evaM-prakaarair api yady upaayair
nivaaryamaaNaa na paraaN-mukhaaH syuH
tato yathaaa-sthuula-nibarhaNena
suvarNa-doShaa iva te praheyaaH
16.80
Even if hold off by such means
Faults might not turn back:
In that case, forcibly remove them,
in the order of their grossness,
As if ridding gold of impurities.
COMMENT:
While still strongly exhorting the listener to be rid of faults, this verse can be read as antithetical in its approach to the previous verse.
The previous verse upholds the preventive principle of non-endgaining. "By such means" in the first line equals "by preventive means."
In principle, there is no doubt that prevention is better than cure. But this verse, as I read it, reminds us that our fundamental aim is not to adhere to or to uphold -- in a pedantic, self-righteous, precious way -- the preventive principle. Our fundamental aim is to be free of the faults.
The principle of getting rid of faults in order of their grossness, like a man panning for gold, has already been introduced in verses 15.66 to 15.67.
One could argue, citing the preventive principle, that what is of primary importance for a gold-panner is how well he prevents the instigation of faults in himself during the activity of panning for gold -- that he should, in other words, primarily pay attention to the means, which his action of panning, rather than to the end, which is to get gold.
To illustrate the opposite side of the argument, I remember the story of how, when a bomb hit FM Alexander's London HQ at Ashley Place, leaving fragments of glass all over FM's precious Persian rugs, various of Alexander's students were clearing up the mess as a kind of Alexander exercise, moving very "mindfully." When FM came in, if I remember the story correctly, he was singularly unimpressed and told them all to get a bloody move on!
These verses come back so often to the metaphor of gold extraction and refining maybe because this branch of industry is, from mine to foundry, a dirty and sweaty process, requiring heavy raw materials to be hauled to the foundry and thrown into a raging furnace. A person who approached the process in too precious and "mindful" a manner, not wishing his hands to become dirtied and roughened by manual labour, or his face to become scorched by the furnace's glow, might end up without any gold to show for his efforts.
So I see this as the first in a series of four verses exhorting us, in the final analysis, having given due attention to the proper means, to get on with the hard work of freeing ourselves from the faults, doing whatever is necessary to gain that end, not shying away in the manner of a vegan pacifist from the use of requisite force, not pussy-footing around and not being too precious about it.
This Canto is going to conclude by singing the praises of viirya, which does not mean feminist ideology, any more than it means male chauvinism. Viirya means manly endeavour. Manly endeavour is required to get this body free of gross reptilian/mammalian faults and free of subtler human -isms, up to and including true Buddhism.
Free to suffer, free to grieve;
Free in freedom, to believe;
Free to stand up, free to leave;
Free to listen, free to breathe.
EH Johnston:
If they still do not turn away, though combated by such means, then they must be eliminated, like the impurities of gold, by driving them out in the order of their grossness.
Linda Covill:
If they are being restricted by these kinds of method, yet are not reversed, then they must be discarded, like the impurities in gold, by removing them according to their coarseness.
VOCABULARY:
evam: thus, such
prakaaraiH (inst. pl.): m. sort, kind, way, mode
api: even, though
yadi: if
upaayaiH (inst. pl.): m. approach, means, method
nivaaryamANaaH (nom. pl. m. of causitive pres. passive participle ni-√vR: to ward off , restrain): being held back, prohibited, prevented
na: not
paraaN-mukhaaH (nom. pl. m.): having the face turned away or averted , turning the back upon
syuH = 3rd person plural, optative of as: to be
tataH: then
yathaa: in accordance with
sthuula: coarse , gross , rough
nibarhaNena = instrumental of nibarhaNa: crushing , destroying , removing ; n. destruction , annihilation
suvarNa: gold
doShaaH (nom. pl.): m. fault, defect, impurity
iva: like
te (nom. pl.): they, those
praheyaaH = nom. pl. m. gerundive pra-√haa: (1) to drive off ; (2) to desert , quit , abandon , give up; to send off
): to be sent away or dispatched
Showing posts with label reptilian faults. Show all posts
Showing posts with label reptilian faults. Show all posts
Sunday, May 3, 2009
Sunday, April 26, 2009
SAUNDARANANDA 16.73: Watching Out for Wildlife
tath" aapy ath' aadhyaatma-nava-grahatvaan
n' aiv' opashaamyed a-shubho vitarkaH
heyaH sa tad-doSha-pariikShaNena
sa-shvaapado maarga iv' aadhvagena
16.73
Even then, stemming from
something inexperienced within the self,
A disagreeable thought might still not subside.
One should abandon the thought
by monitoring the fault therein,
As a traveller abandons a path
on which there is a wild beast.
COMMENT:
This verse raises the question of the inter-connection between a thought and a fault.
The point seems to be that the danger lies not so much in the disagreeable thought itself as in the deeper fault to which it is linked. A disagreeable thought may be seen as linked at the level of the reptilian brain with immature vestibular reflexes, and at the level of the mammalian brain with the three emotional poisons of greed, ill-will, and delusion.
As a general rule, it seems to me, optimistic thoughts tend to be tied up with greed; pessimistic thoughts tend to be tied up with ill-will, especially in regard to oneself; and the realistic thoughts of politicians, businessmen and the like tend to be tied up with delusion, ignorance and arrogance.
In this verse, the connection between a thought and a fault is represented by the metaphor of a path, and a wild beast of prey -- a man-eating tiger, say -- on that path.
The tiger can be seen as representing something unconscious, wild, not susceptible to suppression or inhibition from the top two inches of a human brain. For an extreme example, think of an out-of-control autistic child whose senses have been overloaded. Then remember that we are all somewhere along the autistic spectrum, which ranges from pervasive developmental disorder at the less normal end, to commonplace testosterone-induced behaviour at the more normal end.
FM Alexander spoke of the danger of being out of touch with one's reason, due to unduly excited fear reflexes and emotions. This is a condition which those with autistic tendencies are experiencing much of the time, but which even the coolest of cats is bound to encounter at least some of the time.
At such a time, disagreeable thoughts never subside but pile in one after another. Those thoughts all stem originally, I would suggest, from something which is imperfectly integrated and hence more or less out of control, deep within the self. That something seems to have to do with how one uses the head, neck and back in relation to each other, and seems also to do with the cluster of vestibular reflexes centred on the Moro reflex.
EH Johnston:
Or if nevertheless impure thoughts are not allayed owing to the inexperience of the mind, they should be eliminated by examining the faults inherent in them, as a traveller goes away from a road infested by wild beasts.
Linda Covill:
Even so, an impure thought might not subside because of the individual's inexperience; it should then be abandoned by an examination of its faults, like a traveler leaves a road beset by wild beasts.
VOCABULARY:
tath"aapi: even so, nevertheless,
atha: (connective particle) then, but
adhyaatma: own, belonging to self
nava: new , fresh , recent , young ; a young monk, novice
grahatvaat (ablative of grahatvam) = from grah: to grasp, to lay hold of
na: not
eva: (emphatic)
upashaamyet = optative of upa-√zam: to become calm or quiet ; to cease , become extinct
a-shubhaH (nom. sg. m.): impure, disagreeable, unlovely
vitarkaH (nom. sg.): m. idea, fancy, thought
heyaH (nom. sg. m.): to be left or quitted or abandoned or rejected or avoided
saH (nom. sg. m.): it, that [thought]
tad: it, its
doSha: fault, imbalance
pariikShaNena = inst. sg. pariikShaNa: trying , testing , experiment , investigation (from √pariikS: to look round , inspect carefully , try , examine , find out , observe , perceive)
sa: with, having, possessing
shvaapadaH (nom. sg.): m. a beast of prey , wild beast; a tiger
maargaH (nom. sg.): m. path, road
iva: like
adhvagena = instrumental of adhvaga: road-going , travelling; m. a traveller
n' aiv' opashaamyed a-shubho vitarkaH
heyaH sa tad-doSha-pariikShaNena
sa-shvaapado maarga iv' aadhvagena
16.73
Even then, stemming from
something inexperienced within the self,
A disagreeable thought might still not subside.
One should abandon the thought
by monitoring the fault therein,
As a traveller abandons a path
on which there is a wild beast.
COMMENT:
This verse raises the question of the inter-connection between a thought and a fault.
The point seems to be that the danger lies not so much in the disagreeable thought itself as in the deeper fault to which it is linked. A disagreeable thought may be seen as linked at the level of the reptilian brain with immature vestibular reflexes, and at the level of the mammalian brain with the three emotional poisons of greed, ill-will, and delusion.
As a general rule, it seems to me, optimistic thoughts tend to be tied up with greed; pessimistic thoughts tend to be tied up with ill-will, especially in regard to oneself; and the realistic thoughts of politicians, businessmen and the like tend to be tied up with delusion, ignorance and arrogance.
In this verse, the connection between a thought and a fault is represented by the metaphor of a path, and a wild beast of prey -- a man-eating tiger, say -- on that path.
The tiger can be seen as representing something unconscious, wild, not susceptible to suppression or inhibition from the top two inches of a human brain. For an extreme example, think of an out-of-control autistic child whose senses have been overloaded. Then remember that we are all somewhere along the autistic spectrum, which ranges from pervasive developmental disorder at the less normal end, to commonplace testosterone-induced behaviour at the more normal end.
FM Alexander spoke of the danger of being out of touch with one's reason, due to unduly excited fear reflexes and emotions. This is a condition which those with autistic tendencies are experiencing much of the time, but which even the coolest of cats is bound to encounter at least some of the time.
At such a time, disagreeable thoughts never subside but pile in one after another. Those thoughts all stem originally, I would suggest, from something which is imperfectly integrated and hence more or less out of control, deep within the self. That something seems to have to do with how one uses the head, neck and back in relation to each other, and seems also to do with the cluster of vestibular reflexes centred on the Moro reflex.
EH Johnston:
Or if nevertheless impure thoughts are not allayed owing to the inexperience of the mind, they should be eliminated by examining the faults inherent in them, as a traveller goes away from a road infested by wild beasts.
Linda Covill:
Even so, an impure thought might not subside because of the individual's inexperience; it should then be abandoned by an examination of its faults, like a traveler leaves a road beset by wild beasts.
VOCABULARY:
tath"aapi: even so, nevertheless,
atha: (connective particle) then, but
adhyaatma: own, belonging to self
nava: new , fresh , recent , young ; a young monk, novice
grahatvaat (ablative of grahatvam) = from grah: to grasp, to lay hold of
na: not
eva: (emphatic)
upashaamyet = optative of upa-√zam: to become calm or quiet ; to cease , become extinct
a-shubhaH (nom. sg. m.): impure, disagreeable, unlovely
vitarkaH (nom. sg.): m. idea, fancy, thought
heyaH (nom. sg. m.): to be left or quitted or abandoned or rejected or avoided
saH (nom. sg. m.): it, that [thought]
tad: it, its
doSha: fault, imbalance
pariikShaNena = inst. sg. pariikShaNa: trying , testing , experiment , investigation (from √pariikS: to look round , inspect carefully , try , examine , find out , observe , perceive)
sa: with, having, possessing
shvaapadaH (nom. sg.): m. a beast of prey , wild beast; a tiger
maargaH (nom. sg.): m. path, road
iva: like
adhvagena = instrumental of adhvaga: road-going , travelling; m. a traveller
Thursday, March 19, 2009
SAUNDARANANDA 16.35: Balance Holds Faults At Bay
kleshaaMs tu viShkambhayate samaadhir
vegaan iv' aadrir mahato nadiinaaM
sthite samaadhau hi na dharShayanti
doshaa bhujaMgaa iva mantra-baddhaaH
16.35
Then balance repels afflictions
Like a mountain the mighty torrents of rivers;
For, as long as a man remains in balance,
faults do not venture to attack him:
The faults, like charmed snakes, are spellbound.
COMMENT:
What is emerging clearly from this Canto is that the teaching of the four noble truths, for Ashvaghosha, all comes down to (1) preventing the growth of, (2) defending stoutly against, and (3) setting out to destroy, the faults like greed, anger, and ignorance that all begin with thirsting.
My head is befuddled this morning and my immune system is struggling -- whether against a virus or against tree pollen, or against a combination of both, I do not even know. But even in this befuddled state I cannot fail to notice the relevance of the order in which Ashvaghosha presents his strategy for combating the faults: (1) prevent, (2)defend, and (3) attack. The order of this progression seems to me, as I write this now, to be of very great importance.
It makes perfect sense -- of course it does -- that effort to maintain integrity, in using voice and body and in earning a living, belongs to the preventive stage, and that this stage should come first.
The progression to this verse is a progression from the preventive maintainance of integrity (shiila), a matter of use of the SELF, to the defensive allowing of balance (samaadhi), a condition of NATURE.
What is required of us in this verse, then, goes beyond our autonomous use of ourselves and enters into the area of allowing autonomic functioning, because that is what the balance or harmony of samaadhi basically is: a function of systems which operate wholly or mainly below the level of consciousness, in the cerebellar/vestibular system, in the action of stretch reflexes mediated at the level of the spinal chord, in the autonomic nervous system, in the endocrine/immune systems, and so on.
Part of the progression between the previous verse and this verse is less tolerance towards the faults. Still, the existence of balance, in the form of a mountain or in the form of a man abiding in samaadhi, does not preclude the co-existence of voilent rapids or of reptilian faults. The mountain/practitioner remains immune to the torrents/snakes, but the perilous rapids and poisonous snakes are still very much in the picture. The potentially harmful objects have no power to harm the subject who is defended and protected by his balanced state, but those dangerous objects still exist.
When autonomic functions related to balance are allowed to work, then, a practitioner becomes resilient to faults. But this resilience is not pro-active. No initiative is taken yet in the direction of setting out to destroy faults, which is the theme of the next verse.
Ashvaghosha thus seems to be guiding the reader to an understanding of what the Buddha's teaching requires of the practitioner, that I for one have never come across before so explicitly, either in Alexander work (where the emphasis is very much on restoring integrity through preventive means and thereby allowing the right thing to do itself), or in Zen practice as I was taught it (where everything was reduced to autonomic balance). Ashvaghosha's teaching seems to be on the point of affirming, in a definite order, not only (1) the preventive value of maintaining integrity and (2) the defensive value of allowing balance, but also (3) the destructive value of exercising aggressive intent towards the faults.
This threefold progression mirrors Nanda's progress in life, towards the exercise of greater initiative and assertiveness in his own combating of the faults. Ashvaghosha uses the military metaphor advisedly, because in the end Nanda's task is a destructive one -- requiring an aggressive attack on the obstacles to liberation. But before aggression there must be balance, and the proper route to balance is an indirect one, beginning with preventive means to maintain integrity in the use of the self.
If we take a direct approach to pursuing balance, for example, trying to keep "the correct posture" by doing this and that -- pulling the chin in, and the rest of it -- the whole enterprise will be doomed to failure. That much, brain befuddled or not, I really do know. I know because, very assiduously and zealously, for 13 years while living in Japan, I practised that mistake -- chest puffed up like a red-eyed bulldog. What my sitting practice in essence was, to tell the truth, was the very diligent practice of the fault of ignorance.
VOCABULARY:
kleshaan (accusative, plural): afflictions
tu: but, and, then
viShkambhayate = 3rd person, singular of viShkambh: to hurl, cast; escape
samaadhiH (nominative, singular): balance, coming together, union, harmony
vegaan = accusative, plural of vega: violent agitation; a stream , flood , current, torrent
iva: like
adriH = nominative, singular of adri: stone, rock, mountain
mahataH = accusative, plural of mahat: great, mighty
nadiinaam = genitive, plural of nadii: river
sthite = locative of sthita: standing, remaining, abiding
samaadhau = locative of samaadhi: balance
hi: for
na: not
dharShayanti = 3rd person plural of dhRSh: to dare or venture; to dare to attack, treat with indignity (acc.)
doShaaH: (nominative, plural): m. faults
bhujaMgaaH (nominative, plural): m. a serpent , snake , serpent-demon
iva: like
mantra: " instrument of thought " , speech , sacred text or speech , a prayer or song of praise;
a mystical verse or magical formula (sometimes personified) , incantation , charm , spell
baddhaaH (nom. pl. m): bound
EH Johnston:
But concentration of mind repels the vices like a mountain the mighty currents of rivers ; for the faults, like spellbound snakes, are unable to attack the man who abides in concentration of mind.
Linda Covill:
But concentration casts off the defilements like a mountain casts off the mighty torrents of rivers; for the faults, like snakes transfixed by a magic formula, do not venture to attack a man who is fixed in concentration.
vegaan iv' aadrir mahato nadiinaaM
sthite samaadhau hi na dharShayanti
doshaa bhujaMgaa iva mantra-baddhaaH
16.35
Then balance repels afflictions
Like a mountain the mighty torrents of rivers;
For, as long as a man remains in balance,
faults do not venture to attack him:
The faults, like charmed snakes, are spellbound.
COMMENT:
What is emerging clearly from this Canto is that the teaching of the four noble truths, for Ashvaghosha, all comes down to (1) preventing the growth of, (2) defending stoutly against, and (3) setting out to destroy, the faults like greed, anger, and ignorance that all begin with thirsting.
My head is befuddled this morning and my immune system is struggling -- whether against a virus or against tree pollen, or against a combination of both, I do not even know. But even in this befuddled state I cannot fail to notice the relevance of the order in which Ashvaghosha presents his strategy for combating the faults: (1) prevent, (2)defend, and (3) attack. The order of this progression seems to me, as I write this now, to be of very great importance.
It makes perfect sense -- of course it does -- that effort to maintain integrity, in using voice and body and in earning a living, belongs to the preventive stage, and that this stage should come first.
The progression to this verse is a progression from the preventive maintainance of integrity (shiila), a matter of use of the SELF, to the defensive allowing of balance (samaadhi), a condition of NATURE.
What is required of us in this verse, then, goes beyond our autonomous use of ourselves and enters into the area of allowing autonomic functioning, because that is what the balance or harmony of samaadhi basically is: a function of systems which operate wholly or mainly below the level of consciousness, in the cerebellar/vestibular system, in the action of stretch reflexes mediated at the level of the spinal chord, in the autonomic nervous system, in the endocrine/immune systems, and so on.
Part of the progression between the previous verse and this verse is less tolerance towards the faults. Still, the existence of balance, in the form of a mountain or in the form of a man abiding in samaadhi, does not preclude the co-existence of voilent rapids or of reptilian faults. The mountain/practitioner remains immune to the torrents/snakes, but the perilous rapids and poisonous snakes are still very much in the picture. The potentially harmful objects have no power to harm the subject who is defended and protected by his balanced state, but those dangerous objects still exist.
When autonomic functions related to balance are allowed to work, then, a practitioner becomes resilient to faults. But this resilience is not pro-active. No initiative is taken yet in the direction of setting out to destroy faults, which is the theme of the next verse.
Ashvaghosha thus seems to be guiding the reader to an understanding of what the Buddha's teaching requires of the practitioner, that I for one have never come across before so explicitly, either in Alexander work (where the emphasis is very much on restoring integrity through preventive means and thereby allowing the right thing to do itself), or in Zen practice as I was taught it (where everything was reduced to autonomic balance). Ashvaghosha's teaching seems to be on the point of affirming, in a definite order, not only (1) the preventive value of maintaining integrity and (2) the defensive value of allowing balance, but also (3) the destructive value of exercising aggressive intent towards the faults.
This threefold progression mirrors Nanda's progress in life, towards the exercise of greater initiative and assertiveness in his own combating of the faults. Ashvaghosha uses the military metaphor advisedly, because in the end Nanda's task is a destructive one -- requiring an aggressive attack on the obstacles to liberation. But before aggression there must be balance, and the proper route to balance is an indirect one, beginning with preventive means to maintain integrity in the use of the self.
If we take a direct approach to pursuing balance, for example, trying to keep "the correct posture" by doing this and that -- pulling the chin in, and the rest of it -- the whole enterprise will be doomed to failure. That much, brain befuddled or not, I really do know. I know because, very assiduously and zealously, for 13 years while living in Japan, I practised that mistake -- chest puffed up like a red-eyed bulldog. What my sitting practice in essence was, to tell the truth, was the very diligent practice of the fault of ignorance.
VOCABULARY:
kleshaan (accusative, plural): afflictions
tu: but, and, then
viShkambhayate = 3rd person, singular of viShkambh: to hurl, cast; escape
samaadhiH (nominative, singular): balance, coming together, union, harmony
vegaan = accusative, plural of vega: violent agitation; a stream , flood , current, torrent
iva: like
adriH = nominative, singular of adri: stone, rock, mountain
mahataH = accusative, plural of mahat: great, mighty
nadiinaam = genitive, plural of nadii: river
sthite = locative of sthita: standing, remaining, abiding
samaadhau = locative of samaadhi: balance
hi: for
na: not
dharShayanti = 3rd person plural of dhRSh: to dare or venture; to dare to attack, treat with indignity (acc.)
doShaaH: (nominative, plural): m. faults
bhujaMgaaH (nominative, plural): m. a serpent , snake , serpent-demon
iva: like
mantra: " instrument of thought " , speech , sacred text or speech , a prayer or song of praise;
a mystical verse or magical formula (sometimes personified) , incantation , charm , spell
baddhaaH (nom. pl. m): bound
EH Johnston:
But concentration of mind repels the vices like a mountain the mighty currents of rivers ; for the faults, like spellbound snakes, are unable to attack the man who abides in concentration of mind.
Linda Covill:
But concentration casts off the defilements like a mountain casts off the mighty torrents of rivers; for the faults, like snakes transfixed by a magic formula, do not venture to attack a man who is fixed in concentration.
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