had unshakeable confidence in the conscious means-whereby principle she taught. That teaching was: “Being wrong is the best friend you have got in this work.”
From the little experience I myself have got of teaching the means-whereby principle, it is true: a pupil who is openly and anxiously desirous of gaining some end is a pupil who is likely to be very receptive to being taught a reliable means-whereby for consciously gaining that end. Aqua-phobic swimmers who wish to lose their fear of the water might be a case in point.
Whether or not a dog has the Buddha-nature, I do not know, but not for the first time in my life a dog, which is always primarily interested in energy, has pointed me in the direction of what the Buddha’s teaching is fundamentally all about.
That the mind, whether of dogs or humans, strains painfully and energetically towards the end it desires, is neither good nor bad: it is just how the mind really is. Optimistically thinking, aspiring towards our natural state of balance ought not to be such a struggle. But in reality the journey Nanda is making is a struggle, always, for everybody.
In this verse, seeing that the goal Nanda’s human mind was straining for was not the positivity of love but rather the zero of indifference, the Buddha saw that as very good. And from here onwards, the Buddha proceeds to spell out for Nanda the means-whereby he may consciously gain that end which is indifference, detachment, the state of zero -- which is, in other words, to sit immovably in lotus with a truly free neck.
My mind thinks,
Quite unlike a dog’s.
But the mind of that whimpering dog,
Is just like mine, which strains.
EH Johnston:
To-day your present existence has become fruitful, to-day your profit is extreme, since, though you know the taste of love, your mind yearns for renunciation.
Linda Covill:
Today your birth bears fruit, today you profit greatly, in that your mind longs for withdrawal though you know the taste of passion
VOCABULARY:
adya: today
te (genitive): of you
sa-phalam (accusative): together with fruits , having or bearing fruit
janma = nominative singular of janman: birth
laabhaH = nominative singular of laabha: obtaining , getting , attaining , acquisition , gain , profit
adya: today
su-mahaan: great (in space , time , quantity or degree)
tava (genitive): of you
yasya (genitive of yat): of whom
kaama: love, sensual pleasure, longing
rasa: taste
jNasya = genitive of jNa: knowing
naiShkramyaaya = dative of naiShkramya: n. indifference (esp. to worldly pleasures) , resignation
utsuka: uneasy, anxious ; anxiously desirous, zealously active , striving for any object ; eager for, fond of, attached to ; sorrowing for
manaH: nominative/accusative of manas: mind
laabho 'dya su-mahaaMs tava
yasya kaama-rasa-jNasya
naiShkramyaay' otsukaM manaH
12.21
Today your birth bears fruit;
Your gain today is great;
For though you know the taste of love,
Your mind is yearning for indifference.
COMMENT:
Quite unlike the dog which is right now pining and whimpering and straining at the leash to which he is tied in my neighbour’s front garden, in blind reaction to the scent of love he has sensed in the morning air through his moist nostrils, a human being can be inspired to aspire to the state of zero. Guided by a skilful trainer, service dogs, guard dogs, sniffer dogs and the like can achieve remarkable things, but their training is always driven by instinct, especially the instinctive desire to please their pack leader. Again, balanced though dogs tend to be, that balance is not a function of intelligence. After a while next door’s dog, as he did yesterday, will stretch out in the sun and fall asleep. Dogs, more quickly than humans tend to do, quickly and naturally return to balance. Dogs, however, do not consciously aspire to balance; they do not consciously aspire to that freedom of the neck which is not caring. The story of Handsome Nanda, in contrast, is the story of a human being who is consciously inspired by the Buddha to aspire toward the state of zero. And in telling Nanda’s story, Ashvaghosha’s conscious intention is to inspire us consciously to aspire in the same direction.
This all sounds very reasonable and conscious. At least it made sense to me as I thought it out. So I thought of translating the last line “Your mind aspires towards detachment.” Then a nagging doubt arose and I went back to the dictionary, which seems to confirm that the word utsuka, in the fourth line, includes a greater sense of negative emotion than does the word “aspire.” Utsuka carries a connotation of restlessness, disquiet, anxiety, unease. These words certainly describe the kind of vibes that my neighbour’s dog is emanating right now, really, unconsciously, instinctively; maybe they also describe Nanda’s state as he stands trembling before the Buddha, with tearful eyes and lowered head. So the use of the word utsuka in the fourth line requires us to dig deeper.
How come the Buddha is praising Nanda for being in an anxiously desirous state?
The anxiety associated with attachment to the gaining of an end is prone to be regarded as a bad thing. Isn’t that why as a translator I am liable to be drawn unconsciously, notwithstanding the dictionary definition, to a translation such as 'aspire toward,' that does not carry the negative connotation? A teaching that contradicts this unconscious tendency (which might be regarded as a variety of naive optimism) was expressed to me by a woman who had unshakeable confidence in the conscious means-whereby principle she taught. That teaching was: “Being wrong is the best friend you have got in this work.”
From the little experience I myself have got of teaching the means-whereby principle, it is true: a pupil who is openly and anxiously desirous of gaining some end is a pupil who is likely to be very receptive to being taught a reliable means-whereby for consciously gaining that end. Aqua-phobic swimmers who wish to lose their fear of the water might be a case in point.
Whether or not a dog has the Buddha-nature, I do not know, but not for the first time in my life a dog, which is always primarily interested in energy, has pointed me in the direction of what the Buddha’s teaching is fundamentally all about.
That the mind, whether of dogs or humans, strains painfully and energetically towards the end it desires, is neither good nor bad: it is just how the mind really is. Optimistically thinking, aspiring towards our natural state of balance ought not to be such a struggle. But in reality the journey Nanda is making is a struggle, always, for everybody.
In this verse, seeing that the goal Nanda’s human mind was straining for was not the positivity of love but rather the zero of indifference, the Buddha saw that as very good. And from here onwards, the Buddha proceeds to spell out for Nanda the means-whereby he may consciously gain that end which is indifference, detachment, the state of zero -- which is, in other words, to sit immovably in lotus with a truly free neck.
My mind thinks,
Quite unlike a dog’s.
But the mind of that whimpering dog,
Is just like mine, which strains.
EH Johnston:
To-day your present existence has become fruitful, to-day your profit is extreme, since, though you know the taste of love, your mind yearns for renunciation.
Linda Covill:
Today your birth bears fruit, today you profit greatly, in that your mind longs for withdrawal though you know the taste of passion
VOCABULARY:
adya: today
te (genitive): of you
sa-phalam (accusative): together with fruits , having or bearing fruit
janma = nominative singular of janman: birth
laabhaH = nominative singular of laabha: obtaining , getting , attaining , acquisition , gain , profit
adya: today
su-mahaan: great (in space , time , quantity or degree)
tava (genitive): of you
yasya (genitive of yat): of whom
kaama: love, sensual pleasure, longing
rasa: taste
jNasya = genitive of jNa: knowing
naiShkramyaaya = dative of naiShkramya: n. indifference (esp. to worldly pleasures) , resignation
utsuka: uneasy, anxious ; anxiously desirous, zealously active , striving for any object ; eager for, fond of, attached to ; sorrowing for
manaH: nominative/accusative of manas: mind
Sunday, April 12, 2009
SAUNDARANANDA 16.59: Again, What Not to Do
raag'-oddhava vyaakulite 'pi citte
maitr'-opasaMhaara-vidhir na kaaryaH
raag-aatmaako muhyati maitrayaa hi
snehaM kapha-kShobha iv' opayuja
16.59
Again, when the mind is muddled by lust,
The practice of inviting in love
is not to be undertaken;
For a passionate type is stupefied by love,
Like a sufferer from phlegm taking oil.
COMMENT:
Calming, garnering, and letting be (discussed in verses 16.53 - 16.58) are, as I see them, the three basic options for regulating the flow of one's energy.
Buddha/Ashvaghosha now turn our attention to dealing with the three root faults that are understood to corrupt, taint or muddle up a person's energy; namely, lust, ill-will, and ignorance/delusion. To this end, the metaphor used in this and the next five verses (16.59 - 16.65) relates to Aryuvedic medicine, in which disease is understood to be a function of three humours: phlegm, wind and bile. The metaphor is particularly apt since the word dosha, fault, is not only used to express the three root afflictions that cloud our sensory appreciation, but is also used to express a disease of the three humours.
In the metaphor which is about to unfold, phlegm corresponds to lust/passion, bile to ill-will/hate, and wind to ignorance/delusion.
A phlegm condition is said to be aggravated by oil and remedied by astringents. So this verse, yet again, first sounds an inhibitory or precautionary note, warning us when in lust not to do anything, for a start, to make things worse. It is the preventive principle again: think first what NOT to do.
This verse seems to be saying, then, in other words, when in lust do not render yourself susceptible, for example, to the influence of Hollywood romances or pop classics or Christian hymns that celebrate the power of love.
For me maitra means not so much loving-kindness, which sounds like a technical word used in Buddhist meditation, but simply love -- as in "Love thy neighbour" or as in "All you need is love." Shortly before she died my grandmother told me, as I was leaving, "Remember you were loved." She didn't say, "Remember you were treated with loving-kindness."
Love is one of those words, like inhibition, or mindfulness, that has got very many barnacles attached to it, so that it elicits deluded reactions in people. But the fault in that case is not in the word; it is in people's reactions to the word.
Just because love is central to the Christian message, and has so many Christian barnacles attached to it, should I veer away from translating maitra as love? I don't think so. Just because love and sex can be closely related and are very often confused with each other, should we seek some special word, other than love, for maitra? I don't think so.
We don't talk of filling the kettle with H20; we say that we fill it with water. Similarly, we don't talk of loving-kindness making fools of men; we say that love makes fools of men.
Speaking of the Christian message, this being Easter weekend my beloved BBC Radio 4 seems to have been hi-jacked by Christian preachers, and I have never felt so clear about the difference between the teaching of Buddha and the extreme pessimism and optimism of the Christian church. The Christian message, it seems to me, is one of the centrality of love and the ultimate triumph of optimism. Whereas Ashvaghosha's message is that love has its place, as an antidote to hate, but that place is never central. And the ultimate triumph might be not the triumph of optimism but rather the triumph over optimism, along with pessimism.
Some say that Buddhism offers a middle way between religion and science. To those who say so, I say you can keep your Buddhism, along with optimism, pessimism, pacificism, and every other kind of -ism. The teaching of Buddha/Ashvaghosha, as I read it, is the giving up of all -isms.
Thus, on this Easter Sunday, from my seat by an upstairs window, I have pontificated for the benefit of a great audience of twittering spring birds and miscellaneous insects and spiders. As I sign off, a wood pigeon is coo-ing and in the distance a cuckoo is intermittently calling.
EH Johnston:
When the mind is disturbed by the excitement of passion, the method of cultivating the idea of benevolence should be avoided; for the man of passionate nature goes wrong through benevolence, like a man disturbed by phlegm through unctuous treatment.
Linda Covill:
When the mind is disordered due to the excitement of passion, the prescription for cultivating loving-kindness should not be followed; for a man of passionate nature is debilitated by loving-kindness, like a patient with a phlegm imbalance using oil treatments.
VOCABULARY:
raaga: redness, passion, love
uddhava: sacrificial fire; festival, holiday; joy, pleasure
vyaakulite (loc.): perplexed , bewildered , distracted , alarmed; confused , disarranged , disturbed , corrupted
api: also, again
citte = locative of citta: mind, the thinking mind
maitra: coming from or given by or belonging to a friend , friendly , amicable , benevolent , affectionate , kind; a friend (= mitra); friendship
upasaMhaara: m. the act of withdrawing , withholding , taking away; drawing towards one's self , bringing near; summarizing , summing up
vidhiH = nominative, singular of vidhi: m. formula; method; prescription
na: not
kaaryaH (nom. sg. m.): to be done, to be practised
raag-aatmaakaH (nom. sg. m.): a passionate type
aatmaka: having or consisting of the nature or character of (in comp.)
muhyati = 3rd person singular of muh: to become stupefied or unconscious , be bewildered or perplexed , err , be mistaken , go astray ; to become confused ,
maitrayaa = instrumental of maitra: friendship, loving-kindness, love
hi: for
sneham (acc. sg.): m. oil
kapha: phlegm (as one of the three humors of the body » also vaayu and pitta)
kShobhaH (nom. sg.): m. shaking , agitation , disturbance
iva: like
upayujya = absolutive of upa- √yuj: to harness to; to use , employ , apply; to have the use of , enjoy (e.g. food or a woman or dominion); to come into contact
maitr'-opasaMhaara-vidhir na kaaryaH
raag-aatmaako muhyati maitrayaa hi
snehaM kapha-kShobha iv' opayuja
16.59
Again, when the mind is muddled by lust,
The practice of inviting in love
is not to be undertaken;
For a passionate type is stupefied by love,
Like a sufferer from phlegm taking oil.
COMMENT:
Calming, garnering, and letting be (discussed in verses 16.53 - 16.58) are, as I see them, the three basic options for regulating the flow of one's energy.
Buddha/Ashvaghosha now turn our attention to dealing with the three root faults that are understood to corrupt, taint or muddle up a person's energy; namely, lust, ill-will, and ignorance/delusion. To this end, the metaphor used in this and the next five verses (16.59 - 16.65) relates to Aryuvedic medicine, in which disease is understood to be a function of three humours: phlegm, wind and bile. The metaphor is particularly apt since the word dosha, fault, is not only used to express the three root afflictions that cloud our sensory appreciation, but is also used to express a disease of the three humours.
In the metaphor which is about to unfold, phlegm corresponds to lust/passion, bile to ill-will/hate, and wind to ignorance/delusion.
A phlegm condition is said to be aggravated by oil and remedied by astringents. So this verse, yet again, first sounds an inhibitory or precautionary note, warning us when in lust not to do anything, for a start, to make things worse. It is the preventive principle again: think first what NOT to do.
This verse seems to be saying, then, in other words, when in lust do not render yourself susceptible, for example, to the influence of Hollywood romances or pop classics or Christian hymns that celebrate the power of love.
For me maitra means not so much loving-kindness, which sounds like a technical word used in Buddhist meditation, but simply love -- as in "Love thy neighbour" or as in "All you need is love." Shortly before she died my grandmother told me, as I was leaving, "Remember you were loved." She didn't say, "Remember you were treated with loving-kindness."
Love is one of those words, like inhibition, or mindfulness, that has got very many barnacles attached to it, so that it elicits deluded reactions in people. But the fault in that case is not in the word; it is in people's reactions to the word.
Just because love is central to the Christian message, and has so many Christian barnacles attached to it, should I veer away from translating maitra as love? I don't think so. Just because love and sex can be closely related and are very often confused with each other, should we seek some special word, other than love, for maitra? I don't think so.
We don't talk of filling the kettle with H20; we say that we fill it with water. Similarly, we don't talk of loving-kindness making fools of men; we say that love makes fools of men.
Speaking of the Christian message, this being Easter weekend my beloved BBC Radio 4 seems to have been hi-jacked by Christian preachers, and I have never felt so clear about the difference between the teaching of Buddha and the extreme pessimism and optimism of the Christian church. The Christian message, it seems to me, is one of the centrality of love and the ultimate triumph of optimism. Whereas Ashvaghosha's message is that love has its place, as an antidote to hate, but that place is never central. And the ultimate triumph might be not the triumph of optimism but rather the triumph over optimism, along with pessimism.
Some say that Buddhism offers a middle way between religion and science. To those who say so, I say you can keep your Buddhism, along with optimism, pessimism, pacificism, and every other kind of -ism. The teaching of Buddha/Ashvaghosha, as I read it, is the giving up of all -isms.
Thus, on this Easter Sunday, from my seat by an upstairs window, I have pontificated for the benefit of a great audience of twittering spring birds and miscellaneous insects and spiders. As I sign off, a wood pigeon is coo-ing and in the distance a cuckoo is intermittently calling.
EH Johnston:
When the mind is disturbed by the excitement of passion, the method of cultivating the idea of benevolence should be avoided; for the man of passionate nature goes wrong through benevolence, like a man disturbed by phlegm through unctuous treatment.
Linda Covill:
When the mind is disordered due to the excitement of passion, the prescription for cultivating loving-kindness should not be followed; for a man of passionate nature is debilitated by loving-kindness, like a patient with a phlegm imbalance using oil treatments.
VOCABULARY:
raaga: redness, passion, love
uddhava: sacrificial fire; festival, holiday; joy, pleasure
vyaakulite (loc.): perplexed , bewildered , distracted , alarmed; confused , disarranged , disturbed , corrupted
api: also, again
citte = locative of citta: mind, the thinking mind
maitra: coming from or given by or belonging to a friend , friendly , amicable , benevolent , affectionate , kind; a friend (= mitra); friendship
upasaMhaara: m. the act of withdrawing , withholding , taking away; drawing towards one's self , bringing near; summarizing , summing up
vidhiH = nominative, singular of vidhi: m. formula; method; prescription
na: not
kaaryaH (nom. sg. m.): to be done, to be practised
raag-aatmaakaH (nom. sg. m.): a passionate type
aatmaka: having or consisting of the nature or character of (in comp.)
muhyati = 3rd person singular of muh: to become stupefied or unconscious , be bewildered or perplexed , err , be mistaken , go astray ; to become confused ,
maitrayaa = instrumental of maitra: friendship, loving-kindness, love
hi: for
sneham (acc. sg.): m. oil
kapha: phlegm (as one of the three humors of the body » also vaayu and pitta)
kShobhaH (nom. sg.): m. shaking , agitation , disturbance
iva: like
upayujya = absolutive of upa- √yuj: to harness to; to use , employ , apply; to have the use of , enjoy (e.g. food or a woman or dominion); to come into contact
Thursday, April 9, 2009
SAUNDARANANDA 16.56: Consciously Garnering Energy
pragraahakaM yan niyataM nimittam
layaM gate cetasi tasya kaalaH
kriyaa-samarthaM hi manas tathaa syaan
mandaayamaano 'gnir iva' endhanena
16.56
A stimulus ascertained to be garnering,
Has its time when one's mind is lifeless,
For thus the mind becomes fit for work,
Like a feebly-burning fire plied with fuel.
COMMENT:
What is under discussion here, it seems to me, is again neither meditation nor formalistic sitting practice. I understand "garnering" to mean the conscious garnering of a flow of energy in a certain direction.
"Just sit upright!" is, in my book, the primary instruction that stimulates such garnering of energy.
First thing in the morning or following an afternoon nap, for example, when the mind is refreshed and yet somehow low and dissipated, not quick, not really awake; in that state of mind, the practice of sitting upright in a full lotus, and wishing/allowing a flow of energy to be directed up along the spine, is how I understand, primarily, what it means for energy to be garnered.
But singing, chanting, or reading aloud are also activities that can be good for consciously garnering one's energy. Taking a dog for a walk (as opposed to being taken for a walk by a dog) can also be an excellent means of garnering one's energy. Lifting weights or swimming or playing a musical instrument or performing the set forms of a martial art, or any energetic and regulated activity that one loves doing, can be a means of consciously garnering one's energy.
All these activities can also be a means, however, for unconsciously leaking one's energy all over the place -- it all depends on how a person reacts to the particular "garnering" stimulus, and the way a person reacts to any stimulus depends very much on how the person uses himself. Hence the wisdom of the title of FM Alexander's third book, "The Use of the Self."
I remember reading somewhere, I think it may have been in Marjory Barlow's book "An Examined Life," the story of how FM Alexander was asked to help rehabilitate a young man whose vital energy had become dissolute. Drawing on his experience with horses, FM got the young man to walk uphill wearing a warm overcoat. That kind of walking was a garnering stimulus FM judged to be appropriate in that particular case.
They say that FM was very good at calming down nervous pupils, knowing how to put them instantly at ease. But confronted with this dissolute young bloke, he decided to put him to work like a horse in need of some steady exercise, in order to garner his vital energy.
In more formalistic sitting practice as advocated by Soto Zen Masters, it seems to me, the essence of the practice is unconscious reaction to the garnering stimulus "Just sit upright." If a person naturally uses himself well, this stimulus will not put the person wrong. But if a person's use of himself is poor, his unconscious reaction to the stimulus "Just sit upright" will have unfortunate results -- aches, pains, poor decisions, et cetera.
In the more extreme versions of formalism, moreover, there tends to be little or no recognition of what we are told in 16.53, that a "garnering" stimulus does not serve when the emotions are excited. So formalistic sitting is, in my experience, a one-sided kind of practice, tending to lead to various kinds of insecure and imbalanced behaviour.
Formalistic sitting, it seems to me, does not tend towards the true goal of formal sitting practice, which is mastery of the mind: rather, formalistic sitting arises out of group ignorance and conduces to group ignorance.
This is why, as I read this series of verses, Ashvaghosha took pains to begin his description of how the mind is mastered with the precautionary
verse 16.53.
EH Johnston:
It is when the mind is sluggish that it is the time for the subject of meditation prescribed for inducing energy; for thus the mind can become capable of action, like a sinking fire through fuel.
Linda Covill:
When the mind is depressed, it is time for the meditational technique prescribed for energy, for thus the mind, like a slow-burning fire plied with fuel, becomes useful.
VOCABULARY:
pragraahakam (nom. sg. n.): seizing, garnering -- see 16.53
yat: [that] which
niyatam (nom. sg. n.): determined, established, ascertained
nimittam (nom. sg.): n. stimulus
layam (accusative): sluggishness, lethargy, mental inactivity
gate = loc. gata: gone to a state or condition
cetasi = locative of cetas: mind
tasya (gen.): of it
kaalaH (nom. sg.): is the time
kriyaa: doing , performing , performance , occupation with (in comp.) , business , act , action , undertaking , activity , work , labour; bodily action , exercise of the limbs' ; medical treatment or practice , applying a remedy , cure ; means, expedient
samartham (acc. sg.): suitable or fit for (gen. or comp.)
hi: for
manas (nom. sg.): n. mind
tathaa: thus
syaat (optative of as): may be, may become
mandaayamanaH = nom. sg. m. present participle mandaaya: to go slowly , linger , loiter; to be weak or faint
agniH (nominative, singular): m. fire
iva: like
indhanena = instrumental of indhana: kindling , lighting; fuel; wood , grass et cetera used for this purpose.
layaM gate cetasi tasya kaalaH
kriyaa-samarthaM hi manas tathaa syaan
mandaayamaano 'gnir iva' endhanena
16.56
A stimulus ascertained to be garnering,
Has its time when one's mind is lifeless,
For thus the mind becomes fit for work,
Like a feebly-burning fire plied with fuel.
COMMENT:
What is under discussion here, it seems to me, is again neither meditation nor formalistic sitting practice. I understand "garnering" to mean the conscious garnering of a flow of energy in a certain direction.
"Just sit upright!" is, in my book, the primary instruction that stimulates such garnering of energy.
First thing in the morning or following an afternoon nap, for example, when the mind is refreshed and yet somehow low and dissipated, not quick, not really awake; in that state of mind, the practice of sitting upright in a full lotus, and wishing/allowing a flow of energy to be directed up along the spine, is how I understand, primarily, what it means for energy to be garnered.
But singing, chanting, or reading aloud are also activities that can be good for consciously garnering one's energy. Taking a dog for a walk (as opposed to being taken for a walk by a dog) can also be an excellent means of garnering one's energy. Lifting weights or swimming or playing a musical instrument or performing the set forms of a martial art, or any energetic and regulated activity that one loves doing, can be a means of consciously garnering one's energy.
All these activities can also be a means, however, for unconsciously leaking one's energy all over the place -- it all depends on how a person reacts to the particular "garnering" stimulus, and the way a person reacts to any stimulus depends very much on how the person uses himself. Hence the wisdom of the title of FM Alexander's third book, "The Use of the Self."
I remember reading somewhere, I think it may have been in Marjory Barlow's book "An Examined Life," the story of how FM Alexander was asked to help rehabilitate a young man whose vital energy had become dissolute. Drawing on his experience with horses, FM got the young man to walk uphill wearing a warm overcoat. That kind of walking was a garnering stimulus FM judged to be appropriate in that particular case.
They say that FM was very good at calming down nervous pupils, knowing how to put them instantly at ease. But confronted with this dissolute young bloke, he decided to put him to work like a horse in need of some steady exercise, in order to garner his vital energy.
In more formalistic sitting practice as advocated by Soto Zen Masters, it seems to me, the essence of the practice is unconscious reaction to the garnering stimulus "Just sit upright." If a person naturally uses himself well, this stimulus will not put the person wrong. But if a person's use of himself is poor, his unconscious reaction to the stimulus "Just sit upright" will have unfortunate results -- aches, pains, poor decisions, et cetera.
In the more extreme versions of formalism, moreover, there tends to be little or no recognition of what we are told in 16.53, that a "garnering" stimulus does not serve when the emotions are excited. So formalistic sitting is, in my experience, a one-sided kind of practice, tending to lead to various kinds of insecure and imbalanced behaviour.
Formalistic sitting, it seems to me, does not tend towards the true goal of formal sitting practice, which is mastery of the mind: rather, formalistic sitting arises out of group ignorance and conduces to group ignorance.
This is why, as I read this series of verses, Ashvaghosha took pains to begin his description of how the mind is mastered with the precautionary
verse 16.53.
EH Johnston:
It is when the mind is sluggish that it is the time for the subject of meditation prescribed for inducing energy; for thus the mind can become capable of action, like a sinking fire through fuel.
Linda Covill:
When the mind is depressed, it is time for the meditational technique prescribed for energy, for thus the mind, like a slow-burning fire plied with fuel, becomes useful.
VOCABULARY:
pragraahakam (nom. sg. n.): seizing, garnering -- see 16.53
yat: [that] which
niyatam (nom. sg. n.): determined, established, ascertained
nimittam (nom. sg.): n. stimulus
layam (accusative): sluggishness, lethargy, mental inactivity
gate = loc. gata: gone to a state or condition
cetasi = locative of cetas: mind
tasya (gen.): of it
kaalaH (nom. sg.): is the time
kriyaa: doing , performing , performance , occupation with (in comp.) , business , act , action , undertaking , activity , work , labour; bodily action , exercise of the limbs' ; medical treatment or practice , applying a remedy , cure ; means, expedient
samartham (acc. sg.): suitable or fit for (gen. or comp.)
hi: for
manas (nom. sg.): n. mind
tathaa: thus
syaat (optative of as): may be, may become
mandaayamanaH = nom. sg. m. present participle mandaaya: to go slowly , linger , loiter; to be weak or faint
agniH (nominative, singular): m. fire
iva: like
indhanena = instrumental of indhana: kindling , lighting; fuel; wood , grass et cetera used for this purpose.
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
SAUNDARANANDA 16.55: Again, What Not to Do
sham'-aavahaM yan niyataM nimittaM
sevyaM na tac cetasi liiyamaane
evaM hi bhuuyo layam eti cittam
an-iiryamaaNo 'gnir iv' aalpa-saaraH
16.55
The stimulus ascertained to bring calm
Does not serve when one's mind is dormant;
For thus the mind sinks further into lifelessness,
Like a feeble fire left unfanned.
COMMENT:
With regard to fault no. 2 -- non-mobilization of energy, or hypotonus -- again, the first consideration is not what might be the right stimulus to which to give consent, but rather what stimulus might have become a wrong one.
What is under discussion in this verse, it seems to me, is neither meditation nor formalistic sitting practice, but rather a conscious decision not to give consent to a certain pattern of stimulus-response.
Ashvaghosha has presented to us in sexy wrapping paper a meticulous treatise on practice -- a record of an approach to giving up afflictions that had been practised and preserved, through 12 transmissions, from the Buddha through to his own generation. But where in the world today is such an approach being practised?
Maybe it corresponds to what Matthieu Ricard, who belongs to the Tibetan tradition, describes as cultivation or training of the mind -- he also eschews the word "meditation."
Any incipient understanding of this approach that I have got (which cannot be very deep, judging from the emotional waves that continue to buffet me) comes from Alexander work.
EH Johnston:
When the mind is sluggish, he should not resort to the subject of meditation prescribed for inducing tranquillity; for thus the mind becomes still more sluggish, like a fire of little substance when not fanned.
Linda Covill:
The meditational technique prescribe for bringing tranquillity should not be practiced when the mind is depressed, for thus the mind, like a little unfanned fire, sinks still further into depression.
VOCABULARY:
shama: tranquillity , calmness; peace; indifference
aavaham (nom. sg. n.): bringing , bringing to pass , producing
yat (nom. sg. n.): [that] which
niyatam (nom. sg. n.): established, determined, ascertained
nimitttam (nom. sg.): n. cause, stimulus
sevyam (nom. sg. n.): to be used, practised, cultivated
na: not
tat: that, the
cetasi = locative of cetas: mind
liiyamaane = loc. present participle lii: to cling or press closely , stick or adhere to (loc.); to remain sticking ; to lie , recline , alight or settle on , hide or cower down in (loc.)
evam: thus, in this manner
hi: for
bhuuyas: further, still more
layam (accusative): lying down , cowering ; extinction , destruction , death ; mental inactivity , spiritual indifference; making the mind inactive or indifferent
eti = 3rd person singular of i: to go to or towards (with acc.)
cittam (nom. sg.): the mind, the thinking mind
an-iiryamaaNaH (see 16.53): not being fanned
agniH (nominative, singular): fire
iva: like
aalpa: small, little
saaraH (nominative, singular): the core or pith or solid interior of anything ; firmness , strength, power , energy; the substance or essence or marrow or cream or heart or essential part of anything
sevyaM na tac cetasi liiyamaane
evaM hi bhuuyo layam eti cittam
an-iiryamaaNo 'gnir iv' aalpa-saaraH
16.55
The stimulus ascertained to bring calm
Does not serve when one's mind is dormant;
For thus the mind sinks further into lifelessness,
Like a feeble fire left unfanned.
COMMENT:
With regard to fault no. 2 -- non-mobilization of energy, or hypotonus -- again, the first consideration is not what might be the right stimulus to which to give consent, but rather what stimulus might have become a wrong one.
What is under discussion in this verse, it seems to me, is neither meditation nor formalistic sitting practice, but rather a conscious decision not to give consent to a certain pattern of stimulus-response.
Ashvaghosha has presented to us in sexy wrapping paper a meticulous treatise on practice -- a record of an approach to giving up afflictions that had been practised and preserved, through 12 transmissions, from the Buddha through to his own generation. But where in the world today is such an approach being practised?
Maybe it corresponds to what Matthieu Ricard, who belongs to the Tibetan tradition, describes as cultivation or training of the mind -- he also eschews the word "meditation."
Any incipient understanding of this approach that I have got (which cannot be very deep, judging from the emotional waves that continue to buffet me) comes from Alexander work.
EH Johnston:
When the mind is sluggish, he should not resort to the subject of meditation prescribed for inducing tranquillity; for thus the mind becomes still more sluggish, like a fire of little substance when not fanned.
Linda Covill:
The meditational technique prescribe for bringing tranquillity should not be practiced when the mind is depressed, for thus the mind, like a little unfanned fire, sinks still further into depression.
VOCABULARY:
shama: tranquillity , calmness; peace; indifference
aavaham (nom. sg. n.): bringing , bringing to pass , producing
yat (nom. sg. n.): [that] which
niyatam (nom. sg. n.): established, determined, ascertained
nimitttam (nom. sg.): n. cause, stimulus
sevyam (nom. sg. n.): to be used, practised, cultivated
na: not
tat: that, the
cetasi = locative of cetas: mind
liiyamaane = loc. present participle lii: to cling or press closely , stick or adhere to (loc.); to remain sticking ; to lie , recline , alight or settle on , hide or cower down in (loc.)
evam: thus, in this manner
hi: for
bhuuyas: further, still more
layam (accusative): lying down , cowering ; extinction , destruction , death ; mental inactivity , spiritual indifference; making the mind inactive or indifferent
eti = 3rd person singular of i: to go to or towards (with acc.)
cittam (nom. sg.): the mind, the thinking mind
an-iiryamaaNaH (see 16.53): not being fanned
agniH (nominative, singular): fire
iva: like
aalpa: small, little
saaraH (nominative, singular): the core or pith or solid interior of anything ; firmness , strength, power , energy; the substance or essence or marrow or cream or heart or essential part of anything
Friday, February 13, 2009
SAUNDARANANDA 16.1: A Methodical Process
evaM mano-dhaaraNayaa krameNa
vyapohya kim cit samupohya kim cit
dhyaanaani catvaary adhigamya yogii
praapnoty abhijNaa niyamena paNca
16.1
"Thus, methodically, by an act of stilling the mind,
With a certain amount of negation
and a certain amount of integration,
The practitioner comes to the four realisations
And duly acquires the fivefold power of knowing:
COMMENT:
Line 1 describes an act of sitting-dhyana as the most MENTAL act there is -- not a doing that is accomplished solely by direct physical means.
Line 2, as I read it, has to do with regulation of ENERGY. What I have been struggling towards, in the very nearly 50 years since I was conceived, through a very slow and faltering process, is greater conscious control in directing the flow of that temporary concentration of energy which is me. So that's my basis for understanding Line 2. I think it expresses from a MATERIALISTIC standpoint what goes on in the sitting practitioner's brain and nervous system, through the re-direction of his ENERGY in sitting. The line can be understood as expressing, in even more explicitly neurological terms, the pruning out of certain circuits of neurones and the making of new connections between certain circuits of neurones. So the line could have been translated "Pruning bits here and connecting bits there." What this means in practice I endeavored to express, from the standpoint of a student of Master Dogen and FM Alexander, in this article. Energetic patterns to negate, or neuronal circuits to prune out, might be those associated with emotional clinging to relationships that belong to the past, or emotional grasping for outcomes that belong to the future -- together with all the other kinds of emotional habits associated with infantile fear reflexes. New connections to make, in the way of integration, might be those associated with a new and improved use of the head, neck and back. When this breaking and making of connections is investigated (as verse 17.50 says) "through experience, with the body," then (1) breaking away from unconscious reactions, and (2) making conscious connections between body parts, may turn out to be two ways of describing one process. Hence, "the truest form of inhibition is direction."
Line 3 describes what happens in PRACTICE.
Line 4 describes not the acquisition of knowledge but THE REAL power of knowing. The prefix abhi, which means "over" suggests what is transcendent, or real.
VOCABULARY:
evam: thus
mano = (in compounds) manas: mind
dhAraNayA = instrumental dhaaraNa: holding, bearing, keeping (in remembrance), retention, preserving, protecting, maintaining, possessing; the act of holding, bearing; keeping in remembrance, memory; immovable concentration of the mind upon (locative); restraining, keeping back
kramena = instrumental of krama: step, course, method
vyapohya = absolutive of vya + apa + hRi: to cut off, take away, remove, destroy
kimcit: something, somewhat, a little, a certain amount
samupohya = absolutive of sam + uuh: to sweep together, bring or gather together, collect, unite
kim cit: something, somewhat, a little, a certain amount
dhyAnAni (accusative, plural): realisations, stages of Zen
catvAri (nominative, neuter): four
adhigamya (absolutive of adhi + gam): on coming to, obtaining, accomplishing
yogI = nominative, singular of yogin: a practitioner of yoga, a devotee of bodymind work
prApnoti: he/she acquires
abhijNA: (nominative, singular, feminine): knowing; supernatural science or faculty of a buddha (of which five are enumerated , viz. 1. taking any form at will ; 2. hearing to any distance ; 3. seeing to any distance ; 4. penetrating men's thoughts ; 5. knowing their state and antecedents).
niyamena (instrumental of niyama): as a rule, necessarily, invariably, surely
niyama: any fixed rule or law, necessity, obligation
paNca: five, fivefold
EH Johnston:
'Thus in due course by subtracting something and adding something through immobility of the mind and by attaining the four trances, the Yogin spontaneously acquires the five supernatural powers.
Linda Covill:
"So by using mental concentration to gradually take a little away and to add a little, the practitioner attains the four meditative states, and then inevitably acquires the five supernormal faculties:
vyapohya kim cit samupohya kim cit
dhyaanaani catvaary adhigamya yogii
praapnoty abhijNaa niyamena paNca
16.1
"Thus, methodically, by an act of stilling the mind,
With a certain amount of negation
and a certain amount of integration,
The practitioner comes to the four realisations
And duly acquires the fivefold power of knowing:
COMMENT:
Line 1 describes an act of sitting-dhyana as the most MENTAL act there is -- not a doing that is accomplished solely by direct physical means.
Line 2, as I read it, has to do with regulation of ENERGY. What I have been struggling towards, in the very nearly 50 years since I was conceived, through a very slow and faltering process, is greater conscious control in directing the flow of that temporary concentration of energy which is me. So that's my basis for understanding Line 2. I think it expresses from a MATERIALISTIC standpoint what goes on in the sitting practitioner's brain and nervous system, through the re-direction of his ENERGY in sitting. The line can be understood as expressing, in even more explicitly neurological terms, the pruning out of certain circuits of neurones and the making of new connections between certain circuits of neurones. So the line could have been translated "Pruning bits here and connecting bits there." What this means in practice I endeavored to express, from the standpoint of a student of Master Dogen and FM Alexander, in this article. Energetic patterns to negate, or neuronal circuits to prune out, might be those associated with emotional clinging to relationships that belong to the past, or emotional grasping for outcomes that belong to the future -- together with all the other kinds of emotional habits associated with infantile fear reflexes. New connections to make, in the way of integration, might be those associated with a new and improved use of the head, neck and back. When this breaking and making of connections is investigated (as verse 17.50 says) "through experience, with the body," then (1) breaking away from unconscious reactions, and (2) making conscious connections between body parts, may turn out to be two ways of describing one process. Hence, "the truest form of inhibition is direction."
Line 3 describes what happens in PRACTICE.
Line 4 describes not the acquisition of knowledge but THE REAL power of knowing. The prefix abhi, which means "over" suggests what is transcendent, or real.
VOCABULARY:
evam: thus
mano = (in compounds) manas: mind
dhAraNayA = instrumental dhaaraNa: holding, bearing, keeping (in remembrance), retention, preserving, protecting, maintaining, possessing; the act of holding, bearing; keeping in remembrance, memory; immovable concentration of the mind upon (locative); restraining, keeping back
kramena = instrumental of krama: step, course, method
vyapohya = absolutive of vya + apa + hRi: to cut off, take away, remove, destroy
kimcit: something, somewhat, a little, a certain amount
samupohya = absolutive of sam + uuh: to sweep together, bring or gather together, collect, unite
kim cit: something, somewhat, a little, a certain amount
dhyAnAni (accusative, plural): realisations, stages of Zen
catvAri (nominative, neuter): four
adhigamya (absolutive of adhi + gam): on coming to, obtaining, accomplishing
yogI = nominative, singular of yogin: a practitioner of yoga, a devotee of bodymind work
prApnoti: he/she acquires
abhijNA: (nominative, singular, feminine): knowing; supernatural science or faculty of a buddha (of which five are enumerated , viz. 1. taking any form at will ; 2. hearing to any distance ; 3. seeing to any distance ; 4. penetrating men's thoughts ; 5. knowing their state and antecedents).
niyamena (instrumental of niyama): as a rule, necessarily, invariably, surely
niyama: any fixed rule or law, necessity, obligation
paNca: five, fivefold
EH Johnston:
'Thus in due course by subtracting something and adding something through immobility of the mind and by attaining the four trances, the Yogin spontaneously acquires the five supernatural powers.
Linda Covill:
"So by using mental concentration to gradually take a little away and to add a little, the practitioner attains the four meditative states, and then inevitably acquires the five supernormal faculties:
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