SAUNDARANANDA 13.5: Untaintedness of a Lotus-Leaf

padma-parNaM yathaa c'aaiva
jale jaataM jale sthitaM
upariShTaad adhastaad vaa
na jalen' opalipyate

= - = = - = = -
- = = = - = - =
- - = = - = = =
- - = = - = - =

13.5
And just as a lotus-leaf

Is born in water and remains in water,

But neither above nor below

Is sullied by the water,

COMMENT:
Once again, as in 12.33-35, a certain order is observable in the progression of the metaphors used.

In the previous verse, the glimmering of gold is a purely physical phenomena in the sense that reflection of light does not involve any chemical reaction; whereas the tendency of gold not to be tarnished or tainted through contact with oxygen or with acids that might be present in dirt, is a chemical phenomenon.

In this verse, the waterproof attributes of a lotus leaf, like the ones growing in the pond that I can see from my desk here in the front room of this house in Aylesbury, are a bio-chemical phenomena.

EH Johnston:
And just as the leaf of a lotus, though originating in the water and growing in it, yet is not stained by the water either above or below;

Linda Covill:
and just as a lotus-leaf originates in water and remains in water, but neither from above nor from below is it stained by water,

VOCABULARY:
padma: lotus
parNam (accusative): leaf
yathaa: just as
ca: and
eva: (emphatic)

jale (locative): in water
jaata: produced, arisen, originated
jale (locative): in water
sthita: remaining

upariShTaat : ind. (as an adverb) above , from above
adhastaat: from below
vaa: or

na: not
jalena (instrumental): by water
upalipyate = 3rd person singlular, passive of upa-√ lip: to defile , besmear (esp. with cow-dung) , smear , anoint

SAUNDARANANDA 13.4: Twenty-Four Carat Untaintedness

paaMsubhyaH kaaJcanaM jaatam
vishuddhaM nir-malaM shuci
sthitaM paaMsusv api yathaa
paaMsu-doShair na lipyate

= = = = - = = =
- = = = - = - -
- = = = - - - =
= - = = - = - =

13.4
Just as gold born from dirt

Is pure, spotless, gleaming,

And while lying in the dirt

Is not tarnished by the dirt's impurities,

COMMENT:
What is special about gold that Ashvaghosha uses it so often in his metaphors?

The first thing to note, as reflected in the first line of this verse and in the title of this blog, might be that gold is got from dirt, by an effort of mining, which consists of digging out earth and sifting through it so as to eliminate the dirt and get the gold.

The motivation for this effort, I think, is not so much the rarity of gold (for rarity, in 12.38, a jewel is the symbol); but rather gold's innate qualities of beauty and lack of reactivity.

According to chemistryexplained.com: At one time, gold was found in chunks or nuggets large enough to see. People mined gold by picking it out of streams and rivers. In fact, gold was once very common in some parts of the world. People valued it not because it was rare, but because it was so beautiful.

This beauty owes something to the reflectivity which is one of the salient physical properties of gold: both heat and light are said to reflect off gold very well.

That being so, when gold is shovelled up from a river bed and panned (as for example in this youtube clip),in sharp contrast to the black sand from which gold is born, beautiful flecks of gold stand out conspicuously -- pure, spotless, and gleaming.

Another quality of gold, which helps it to stay beautiful, is that (unlike yours truly) gold is not very reactive.

Generally speaking, gold is not very reactive. It does not combine with oxygen or dissolve in most acids. It does not react with halogens, such as chlorine or bromine, very easily. These chemical properties also account for some important uses of gold. Gold coins, for example, do not corrode (rust) or tarnish very easily. Neither does jewelry or artwork made of gold.


So the reason gold tends not to be tainted by contact with any of the chemical impurities contained in dirt, is gold's lack of reactivity. Gold is a real substance: it positively exists, but with a conspicuous negative attribute. Its inherent beauty and value has to do with its tendency NOT to react.

EH Johnston:
Just as gold, though produced from dirt, is pure, free from speck and clean, and, though mixed up with dirt, is not stained by the defects of dirt;

Linda Covill:
Just as gold originates in dirt, but is pure flawless and clean, and though it remains in the dirt it is not soiled by dust-spots,

VOCABULARY:
paaMsubhyaH = ablative, plural of paaMsu: m. crumbling soil , dust , sand (mostly pl.); dung , manure
kaaJcanam (accusative): gold
jaata: born ; grown , produced , arisen , caused , appeared

vishuddha: completely cleansed or purified (also in a ritual sense) , clean , clear , pure
nir-mala: spotless , unsullied , clean , pure , shining , resplendent, bright
shuci: shining , glowing , gleaming , radiant , bright ; brilliantly white , white ; clear , clean , pure

sthita: standing , staying , situated , resting or abiding or remaining in (loc.)
paaMsusu = ;ocative, plural of paaMsu: dirt
api: though
yathaa: just as

paaMsu: dirt
doShair = instrumental, plural of doSha: fault , vice , deficiency ; badness; damage , harm ;
na: not
lipyate = 3rd person singular, passive of lip: to be smear, stain , soil , taint , pollute , defile

SAUNDARANANDA 13.3: He The Trainer Trained

shlakShNena vacasaa kaaMsh cit
kaaMsh cit paruShayaa giraa
kaaMsh cid aabhyaam upaayaabhyaam
sa vininye vinaayakaH

= = - - - = = =
= = - - - = - =
= = = = - = = =
- - = = - = - =

13.3
Some in soothing tones,

Some with tough talk,

Some by both these means,

He the trainer trained.

COMMENT:
In temple or brothel,
Beyond love and hate,
A bell is a bell,
A gate is a gate.

If you wish to commit it,
Or wash away sin,
You don't need a ticket:
Just ring and walk in.

As a gate is a gate
And a bell is a bell,
Translators translate.
And businessmen sell.

There are climbers up mountains
And surfers on beaches.
He's a trainer who trains,
And a teacher who teaches.

No, I don't twitter,
Though I can be a twit.
But I have been a sitter.
As a sitter, you sit.

EH Johnston:
The Teacher converted some by soft words, some by harsh speech and some by both methods.

Linda Covill:
The trainer trained some with gentle words, some with robust speech, and some with both these methods.

VOCABULARY:
shlakShNena = instrumental of shlakShNa: slippery , smooth , polished , even , soft , tender , gentle
vacasaa = instrumental of vacas: speech , voice , word ; singing , song (of birds) ; advice , direction
kaan = accusative, plural of kaH: (interrogative pronoun)
kaaMsh cit (accusative, plural): some

kaaMsh cit: some
paruShayaa = instrumental, f. of paruSha: hard , stiff , rugged , rough , uneven , shaggy ; piercing , keen , sharp , violent , harsh , severe , unkind ; n. harsh and contumelious speech , abuse
giraa = instrumental of gir: f. speech , speaking , language , voice , words

kaaMsh cit: some
aabhyaam = instrumental dual of ayam: this
upaayaabhyaam = instrumental dual of upaaya: m. coming near , approach , arrival ; that by which one reaches one's aim , a means or expedient

saH (nominative, singular): he
vininye = 3rd person perfect of vi- √ nii: to lead or take away , remove ; to train , tame , guide (horses) ; to educate , instruct , direct
vinaayakaH (nominative, singluar): taking away, removing ; m. " Remover (of obstacles) " ; m. a leader , guide ; m. a Guru or spiritual preceptor

SAUNDARANANDA 13.2: Outer & Inner Impressions of Non-Doing

kRt'-aartham iva taM mene
sambuddhaH shraddhayaa tayaa
mene praaptam iva shreyaH
sa ca buddhena saMskRtaH

- = - - - = = =
= = = = - = - =
= = = - - = = =
- - = = - = - =

13.2
As if the finished article he seemed

To the Fully Awakened One,
by virtue of that confidence;

And as if a gainer of higher good he seemed

To himself, one moulded by Buddha.

COMMENT:
As Ted reminded us in his apt comment of a couple of days ago, real happiness is to be had from simply listening to a four-line verse of true Dharma. The phrase I use to remind myself of the same is "The gold is in the bold."

Today's verse truly strikes me, in its original Sanskrit, as a golden one.

Simply listening to it is not the same as writing a comment on it on the basis of "the Buddhist viewpoint." Last night I wrote a long comment around today's verse, but there was too much of me in it; too much "Buddhist viewpoint" -- or, to be precise, too much of me reacting to the pretence of others in marketing their own "Buddhist viewpoint." It was another nasty case of the mirror principle at work, and has been consigned to the dustbin where it belongs. This morning I shall try again, with a more listening attitude.

The first half of this verse tells us how Nanda seemed to the Buddha, from the outside. The second half of the verse relates how Nanda felt from the inside.

For the Buddha, Ashvaghosha tells us again, what was of primary importance was confidence -- confidence in that higher good associated with non-doing. Looking at that confidence now growing in Nanda, the Buddha felt that his work was practically done. The phrase kRt'-aartham, which I have translated as "the finished article" means in other words "job done." So in this verse, as I read it, Ashvaghosha is reminding his descendants of future generations that their primary job, as teachers, is to inspire confidence in that higher good which is associated with the practice of non-doing.

From the inside, Nanda felt as if he had already reached that level of higher good. That level, as I understand it, is the level that FM Alexander called "the plane of conscious control," the level that top sportsmen sometimes call "the zone," and the level that Master Dogen called "body and mind spontaneously dropping off and one's original face emerging." Nanda felt he had reached that level not as a result of his own doing, and still less as a result of his own "Buddhist viewpoint," but as a result of being worked on, sculpted, moulded, fashioned, and finished (saMskRta) by Buddha.

Is this a real possibility for those of us, here and now, who all these years after the event are listening to this record of the Buddha's Dharma?

The human teacher who taught Nanda died about 2,500 years ago and his body was cremated. For us today to be moulded by the hands and voice of Gautama the Buddha is totally impossible. What is still possible, but ineffably difficult, for a person who is prepared to drop off his own view, is to be moulded by sitting-Buddha.

Alexander's principle of non-doing, applied by a follower of the Buddha's teaching to sitting practice, ultimately means just that: neither sitting with one's own body nor sitting with one's own mind, but allowing oneself to be moulded by sitting-Buddha.

EH Johnston:
The Enlightened One deemed that Nanda had, as it were, attained his goal through that faith and he, too, deemed that by the Buddha's initiation he had, as it were, already reached the highest good.

Linda Covill:
The perfectly enlightened one considered him to have virtually reached the goal by means of faith, while Nanda himself, brought to readiness by the Buddha, felt as though Excellence had already been attained.

VOCABULARY:
kRta: mfn. done , made , accomplished , performed
artham (accusative): aim, purpose, goal ; thing, substance
iva: like, as if
tam: him
mene = past of man: to regard or consider any one or anything (acc.) as (acc. with or without iva); to think one's self or be thought to be , appear as , pass for (nom. ; also with iva)

sambuddhaH = nominative of sambuddha: mfn. wide awake , clever , wise , prudent ; well perceived , perfectly known or understood
shraddhayaa = instrumental of shraddhaa: f. confidence, trust, belief
tayaa = instrumental of saa: f. that

mene: he thought himself to be
praaptam = accusative of praapta: mfn. mfn. attained to , reached , arrived at , met with , found , incurred , got , acquired , gained ; one who has attained to or reached &c (acc. or comp.)
iva: like, as if
shreyas: the better or best state, higher or highest good,

saH (nominative, singular, masculine): he
ca: and
buddhena (instrumental): by the Buddha
saMskRtaH (nominative, singular, masculine): a man who has been put together , constructed , well or completely formed , perfected ; made ready , prepared , completed , finished ; purified , consecrated , sanctified , hallowed , initiated

SAUNDARANANDA 13.1: Confidence Affirmed

atha saMraadhito nandaH
shraddhaaM prati maha"-rShiNaa
pariShikto 'mRten" eva
yuyuje parayaa mudaa

= - = = - = = =
= = - - - = - =
- - = = - = = -
- - = - - = - =

13.1
And so Nanda was affirmed

By the great seer, in the matter of confidence;

He felt as if sprinkled with the nectar of immortality --

Filled with the deepest joy.

COMMENT:
At the beginning of translating the previous Canto, I was not sure whether shraddhaa might be best translated as belief, or trust, or confidence. As the Canto progressed, it became clear to me that the Buddha was referring specifically to confidence in the existence of higher good, associated with non-doing. Hence in 12.14 Nanda expresses his disillusionment with pravRtti, the onward cycle of doing. And in 12.22 the Buddha discusses the rarity of its antonym, nivRtti, non-doing.

A few years ago I had a memorable telephone conversation with the late Tony Spawforth, a veteran Alexander teacher, trained by Alexander himself. I put Tony on the spot by asking him to sum up what the Alexander work was for him. Tony's reply, at least as I remember it, was that many people are leading lives that might be called good, or nice, or beautiful; they have lovely families, satisfying jobs, nice houses with pleasant gardens; they eat good food; they enjoy healthy sports, relaxing holidays, et cetera; they may even worship in religious communities of like-minded people. Still, the substance of those lives is more or less blind reaction to what is being experienced through the senses. Whereas non-doing Alexander work introduces the possibility of a higher good, associated with more conscious direction of one's life energy.

Sadly, as first generation teachers like Tony die out and the shadow of FM Alexander himself lengthens, the true principle of non-doing is apt to get lost. Second and third generation teachers who, as Patrick Macdonald put it, "don't know the score," teach a kind of doing, a kind of bodywork or advanced physiotherapy; or they teach Yoga or Pilates or Tai Chi with bits of Alexander jargon thrown in but no real attention paid to the real mental work of giving up those root misconceptions where trouble starts.

This is what is happening in Alexander work after one or two generations. In the transmission of the Buddha-Dharma we are talking 12 generations as far as Ashvaghosha, and 90-odd generations to the present. If Ashvaghosha wrote any word or phrase that deserves to be translated as "Buddhism," I have yet to come across it. Why do people use that word "Buddhism" so thoughtlessly, as if the Dharma of Gautama the Buddha was some kind of -ism? Why did I used to use the term "Buddhism" myself? Because I was a baaing sheep without eyeballs of my own.

Sometimes, as last night, I make the mistake of looking around the internet to see what is going on, and it saddens me. People seem to be attracted in large numbers to skilful marketers of the shadow, to those who paint bright pictures of Buddhism and of body alignment. As long as I am directing my attention to digging for the substance, for the true gold, I am not bothered by PR people who are selling fool's gold. But sometimes I do feel very bothered by it. I suppose the fact that I am bothered must reflect, via the mirror principle, some fame-and-profit-seeking tendency in me to want to become a big seller of my own fool's gold. At the same time, there are some good PR men who are mixing up the true gold of Master Dogen's Shobogenzo with their own brands of Buddhism. The situation is a bloody mess, of which, led by my errant senses, I am all too liable to become part.

The Monier-Williams dictionary defines shiila thus: habit , custom , usage , natural or acquired way of living or acting , practice , conduct , disposition , tendency , character , nature ; good disposition or character , moral conduct , integrity , morality , piety , virtue ; (with Buddhists " moral conduct " is one of the 6 or 10 perfections or pAramitAs) ; a moral precept.

Just as the way to translate shraddhaa seemed to become clear as the previous Canto progressed, I hope the same thing will happen in this Canto with the translation of shiila. The previous Canto describes that even after a shoot of confidence in higher good had taken root in Nanda, his senses were still set against it (12.18). In this Canto the Buddha will describe how Nanda is to get round this problem of an unfavourable sensory constitution, relying on the inhibitory practice of discipline, or training, or integrity which is shiila.

EH Johnston:
So on being confirmed in the direction of faith by the Great Seer, Nanda was filled with the highest joy, as if bathed in ambrosia.

Linda Covill:
Sustained by the great seer's talk on faith, Nanda was filled with utter joy, as though he had been sprinkled with the elixir of deathlessness.


VOCABULARY:
atha: (inceptive particle) and so, then, now
saMraadhita = past participle of saM-√ raadh: to agree together , agree about or upon (loc.) ; to conciliate , appease , satisfy
nandaH (nominative): Nanda

shraddhaam (accusative): confidence, belief
prati: towards, near to; or as a prep. with usually preceding acc. , in the sense of towards , against , to , upon , in the direction of ; on account of , with regard to , concerning
mahaa-rShiNaa = instrumental of mahaa-rShi: great seer

pariShikta: mfn. poured out , sprinkled about , diffused
amRtena = instrumental of amRta: deathlessness, immortality; n. the nectar (conferring immortality , produced at the churning of the ocean) , ambrosia
iva: like

yuyuje = 3rd person singular, perfect of yuj: to bring into possession of , furnish or endow with (instr.)
parayaa = instrumental, f of para: best or worst , highest , supreme
mudaa = instrumental of mud: f. joy , delight , gladness , happiness

Canto 12: Gaining Hold

12.1
"To earn a nymph as wages

You are practising the Dharma!"
Thus to be upbraided,

As was Nanda then by Ananda,

Made him deeply ashamed.

12.2
Because of his great shame

The exuberance in his heart was no more.

Downcast, due to disenchantment,

His mind did not abide firm in the practitioner's vow.

12.3
Though he was fixated on sexual love,

And at the same time indifferent to ridicule,

His motivation had matured to a point

Where neither could he disregard the other's words.

12.4
Being of an unquestioning nature

He had presumed heaven to be a constant;

So on learning that it was perishable

He was fiercely shocked.

12.5
Turning back from heaven,

The chariot of his mind,
whose horse was willpower,

Was like a great chariot turned back
from a wrong road

By an attentive charioteer.

12.6
Turned back then from his thirst for heaven,

He seemed suddenly to become well.

He had given up something sweet
that was bad for him

Like a sick man wishing to live.

12.7
Just as he forgot about his beloved wife

On seeing the celestial nymphs,

So also,
when startled by their impermanence,

Did he put the nymphs behind him.

12.8
"Even the greatest beings

Are subject to return!"
So he reflected,

And from his shock, though given to redness,

He seemed to blanch.

12.9
The shock happened

For the growth in him of a higher good --

Just as the verb "grow" is listed [after "happen"]

In the lexicon recited by grammarians.

12.10
Because of his sensuality, however, his mind

Was by no means gripped by the kind of constancy

Which is shown, in all three times,

By the received usage of the irregularity which is "being."

12.11
Trembling went he of mighty arm,

Like a top bull elephant, through with rut:

At a suitable moment, he approached the guru,

Wishing to communicate his intention.

12.12
After bowing his head to the guru,

Eyes filled with tears,

He joined the palms of his hands and spoke as follows,

His face somewhat lowered, in shame:

12.13
“For my gaining of the nymphs,

Master, you stand as guarantor.

But I have no need of nymphs;

I relinquish your guarantee.

12.14
For since I have heard of heaven's fleeting whirl

And of the varieties of aimless wandering,

Neither among mortal beings
nor among heavenly beings

Does the onward cycle of doing appeal to me.

12.15
If, after struggling to get to heaven,

Through self-restriction and restraint,

Men fall at last, unsatisfied,

Then homage to the heaven-bound
who give up on the way.

12.16
And so, through the whole world of man,

with its changeability and its fixity, I see;

And in the destroyer of all suffering,

Your most excellent Dharma, I rejoice.

12.17
Therefore, in detail and in summary,

Could you please communicate it to me,

O best of listeners, so that through listening

I might come to the ultimate step.”

12.18
Then, knowing from where he was coming,

And that, though his senses were set against it,

Higher good was now emerging,

The Realised One spoke:

12.19
"Aha! This gaining of a foothold

Is the harbinger of higher good in you,

As, when a firestick is rubbed,

Rising smoke is the harbinger of fire.

12.20
Long carried off course

By the restless horses of the senses,

You have now set foot on a path,

With clarity of vision, happily, that will not dim.

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.

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.

12.23
'I would not suffer; I would be happy:'

People labour under this illusion;

And respite from incessant suffering

They sense not as such, but as happiness.

12.24
Upon transient whims which are akin to enemies,

Being eternally the causes of suffering,

Upon whims like love, the world fixes.

It does not know
the happiness that is immune to change.

12.25
But that which prevents all suffering,

The nectar of deathlessness,
you have in your hands:

It is an antidote which, having drunk poison,

You are going in good time to drink.

12.26
In its fear of worthless wandering

Your intention is worthy of respect,

For a fire of passion such as yours,

Upward looker in the Dharma,
is being re-directed.

12.27
With a mind unbridled by burning desire

It is exceedingly difficult to be steadfast,

As when dirty water is seen

By a thirsty traveller.

12.28
This consciousness awakening in you, surely,

Was blocked by the dust of passion,

As the dust of a sand-storm

Blocks the light of the sun.

12.29
Seeking to dispell darkness of the heart

It now blossoms forth

Like the light of the sun
dispelling the darkness of the night

When poured forth by mount Meru.

12.30
And this indeed befits

A soul whose essence is simplicity:

That in the supreme and subtle

Higher good you should have confidence.

12.31
This wish for the truth of Dharma, therefore,

You should nurture;

For all dharmas, knower of Dharma,

Invariably have wishing as their cause.

12.32
For, as long as the intention of moving is there,

One mobilizes for the act of moving;

And with the intention of staying at rest
there is an act of staying at rest;

With the intention of standing,
likewise, there is standing up.

12.33
When there is water under the ground

Wherein a man has confidence

And has need of water

Then, with an effort of will,
here the earth he digs.

12.34
If a man had no need of fire,

Nor confidence that fire was in a firestick,

He would never twirl the stick;

Those conditions being met, he twirls the stick.

12.35
Without the confidence that corn will grow

In the soil he tills,

Or without the need for corn;

The farmer would not sow seeds in the earth.

12.36
And so I call it the Hand,

Because it is this confidence, specifically,

That grasps the true Dharma

As a hand takes a gift, naturally.

12.37
From its primacy I describe it as Sensory Power;

From its constancy, as Strength;

And because it relieves poverty of virtue

I describe it as Wealth.

12.38
For its protection of the Dharma,

I call it the Arrow,

And from the difficulty of finding it in this world

I call it the Jewel.

12.39
Again, I call it the Seed

Since it is the cause of higher good;

And for its cleansing action,
in the washing away of wrong,

Again, I call it the River.

12.40
Since in the emerging of Dharma

Confidence is the primary cause,

Therefore I have named it after its effects

In this case like this, in that case like that.

12.41
This shoot of confidence, therefore,

You should nurture;

When it grows the Dharma grows,

As a tree grows with the growth of its root.

12.42
When a person's seeing is disordered,

When a person's sense of purpose is weak:

The confidence of that person is unsteady,

For he is not veering in the direction he should.

12.43
So long as the real truth is not seen or heard,

Confidence does not become strong or firm;

But when, through restraint,
the power of the senses is circumvented
and the real truth is realised,

The tree of confidence bears fruit and weight.



The 12th Canto of the epic poem Handsome Nanda, titled
'Gaining Hold.'