SAUNDARANANDA 16.67: Attending to the Means-Whereby

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

16.67
Likewise, for garnering as also for calming,

As also when appropriate for leaving well alone,

One should consciously attend to the proper stimulus;

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

SAUNDARANANDA 16.57: Again, What Not to Do

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

16.57
Nor is leaving oneself alone a valid starting point

When one's mind is either lifeless or excited.

For that might result in severe misfortune,

Like the neglected illness of a sick man.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

SAUNDARANANDA 16.56: 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.

SAUNDARANANDA 16.31: Mastery of One's Actions

vaak-karma samyak saha-kaaya-karma
yathaavad aajiiva-nayash ca shuddhaH
idaM trayaM vRtta-vidhau pravRttaM
shiil'aashrayaM karma-parigrahaaya

16.31
Using the voice and using the body well

And making one's living in a pure and suitable manner:

These three, forming the protocol on conduct,

Are for the mastery, based on integrity, of one's actions.

COMMENT:
To sit well on a round cushion is to recover one's fundamental integrity. The great difficulty then is not to lose it.

This verse can be seen as the second in a series of four verses in which Ashvaghosha enumerates the eight branches of the noble path.

Verse 16.30 describes all eight branches of the path as having to do with the awakening of CONSCIOUSNESS.

From the opposite standpoint of 16.31, human life may be seen objectively as nothing but A SERIES OF CONCRETE ACTIONS, in which the practitioner either does or does not maintain a certain integrity in the alignment of the head, neck and back -- in (1) using the voice, (2) using the body, and (3) all the activities of living.

The standpoint of 16.32, as I read it, is that of the moment of the present, i.e, a moment of action itself, in which THE MIND HERE & NOW is required (4) to be insightful, (5) to think straight, and (6) to show initiative.

The theme of 16.33 is that which provides the ultimate standard for the whole eightfold path; namely, the FORMAL SITTING PRACTICE whose elements are (7) true mindfulness, and (8) true balance.


VOCABULARY:
vaac: speech , voice , talk , language
karma = nominative, singular of karman: action, performance, work, activity
samyaJc: going along with or together, turned together or in one direction, combined, united; entire, whole, complete, all; lying in one direction, forming one line (as foot steps); correct, accurate, proper, true, right
saha: together with, along with, and; in common , in company , jointly , conjointly , in concert (often used as a prefix in compounds, expressing "community of action")
kaaya: body
karma: action

yathaavat: duly , properly , rightly , suitably , exactly
aajiiva: livelihood
nayaH = nominative, singular of naya: leading (of an army);conduct , behaviour
ca: and
shuddhaH = nominative, singular of shuddha: cleansed , cleared , clean , pure , clear; cleared , acquitted , free from error , faultless , blameless , right , correct , accurate , exact , according to rule

idam (nom. sg. n.): this
trayam (nom. sg.): n. triad, threesome
vRtta: conduct
vidhau = locative of vidhi: a rule, formula, direction, et cetera; [protocol]
pravRttam (nom. sg. n.): circulated; arisen, produced; set out

shiila: moral conduct, integrity, rules of discipline, self-restraint
aashrayam (nom. sg. n.): that to which anything is annexed or with which anything is closely connected or on which anything depends or rests
karman: action
parigrahaaya = dative of parigraha: laying hold of on all sides; comprehending; getting , attaining , acquisition , possession , property (ifc. " being possessed of or furnished with ")

EH Johnston:
Right actions of voice and body and right livelihood, these three, based on discipline, should be practised in the department of conduct for the mastery of the actions.

Linda Covill:
Right verbal and bodily actions, and making one's living in a pure and suitable manner -- these three occur in the ordinance on behaviour, and are a basis for moral self-restraint in order that one's actions may be circumscribed.