vivarNita-shmashru valii-vikuNcitaM
vishiirNa-dantaM shithila-bhru niSh-prabhaM
yadaa mukhaM drakShyasi jarjaraM tadaa
jar"-aabhibhuuto vimado bhaviShyasi
- = - = = - - = - = - =
- = - = = - - = - = - =
- = - = = - - = - = - =
- = - = = - - = - = - -
9.29
White whiskered and wrinkled,
With broken teeth and sagging brows, lacking lustre:
When, humbled by age, you see your face grown old,
Then you will sober up.
COMMENT:
The dictionary defines vimada as (1) free from intoxication, grown sober; (2) free from rut; (3) free from pride or arrogance
A case could be made for each of these three translations of vimadaH in line 4 of today's verse, viz:
(1) The next verse, 9.30, compares being intoxicated by one's own strength, looks and youth with being intoxicated by alcohol. In that context, "free from intoxication" or "grown sober" fits.
(2) "Free from rut" is consistent with the other usage of the word vimada, four verses from the end of the poem, in line 4 of 18.61:
paarshvaan muneH pratiyayau vi-madaH kar" iiva
He left the sage's side like an elephant free of rut.
(3) Since the striver is specifically discussing in this verse the lack of youthful good looks on an aged face, "free of vanity" also fits.
I argued before that we haven't seen any evidence of vanity on the part of Nanda, even though his good looks were praised by others; we have only seen evidence of vanity on the part of the striver himself, who thinks he understands how to heal human minds even though he doesn't seem to know any skillful means by which to help Nanda. On reflection, there are a couple of verses which falsify this view of mine regarding Nanda's vanity or lack thereof.
First the description of Nanda's attire in Canto 4 points to a certain vanity:
Hearing that the great seer had entered his house and departed again without receiving a welcome, / He in his brightly-coloured gems and garments and garlands, flinched like a tree in Indra's paradise shaken by a gust of wind. // [4.31]
Second, at the beginning of this canto Ashvaghosha himself describes Nanda as being caught up in his good looks:
And so seeing him caught up as he was by strength and by looks and by youth, /Seeing him all set to go home, the striver chastised Nanda, in the name of tranquillity.// [9.4]
In view of the amount of money spent by old people on face creams, hair dye, cosmetic dentistry, cosmetic surgery and the rest, is old age is a cure for vanity? Hardly. A sobering experience, however, and a sobering thought, old age undoubtedly is.
I had thought to translate vimado bhaviShyasi as "you will be free from vanity," and then to argue that the striver's prediction was not necessarily true -- that old age does not necessarily lead to freedom from vanity.
But on further reflection, with apologies to the striver, I have veered in the direction of sobering up.
EH Johnston:
When you see your face faded with white moustache, covered with wrinkles, with its brilliance gone, teeth broken and eyebrows with their curve lost, then you will find yourself overcome by old age and your intoxication will vanish.
Linda Covill:
When you behold your face grown old -- lusterless, lined with wrinkles, with a white moustache, broken teeth and sagging eyebrows -- then, beaten by age, you will be free of vanity.
VOCABULARY:
vivarNita-shmashru (acc. sg. n.): with discoloured whiskers
vivarNita: mfn. dispraised
vi- √ varN: to discolour
shmashru: n. the beard , (esp.) moustache , the hairs of the beard (pl.)
valii-vikuNcitam (acc. sg. n.): creased with wrinkles; wrinkled
valii: f. a fold of the skin , wrinkle
vikuNcita: mfn. contracted , crisped , curled , knitted (as the brow);
vi- √ kuNch: to contract , draw back (the ears)
vishiirNa-dantam (acc. sg. n.): with broken/missing/decaying teeth
vishiirNa: mfn. broken , shattered &c; fallen out (as teeth)
vi- √shR: to be broken or shattered or dissolved , crumble or fall to pieces , waste away , decay
danta: m. tooth
shithila-bhru (acc. sg. n.): with sagging brows
shithila: loose , slack , lax , relaxed , untied , flaccid , not rigid or compact
bhruu: f. an eyebrow , the brow
niSh-prabham (acc. sg. n.): mfn. deprived of light or radiance , lustreless , gloomy , dark
yadaa: ind. when
mukham (acc. sg.): n. face
drakShyasi = 2nd pers. sg. future dRsh: to see, behold
jarjaram (acc. sg. n.): mfn. infirm , decrepit , decayed , torn or broken in pieces , perforated , hurt
tadaa: ind. then, at that time
jar"-aabhibhuutaH (nom. sg. m.): beaten by age
jaraa: f. aging, old age
abhibhuuta: mfn. surpassed , defeated , subdued , humbled
abhi- √ bhuu: to overcome , overpower , predominate , conquer , surpass , overspread ; to attack , defeat , humiliate
vimadaH (nom. sg. m.): mfn. free from intoxication , grown sober; free from rut ; free from pride or arrogance
bhaviShyasi = 2nd pers. sg. future bhuu: to be, become
Thursday, April 28, 2011
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
SAUNDARANANDA 9.28: Nice Words, Shame about the State
Rtur vyatiitaH parivartate punaH
kShayaM prayaataH punar eti candramaaH
gataM gataM n' aiva tu saMnivartate
jalaM nadiinaaM ca nRNaaM ca yauvanaM
- = - = = - - = - = - =
- = - = = - - = - = - =
- = - = = - - = - = - =
- = - = = - - = - = - =
9.28
A season that has passed comes round again,
The moon wanes and waxes again,
But gone, gone, never to return
Is the water of rivers, and the youth of men.
COMMENT:
Some strivers have a way with words; some strivers are inarticulate. Some buddhas, like Ashvaghosha and Dogen, have a way with words; some buddhas let their actions do the talking, like Taiso Eka who got Bodhidharma's marrow, like numerous nameless old fists.
Keeping silent is not necessarily evidence of having made the nectar of deathlessness one's own; nor is the speaking or writing of nice words.
This ascetic striver has an excellent way with words. I think Ashvaghosha's intention is that each reader should not be impressed by the excellent words but should instead be clear that the state of ascetic striving is not the state of buddha.
This might be the central irony of Saundara-nanda. It is an epic tale of the power of viirya, manly effort, valour, heroic direction of energy; and at the same time running through the whole of the poem, for those who seek to understand the teaching in their own sometimes painful daily striving, is negation of ascetic effort.
EH Johnston:
The seasons pass and come round again; the moon wanes and waxes again ; but, once they have passed away, neither the water of a river nor the youth of a man returns.
Linda Covill:
The seasons pass and come back again, the moon wanes and waxes again, but gone, gone, never to return are the waters of a river and the youth of a man.
VOCABULARY:
RtuH (nom. sg.): m. an epoch , period (esp. a division or part of the year) , season (the number of the divisions of the year is in ancient times , three , five , six , seven , twelve , thirteen , and twenty-four ; in later time six seasons are enumerated , viz. vasanta , " spring " ; griiShma , " the hot season " ; varShaas (f. pl. nom. ) , " the rainy season " sharad , " autumn " ; hemanta , " winter " ; and shishira , " the cool season " ; the seasons are not unfrequently personified , addressed in mantras , and worshipped by libations)
vyatiitaH (nom. sg. m.): mfn. passed away, gone ; departed
parivartate = 3rd pers. sg. pari- √ vRt: to turn round , revolve , move in a circle; to return, come back
punar: ind. again
kShayam (acc. sg.): m. end (kShayaM √ gam , √yaa , √i , or upa √i , to become less , be diminished , go to destruction , come to an end , perish)
prayaataH (nom. sg. m.): mfn. set out, gone ; gone or passed away
punar: ind. again
eti = 3rd pers. sg. i: to go ; (with punar) to come back again , return
candramaaH = nom. sg. candramas: m. the moon
gatam (nom. sg. n.): mfn. gone
gatam (nom. sg. n.): mfn. gone
na: not
tu: but
saMnivartate = 3rd pers. sg. saM-ni- √ vRt: to turn back , return
jalam (nom. sg.): n. water
nadiinaam (gen. pl.): f. rivers
ca: and
nRNaam (gen. pl.): m. men
ca: and
yauvanam (nom. sg.): n. youth
kShayaM prayaataH punar eti candramaaH
gataM gataM n' aiva tu saMnivartate
jalaM nadiinaaM ca nRNaaM ca yauvanaM
- = - = = - - = - = - =
- = - = = - - = - = - =
- = - = = - - = - = - =
- = - = = - - = - = - =
9.28
A season that has passed comes round again,
The moon wanes and waxes again,
But gone, gone, never to return
Is the water of rivers, and the youth of men.
COMMENT:
Some strivers have a way with words; some strivers are inarticulate. Some buddhas, like Ashvaghosha and Dogen, have a way with words; some buddhas let their actions do the talking, like Taiso Eka who got Bodhidharma's marrow, like numerous nameless old fists.
Keeping silent is not necessarily evidence of having made the nectar of deathlessness one's own; nor is the speaking or writing of nice words.
This ascetic striver has an excellent way with words. I think Ashvaghosha's intention is that each reader should not be impressed by the excellent words but should instead be clear that the state of ascetic striving is not the state of buddha.
This might be the central irony of Saundara-nanda. It is an epic tale of the power of viirya, manly effort, valour, heroic direction of energy; and at the same time running through the whole of the poem, for those who seek to understand the teaching in their own sometimes painful daily striving, is negation of ascetic effort.
EH Johnston:
The seasons pass and come round again; the moon wanes and waxes again ; but, once they have passed away, neither the water of a river nor the youth of a man returns.
Linda Covill:
The seasons pass and come back again, the moon wanes and waxes again, but gone, gone, never to return are the waters of a river and the youth of a man.
VOCABULARY:
RtuH (nom. sg.): m. an epoch , period (esp. a division or part of the year) , season (the number of the divisions of the year is in ancient times , three , five , six , seven , twelve , thirteen , and twenty-four ; in later time six seasons are enumerated , viz. vasanta , " spring " ; griiShma , " the hot season " ; varShaas (f. pl. nom. ) , " the rainy season " sharad , " autumn " ; hemanta , " winter " ; and shishira , " the cool season " ; the seasons are not unfrequently personified , addressed in mantras , and worshipped by libations)
vyatiitaH (nom. sg. m.): mfn. passed away, gone ; departed
parivartate = 3rd pers. sg. pari- √ vRt: to turn round , revolve , move in a circle; to return, come back
punar: ind. again
kShayam (acc. sg.): m. end (kShayaM √ gam , √yaa , √i , or upa √i , to become less , be diminished , go to destruction , come to an end , perish)
prayaataH (nom. sg. m.): mfn. set out, gone ; gone or passed away
punar: ind. again
eti = 3rd pers. sg. i: to go ; (with punar) to come back again , return
candramaaH = nom. sg. candramas: m. the moon
gatam (nom. sg. n.): mfn. gone
gatam (nom. sg. n.): mfn. gone
na: not
tu: but
saMnivartate = 3rd pers. sg. saM-ni- √ vRt: to turn back , return
jalam (nom. sg.): n. water
nadiinaam (gen. pl.): f. rivers
ca: and
nRNaam (gen. pl.): m. men
ca: and
yauvanam (nom. sg.): n. youth
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
SAUNDARANANDA 9.27: Exhortation to Suppress the Aspiring Mind
navaM vayash c' aatma-gataM nishaamya yad
gRh'-onmukham te viShay'-aaptaye manaH
niyaccha tac chaila-nad"-iiray'-opamaM
drutaM hi gacchaty a-nivarti yauvanaM
- = - = = - - = - = - =
- = - = = - - = - = - =
- = - = = - - = - = - =
- = - = = - - = - = - =
9.27
Again, your mind,
seeing the prime of life as a personal belonging,
Looks forward to going home
and gaining its sensual end:
Curb that mind!
for, like a river coursing down a rocky mountain,
Youth passes swiftly and does not return.
COMMENT:
With the imperative niyaccha tat, "Curb that [mind]," or in LC's translation "Stop it," is the striver expressing the 3rd noble truth, or not?
I think we know the striver well enough by now to know that his way is not truly a way of cessation of suffering, but is a variation on the theme of self-denying asceticism.
Still, to translate niyaccha tat as "suppress your mind!" might be going too far -- even though, according to the dictionary, ni- √yam does include the meaning of suppress.
Ashvaghosha, as I hear him, is manifesting less and less obviously the faults in the striver's thinking -- from the blatant misogyny of Canto 8 to words that sound increasingly like the Buddha's teaching,.
Thus, as in the practice of sitting-dhyana outlined by Ashvaghosha in Canto 17, the reader is encouraged to be awake first to gross faults (e.g. the tainted expectation that "if I practice hard I will be rewarded by the sexual favours of heavenly nymphs") and then subtler faults (e.g. attachment to ease in sitting).
The central fault expressed in this verse, as I read it, is a directness of approach that contrasts with the indirect approach employed by the Buddha in the next canto. Thus, the striver exhorts Nanda to curb, restrain, or suppress his aspiring mind. Whereas, by causing him to focus on the goal of union with nymphs in heaven, the Buddha gives Nanda something to which greatly to aspire.
EH Johnston:
Dam up your mind like the torrent of a mountain stream, since it turns to your home, in your perception of the fresh youth that is yours, to obtain the objects of the senses ; for youth goes swiftly never to return.
Linda Covill:
Imagining that green youth is integral to you, your mind turns homeward in the expectation of finding pleasurable sensations. Stop it, for youth, like a coursing mountain stream, flows swiftly and does not return.
VOCABULARY:
navam (acc. sg. n.): mfn. new, fresh
vayaH (acc. sg.): n. energy ; vigorous age , youth , prime of life
ca: and
aatma-gatam (acc. sg. n.): mfn. being on itself
aatman: m. self ; the person or whole body considered as one
gata: mfn. come to, arrived at, being in
nishaamya = abs. ni- √ sham: to observe , perceive , hear , learn
yad (acc. sg. n.): that, [the mind] which
gRh'-onmukham (acc. sg. n.): looking forward to going home
gRha: home
unmukha: mfn. raising the face , looking up or at ; expecting
te (gen. sg.): your
viShay'-aaptaye (dat. sg.): for the gaining of sensual enjoyments
viShaya: m. anything perceptible by the senses , any object of affection or concern or attention , any special worldly object or aim or matter or business , (pl.) sensual enjoyments , sensuality
aapti: f. reaching , meeting with ; obtaining , gain , acquisition
manaH (acc. sg.): n. mind
niyaccha = 2nd pers. sg. imperative ni- √ yam : to stop (trans.) , hold back ; to hold in , keep down , restrain , control , govern , regulate (as breath , the voice , the organs of sense &c ); to suppress or conceal (one's nature)
tat (acc. sg. n.): it, that [mind]
shaila-nad"-iiray'-opamam (acc. sg. n.): like a river coursing down a mountain
shaila: m. a rock , crag , hill , mountain
nadii: f. flowing water , a river
iiraya = causative root √iir: to go, move, go away
upama: mfn. (ifc.) equal , similar , resembling , like
drutam (acc. sg. n.): mfn. quick , speedy , swift
hi: for
gacchati = 3rd pers. sg. gam: to go , move , go away ; to go or pass (as time)
a-nivarti = nom. sg. n. a-nivartin: mfn. not turning back , brave , not returning
yauvanam (nom. sg.): n. (fr. yuvan) youth , youthfulness
gRh'-onmukham te viShay'-aaptaye manaH
niyaccha tac chaila-nad"-iiray'-opamaM
drutaM hi gacchaty a-nivarti yauvanaM
- = - = = - - = - = - =
- = - = = - - = - = - =
- = - = = - - = - = - =
- = - = = - - = - = - =
9.27
Again, your mind,
seeing the prime of life as a personal belonging,
Looks forward to going home
and gaining its sensual end:
Curb that mind!
for, like a river coursing down a rocky mountain,
Youth passes swiftly and does not return.
COMMENT:
With the imperative niyaccha tat, "Curb that [mind]," or in LC's translation "Stop it," is the striver expressing the 3rd noble truth, or not?
I think we know the striver well enough by now to know that his way is not truly a way of cessation of suffering, but is a variation on the theme of self-denying asceticism.
Still, to translate niyaccha tat as "suppress your mind!" might be going too far -- even though, according to the dictionary, ni- √yam does include the meaning of suppress.
Ashvaghosha, as I hear him, is manifesting less and less obviously the faults in the striver's thinking -- from the blatant misogyny of Canto 8 to words that sound increasingly like the Buddha's teaching,.
Thus, as in the practice of sitting-dhyana outlined by Ashvaghosha in Canto 17, the reader is encouraged to be awake first to gross faults (e.g. the tainted expectation that "if I practice hard I will be rewarded by the sexual favours of heavenly nymphs") and then subtler faults (e.g. attachment to ease in sitting).
The central fault expressed in this verse, as I read it, is a directness of approach that contrasts with the indirect approach employed by the Buddha in the next canto. Thus, the striver exhorts Nanda to curb, restrain, or suppress his aspiring mind. Whereas, by causing him to focus on the goal of union with nymphs in heaven, the Buddha gives Nanda something to which greatly to aspire.
EH Johnston:
Dam up your mind like the torrent of a mountain stream, since it turns to your home, in your perception of the fresh youth that is yours, to obtain the objects of the senses ; for youth goes swiftly never to return.
Linda Covill:
Imagining that green youth is integral to you, your mind turns homeward in the expectation of finding pleasurable sensations. Stop it, for youth, like a coursing mountain stream, flows swiftly and does not return.
VOCABULARY:
navam (acc. sg. n.): mfn. new, fresh
vayaH (acc. sg.): n. energy ; vigorous age , youth , prime of life
ca: and
aatma-gatam (acc. sg. n.): mfn. being on itself
aatman: m. self ; the person or whole body considered as one
gata: mfn. come to, arrived at, being in
nishaamya = abs. ni- √ sham: to observe , perceive , hear , learn
yad (acc. sg. n.): that, [the mind] which
gRh'-onmukham (acc. sg. n.): looking forward to going home
gRha: home
unmukha: mfn. raising the face , looking up or at ; expecting
te (gen. sg.): your
viShay'-aaptaye (dat. sg.): for the gaining of sensual enjoyments
viShaya: m. anything perceptible by the senses , any object of affection or concern or attention , any special worldly object or aim or matter or business , (pl.) sensual enjoyments , sensuality
aapti: f. reaching , meeting with ; obtaining , gain , acquisition
manaH (acc. sg.): n. mind
niyaccha = 2nd pers. sg. imperative ni- √ yam : to stop (trans.) , hold back ; to hold in , keep down , restrain , control , govern , regulate (as breath , the voice , the organs of sense &c ); to suppress or conceal (one's nature)
tat (acc. sg. n.): it, that [mind]
shaila-nad"-iiray'-opamam (acc. sg. n.): like a river coursing down a mountain
shaila: m. a rock , crag , hill , mountain
nadii: f. flowing water , a river
iiraya = causative root √iir: to go, move, go away
upama: mfn. (ifc.) equal , similar , resembling , like
drutam (acc. sg. n.): mfn. quick , speedy , swift
hi: for
gacchati = 3rd pers. sg. gam: to go , move , go away ; to go or pass (as time)
a-nivarti = nom. sg. n. a-nivartin: mfn. not turning back , brave , not returning
yauvanam (nom. sg.): n. (fr. yuvan) youth , youthfulness
Monday, April 25, 2011
SAUNDARANANDA 9.26: Pessimism Revisited
yadi pratiipaM vRNuyaan na vaasasaa
na shauca-kaale yadi saMspRshed apaH
mRjaa-visheShaM yadi n' aadadiita vaa
vapur vapuShman vada kiidRshaM bhavet
- = - = = - - = - = - =
- = - = = - - = - = - =
- = - = = - - = - = - =
- = - = = - - = - = - =
9.26
If its unpleasantness were not covered with clothes,
If it never touched water after excretion,
Or if it never received a good washing,
Tell me, handsome one! what might a body be like?
COMMENT:
A human body is primarily a head, neck and back, with arms and legs growing out on each side with hands and feet, fingers and toes on the end.
kiidRshaM bhavet
What might it be like?
The tips of the fingers, as well as the feet, ankles and a bit of each lower leg, when a person sits as the Buddha taught, might be crossed over to the other side of the midline. The neck might be free to let the head go forward and up, to let the back lengthen and widen, so as to facilitate breathing in, and breathing out as well.
People have optimistic views and people have pessimistic views. The view of an ascetic striver is invariably pessimistic. But the dharma of a buddha is just to sit.
That is the essential teaching of Master Dogen's Shobogenzo, and there is nothing in the teaching of Asvhaghosha that contradicts this essential teaching. The view of the ascetic striver is not the dharma of a buddha. That, as I read it, is just the point that Ashvaghosha is making. People's views, even if they wear a Buddhist uniform and speak eloquently words that sound like the Buddha's teaching, are not the buddha-dharma. The dharma of a buddha is to sit.
EH Johnston:
Tell me, O beautiful one, what the body would look like if what is revolting in it were not covered with a garment, if it were not regularly washed, or if it did not receive enhancement from decoration.
Linda Covill:
O handsome man, describe what your body would be like if its unpleasant parts were not covered with clothes, if it had no contact with water after excretion, or if it were unbathed.
VOCABULARY:
yadi: if
pratiipam (nom. sg. n.): mfn. " against the stream " , " against the grain " ; displeasing , disagreeable
vRNuyaat = 3rd pers. sg. opt. vR: to cover
na: not
vaasasaa (inst. sg.): n. clothes, garment
na: not
shauca-kaale (loc. sg.): at the time of evacuation of excrement
shauca: n. cleanness , purity , purification (esp. from defilement caused by the death of a relation); n. evacuation of excrement
kaala: m. time, hour
yadi: if
saMspRshet = 3rd pers. sg. optative saM- √ spRsh: to touch; (with or without salilam , apas &c ) to touch water , sprinkle , wash
apaH (acc. pl.): f. (in Ved. used in sing. and pl. , but in the classical language only in pl. aapas) water
mRjaa-visheSham (acc. sg.): particular cleansing ; a good wash
mRjaa: f. wiping , cleansing , washing , purification , ablution ;
visheSha: m. a kind , species , individual (e.g. vRkSha-v° , a species of tree , in comp. often also = special , peculiar , particular , different) ; distinction , peculiar merit , excellence , superiority (in comp. often = excellent , superior , choice , distinguished)
yadi: if
na: not
aadadiita = 3rd pes. sg. optative aa- √ daa: " to give to one's self " , take , accept
vaa: or
vapur (nom. sg.): n. the body
vapuShman (voc. sg. m.) : O handsome man!
vada = 2nd pers. sg. imperative vad: to say, tell
kiidRsham (nom. sg. n.): mfn. of what kind? what like?
bhavet = 3rd pers. sg. bhuu: to be, become
na shauca-kaale yadi saMspRshed apaH
mRjaa-visheShaM yadi n' aadadiita vaa
vapur vapuShman vada kiidRshaM bhavet
- = - = = - - = - = - =
- = - = = - - = - = - =
- = - = = - - = - = - =
- = - = = - - = - = - =
9.26
If its unpleasantness were not covered with clothes,
If it never touched water after excretion,
Or if it never received a good washing,
Tell me, handsome one! what might a body be like?
COMMENT:
A human body is primarily a head, neck and back, with arms and legs growing out on each side with hands and feet, fingers and toes on the end.
kiidRshaM bhavet
What might it be like?
The tips of the fingers, as well as the feet, ankles and a bit of each lower leg, when a person sits as the Buddha taught, might be crossed over to the other side of the midline. The neck might be free to let the head go forward and up, to let the back lengthen and widen, so as to facilitate breathing in, and breathing out as well.
People have optimistic views and people have pessimistic views. The view of an ascetic striver is invariably pessimistic. But the dharma of a buddha is just to sit.
That is the essential teaching of Master Dogen's Shobogenzo, and there is nothing in the teaching of Asvhaghosha that contradicts this essential teaching. The view of the ascetic striver is not the dharma of a buddha. That, as I read it, is just the point that Ashvaghosha is making. People's views, even if they wear a Buddhist uniform and speak eloquently words that sound like the Buddha's teaching, are not the buddha-dharma. The dharma of a buddha is to sit.
EH Johnston:
Tell me, O beautiful one, what the body would look like if what is revolting in it were not covered with a garment, if it were not regularly washed, or if it did not receive enhancement from decoration.
Linda Covill:
O handsome man, describe what your body would be like if its unpleasant parts were not covered with clothes, if it had no contact with water after excretion, or if it were unbathed.
VOCABULARY:
yadi: if
pratiipam (nom. sg. n.): mfn. " against the stream " , " against the grain " ; displeasing , disagreeable
vRNuyaat = 3rd pers. sg. opt. vR: to cover
na: not
vaasasaa (inst. sg.): n. clothes, garment
na: not
shauca-kaale (loc. sg.): at the time of evacuation of excrement
shauca: n. cleanness , purity , purification (esp. from defilement caused by the death of a relation); n. evacuation of excrement
kaala: m. time, hour
yadi: if
saMspRshet = 3rd pers. sg. optative saM- √ spRsh: to touch; (with or without salilam , apas &c ) to touch water , sprinkle , wash
apaH (acc. pl.): f. (in Ved. used in sing. and pl. , but in the classical language only in pl. aapas) water
mRjaa-visheSham (acc. sg.): particular cleansing ; a good wash
mRjaa: f. wiping , cleansing , washing , purification , ablution ;
visheSha: m. a kind , species , individual (e.g. vRkSha-v° , a species of tree , in comp. often also = special , peculiar , particular , different) ; distinction , peculiar merit , excellence , superiority (in comp. often = excellent , superior , choice , distinguished)
yadi: if
na: not
aadadiita = 3rd pes. sg. optative aa- √ daa: " to give to one's self " , take , accept
vaa: or
vapur (nom. sg.): n. the body
vapuShman (voc. sg. m.) : O handsome man!
vada = 2nd pers. sg. imperative vad: to say, tell
kiidRsham (nom. sg. n.): mfn. of what kind? what like?
bhavet = 3rd pers. sg. bhuu: to be, become
Sunday, April 24, 2011
SAUNDARANANDA 9.25: Flogging a Tired Old View
yathaa mayuurash cala-citra-candrako
bibharti ruupaM guNavat sva-bhaavataH
shariira-saMskaara-guNaad Rte tathaa
bibharShi ruupaM yadi ruupavaan asi
- = - = = - - = - = - =
- = - = = - - = - = - =
- = - = = - - = - = - =
- = - = = - - = - = - -
9.25
Just as a peacock with the eye in its tail flashing
Carries its excellent looks naturally,
That is how,
without any distinction got from grooming the body,
You must carry your looks
-- if after all you are good-looking.
COMMENT:
The striver in this and the next verse is harking back to his pessimistic view expressed in Canto 8 that a human body in its natural state -- which for the striver means a dirty and unkempt state -- is not beautiful.
When we read the words that Dogen wrote in the years after he came back from China to Japan, in say Fukan-zazengi or Shobogenzo Bendowa, there is in them a great enthusiasm, the excitement of fresh discovery. Dogen was bristling like a new brush, ready to sweep away the dust and cobwebs of the sectarian Buddhism that had been festering in Japan for centuries.
In comparison the words of the striver, as I hear them, sound tired and uninspired.
Shortly after I first came back to England to train as a teacher of the FM Alexander Technique, I attended a running workshop led by a Canadian Alexander teacher named Malcolm Balk. I always remember how Malcolm emphasized, in his opening remarks, that his first principle in running was... I was all ears, half-suspecting Malcolm to say that the key was "inhibition," i.e., the 3rd noble truth, the truth of cessation. But no, Malcolm said that for him priority number one was... looking good. Malcolm was less interested in demonstrating how to run than in demonstrating how NOT to run. And the way a good runner does NOT not run might be the way a buddha does not sit -- not with the humourless heavy footsteps or the tired, grey, grim determination of the ascetic striver.
EH Johnston:
Just as it is through nature alone that the peacock displays the most excellent beauty of its glorious outspread tail, so if you are beautiful at all, you only possess that beauty apart from the excellence due to the toilet of the body.
Linda Covill:
If you are beautiful, then the beauty you exhibit must exclude any attractive feature resulting from personal care, just as the peacock with its fluttering, glittering tail carries its beauty naturally.
VOCABULARY:
yathaa: just as
mayuuraH (nom. sg.): m. a peacock
cala-citra-candrakaH (nom. sg. m.): with the eye in its tail trembling brightly
cala: mfn. moving , trembling
citra: mfn. conspicuous, bright, speckled
candraka: m. the moon ; a circle or ring shaped like the moon; the eye in a peacock's tail
bibharti = 3rd pers. sg. bhR: to bear, carry
ruupam (acc. sg.): n. handsome form , loveliness , grace , beauty , splendour
guNavat (acc. sg. n.): mfn. endowed with good qualities or virtues or merits or excellences , excellent , perfect
sva-bhaava-taH: from natural disposition , by nature , naturally , by one's self , spontaneously
sva-bhaava: m. native place ; own condition or state of being , natural state or constitution , innate or inherent disposition , nature , impulse , spontaneity
-taH: (ablative/adverbial suffix)
shariira-saMskaara-guNaat (abl. sg.): excellence from embellishing the body
shariira: n. the body ; one's body i.e. one's own person
saMskaara: m. putting together , forming well , making perfect , accomplishment , embellishment, adornment , purification , cleansing , making ready , preparation; cleansing the body , toilet , attire
guNa: m. a quality , peculiarity , attribute or property ; good quality , virtue , merit , excellence ; a secondary element , subordinate or unessential part of any action
Rte: ind. with the exclusion of , excepting , besides , without (with ablative)
tathaa: ind. (correlative of yathaa) so, likewise
bibharShi = 2nd pers. sg. present bhR: to bear, carry
ruupam (acc. sg.): n. handsome form , loveliness , grace , beauty , splendour
yadi: if
ruupa-vaan (nom. sg. m.): mfn. having a beautiful form or colour , handsomely formed , handsome , beautiful
asi = 2nd pers. sg. as: to be
bibharti ruupaM guNavat sva-bhaavataH
shariira-saMskaara-guNaad Rte tathaa
bibharShi ruupaM yadi ruupavaan asi
- = - = = - - = - = - =
- = - = = - - = - = - =
- = - = = - - = - = - =
- = - = = - - = - = - -
9.25
Just as a peacock with the eye in its tail flashing
Carries its excellent looks naturally,
That is how,
without any distinction got from grooming the body,
You must carry your looks
-- if after all you are good-looking.
COMMENT:
The striver in this and the next verse is harking back to his pessimistic view expressed in Canto 8 that a human body in its natural state -- which for the striver means a dirty and unkempt state -- is not beautiful.
When we read the words that Dogen wrote in the years after he came back from China to Japan, in say Fukan-zazengi or Shobogenzo Bendowa, there is in them a great enthusiasm, the excitement of fresh discovery. Dogen was bristling like a new brush, ready to sweep away the dust and cobwebs of the sectarian Buddhism that had been festering in Japan for centuries.
In comparison the words of the striver, as I hear them, sound tired and uninspired.
Shortly after I first came back to England to train as a teacher of the FM Alexander Technique, I attended a running workshop led by a Canadian Alexander teacher named Malcolm Balk. I always remember how Malcolm emphasized, in his opening remarks, that his first principle in running was... I was all ears, half-suspecting Malcolm to say that the key was "inhibition," i.e., the 3rd noble truth, the truth of cessation. But no, Malcolm said that for him priority number one was... looking good. Malcolm was less interested in demonstrating how to run than in demonstrating how NOT to run. And the way a good runner does NOT not run might be the way a buddha does not sit -- not with the humourless heavy footsteps or the tired, grey, grim determination of the ascetic striver.
EH Johnston:
Just as it is through nature alone that the peacock displays the most excellent beauty of its glorious outspread tail, so if you are beautiful at all, you only possess that beauty apart from the excellence due to the toilet of the body.
Linda Covill:
If you are beautiful, then the beauty you exhibit must exclude any attractive feature resulting from personal care, just as the peacock with its fluttering, glittering tail carries its beauty naturally.
VOCABULARY:
yathaa: just as
mayuuraH (nom. sg.): m. a peacock
cala-citra-candrakaH (nom. sg. m.): with the eye in its tail trembling brightly
cala: mfn. moving , trembling
citra: mfn. conspicuous, bright, speckled
candraka: m. the moon ; a circle or ring shaped like the moon; the eye in a peacock's tail
bibharti = 3rd pers. sg. bhR: to bear, carry
ruupam (acc. sg.): n. handsome form , loveliness , grace , beauty , splendour
guNavat (acc. sg. n.): mfn. endowed with good qualities or virtues or merits or excellences , excellent , perfect
sva-bhaava-taH: from natural disposition , by nature , naturally , by one's self , spontaneously
sva-bhaava: m. native place ; own condition or state of being , natural state or constitution , innate or inherent disposition , nature , impulse , spontaneity
-taH: (ablative/adverbial suffix)
shariira-saMskaara-guNaat (abl. sg.): excellence from embellishing the body
shariira: n. the body ; one's body i.e. one's own person
saMskaara: m. putting together , forming well , making perfect , accomplishment , embellishment, adornment , purification , cleansing , making ready , preparation; cleansing the body , toilet , attire
guNa: m. a quality , peculiarity , attribute or property ; good quality , virtue , merit , excellence ; a secondary element , subordinate or unessential part of any action
Rte: ind. with the exclusion of , excepting , besides , without (with ablative)
tathaa: ind. (correlative of yathaa) so, likewise
bibharShi = 2nd pers. sg. present bhR: to bear, carry
ruupam (acc. sg.): n. handsome form , loveliness , grace , beauty , splendour
yadi: if
ruupa-vaan (nom. sg. m.): mfn. having a beautiful form or colour , handsomely formed , handsome , beautiful
asi = 2nd pers. sg. as: to be
Saturday, April 23, 2011
SAUNDARANANDA 9.24: To Be or Not to Be
ahaM vapuShmaan iti yac ca manyase
vicakShaNaM n' aitad idaM ca gRhyataaM
kva tad vapuH saa ca vapuShmatii tanur
gadasya saamyasya ca saaraNasya ca
- = - = = - - = - = - =
- = - = = - - = - = - =
- = - = = - - = - = - =
- = - = = - - = - = - -
9.24
Again, that you think "I am good looking"
Is not astute. Let this be grasped:
Where are the good looks, where the beautiful bodies,
Of Gada, Samba, and Sarana?
COMMENT:
Through all of the 13 years I lived in Japan I would listen almost every day to the Far Eastern Network of American Armed Forces Radio. A programme called All Things Considered was a favourite listen, but I used to listen indiscriminately to pretty much anything, especially in those years before building up the good karma that enabled me to meet and start a family with my wife. Listening to FEN radio is how I became familiar with a humorous country song that has been playing in my head for the past day or so, while thinking about the translation of today's verse.
O Lord, it is hard to be humble
When you're perfect in every way
I can't wait to look in the mirror
'Cos I get better looking each day...
This song, tongue-in-cheek though it is, is not really an appropriate song to be quoted in a scholarly discussion of a religious text -- and that is probably why, out of my sitting practice, the memory of the song bubbled up. That is certainly why I quote the song now. Because my sitting practice is not religious. And because these comments are never intended to be scholarly discussion of a religious text.
The striver, preacher of propriety, doubtless would not approve.
Who were Gada, Samya and Sarana mentioned in line 4?
In his notes to the Sanskrit text, EHJ states:
Of the three names in d Gada and SaaraNa are vRShNis often mentioned together, e.g. MBh. I. 7992... For Saamya, whom I cannot trace, perhaps should be substituted Shaamba or Saamba who is mentioned in these passages and whose masquerade as a woman... caused the downfall of the vRShNis . [The Vrishnis were the tribe or family from which Krishna was thought to be descended].
In his notes to his English translation, referring to Maha-bharata xvi, EHJ concludes that he thinks there is no doubt we should read shaambasya for saamyasya in line 4.
Where are the good looks of Gada, Samba, and Sarana? Presumably the good looks of those ancient Vrishnis are no more.
A more pertinent question might be: Where is the evidence that Nanda thinks himself to be good looking?
We are told in 2.58 that Nanda was extremely good looking, and in 2.63 that he frittered all his time on idle pleasures, but the vanity which the striver denounces is not mentioned. Was this an oversight on Ashvaghosha's part? I somehow doubt it. Much more likely, I reckon, is that the striver was up to his old trick of projecting his own fault onto others. For in 9.5 we have concrete evidence not only of the striver's vanity but also of his consciousness of beauty (even if it is not his own beauty): Your strength and looks and fresh youth I recognize as you do; / But that these three are impermanent you do not realise as I do. [9.5]
Coming back to the one great matter, that is the dharma of a buddha, which is just to sit, I think the most important word to consider in today's verse is the first word in the verse: aham.
ahaM vapuShmaan means "I, being good looking [masculine]."
"I, being good looking [feminine]" would be aham vapuShmatii.
My old Zen teacher used to earn his income, a portion of which he channeled to me in the form of a monthly "scholarship," working as a consultant for a cosmetics company. It is not a very religious sounding job -- which again is why I am talking about it here, lest we go down the striver's path of thinking that true yoga is all about sack-cloth and ashes. "Women tend to be happy," Gudo told me, affirming the value of make-up, "when they have consciousness that they are beautiful."
What the striver is doing in today's verse, as I hear him, is imitating the sound of the Buddha's teaching, viz: That "I am young," or "I am strong," should not occur to you: / Death kills in all situations without regard for sprightliness. [15.54]
The striver, it seems to me, in common with religious strivers everywhere, only knows that "I am" is to be negated.
Strivers tend not to understand that in the Buddha's teaching "I am" is also very much part of the primary thing to be affirmed. Hence:
Therefore walking like this: "Walking, I am"; and standing like this: "Standing, I am" -- / At opportune moments such as these -- you should cover yourself in mindfulness. // 14.45
caro 'smi: walking, I am; in action, I exist.
caraH (nom. sg. m.): mfn. moving, living, practising, acting
asmi = 1st pers. sg. √as: to be
In action, I exist. Acting, I am. The Gudo Nishijima that I knew was an incredibly stupid, annoying and unskillful teacher, with his yanking back of people's chins and all the rest of it. But this one point, he got. Acting, I am.
EH Johnston:
And similarly your idea that you have beauty is not wise, and you should take this to heart ; where is now the beauty , where the beautiful bodies of Gada, Shamba and Sarana?
Linda Covill:
And it's not clever to believe 'I am handsome!' Ponder this: where are the fine looks, where are the fine bodies of Gada, Shamba or Sarana?
VOCABULARY:
aham (nom. sg. m.): I
vapuShmaan (nom. sg. m.): mfn. having a beautiful form , handsome
iti: "....," thus
yat (nom. sg. n.): that
ca: and
manyase = 2nd pers. sg. man: to think, believe , imagine , suppose
vicakShaNam (nom. sg. n.): mfn. conspicuous; clear-sighted (lit. and fig.) , sagacious , clever , wise
na: not
etad (acc./nom. sg. n.): mfn. this , this here , here (especially as pointing to what is nearest to the speaker) ; etad generally refers to what precedes , esp. when connected with idam
idam (acc./nom. sg. n.): this (idam often refers to something immediately following , whereas etad points to what precedes)
ca: and
gRhyataam = 3rd pers. sg. passive imperative grah: to grasp, to take on one's self ; to perceive (with the organs of sense or with manas) , observe , recognise ; to receive into the mind , apprehend , understand , learn ; to accept , admit , approve
kva: where
tad (nom. sg. n.): that
vapuH (nom. sg.): n. form , figure , (esp.) a beautiful form or figure , wonderful appearance , beauty
saa (nom. sg. f.): that, the [body]
ca: and
vapuShmatii (nom. sg. f.): mfn. having a beautiful form
tanuH (nom. sg.): f. the body , person , self
gadasya (gen. sg.): m. Gada ; N. of a son of vasu-deva and younger brother of kRShNa
saamyasya (gen. sg.): m. Samya = (?) Samba
saamba: m. (also written shaamba) N. of a son of kRShNa and jaambavatii
saamya: n: equality , evenness , equilibrium , equipoise , equal or normal state
ca: and
saaraNasya (gen. sg.): m. Sarana; N. of a brother of kRShNa
ca: and
vicakShaNaM n' aitad idaM ca gRhyataaM
kva tad vapuH saa ca vapuShmatii tanur
gadasya saamyasya ca saaraNasya ca
- = - = = - - = - = - =
- = - = = - - = - = - =
- = - = = - - = - = - =
- = - = = - - = - = - -
9.24
Again, that you think "I am good looking"
Is not astute. Let this be grasped:
Where are the good looks, where the beautiful bodies,
Of Gada, Samba, and Sarana?
COMMENT:
Through all of the 13 years I lived in Japan I would listen almost every day to the Far Eastern Network of American Armed Forces Radio. A programme called All Things Considered was a favourite listen, but I used to listen indiscriminately to pretty much anything, especially in those years before building up the good karma that enabled me to meet and start a family with my wife. Listening to FEN radio is how I became familiar with a humorous country song that has been playing in my head for the past day or so, while thinking about the translation of today's verse.
O Lord, it is hard to be humble
When you're perfect in every way
I can't wait to look in the mirror
'Cos I get better looking each day...
This song, tongue-in-cheek though it is, is not really an appropriate song to be quoted in a scholarly discussion of a religious text -- and that is probably why, out of my sitting practice, the memory of the song bubbled up. That is certainly why I quote the song now. Because my sitting practice is not religious. And because these comments are never intended to be scholarly discussion of a religious text.
The striver, preacher of propriety, doubtless would not approve.
Who were Gada, Samya and Sarana mentioned in line 4?
In his notes to the Sanskrit text, EHJ states:
Of the three names in d Gada and SaaraNa are vRShNis often mentioned together, e.g. MBh. I. 7992... For Saamya, whom I cannot trace, perhaps should be substituted Shaamba or Saamba who is mentioned in these passages and whose masquerade as a woman... caused the downfall of the vRShNis . [The Vrishnis were the tribe or family from which Krishna was thought to be descended].
In his notes to his English translation, referring to Maha-bharata xvi, EHJ concludes that he thinks there is no doubt we should read shaambasya for saamyasya in line 4.
Where are the good looks of Gada, Samba, and Sarana? Presumably the good looks of those ancient Vrishnis are no more.
A more pertinent question might be: Where is the evidence that Nanda thinks himself to be good looking?
We are told in 2.58 that Nanda was extremely good looking, and in 2.63 that he frittered all his time on idle pleasures, but the vanity which the striver denounces is not mentioned. Was this an oversight on Ashvaghosha's part? I somehow doubt it. Much more likely, I reckon, is that the striver was up to his old trick of projecting his own fault onto others. For in 9.5 we have concrete evidence not only of the striver's vanity but also of his consciousness of beauty (even if it is not his own beauty): Your strength and looks and fresh youth I recognize as you do; / But that these three are impermanent you do not realise as I do. [9.5]
Coming back to the one great matter, that is the dharma of a buddha, which is just to sit, I think the most important word to consider in today's verse is the first word in the verse: aham.
ahaM vapuShmaan means "I, being good looking [masculine]."
"I, being good looking [feminine]" would be aham vapuShmatii.
My old Zen teacher used to earn his income, a portion of which he channeled to me in the form of a monthly "scholarship," working as a consultant for a cosmetics company. It is not a very religious sounding job -- which again is why I am talking about it here, lest we go down the striver's path of thinking that true yoga is all about sack-cloth and ashes. "Women tend to be happy," Gudo told me, affirming the value of make-up, "when they have consciousness that they are beautiful."
What the striver is doing in today's verse, as I hear him, is imitating the sound of the Buddha's teaching, viz: That "I am young," or "I am strong," should not occur to you: / Death kills in all situations without regard for sprightliness. [15.54]
The striver, it seems to me, in common with religious strivers everywhere, only knows that "I am" is to be negated.
Strivers tend not to understand that in the Buddha's teaching "I am" is also very much part of the primary thing to be affirmed. Hence:
Therefore walking like this: "Walking, I am"; and standing like this: "Standing, I am" -- / At opportune moments such as these -- you should cover yourself in mindfulness. // 14.45
caro 'smi: walking, I am; in action, I exist.
caraH (nom. sg. m.): mfn. moving, living, practising, acting
asmi = 1st pers. sg. √as: to be
In action, I exist. Acting, I am. The Gudo Nishijima that I knew was an incredibly stupid, annoying and unskillful teacher, with his yanking back of people's chins and all the rest of it. But this one point, he got. Acting, I am.
EH Johnston:
And similarly your idea that you have beauty is not wise, and you should take this to heart ; where is now the beauty , where the beautiful bodies of Gada, Shamba and Sarana?
Linda Covill:
And it's not clever to believe 'I am handsome!' Ponder this: where are the fine looks, where are the fine bodies of Gada, Shamba or Sarana?
VOCABULARY:
aham (nom. sg. m.): I
vapuShmaan (nom. sg. m.): mfn. having a beautiful form , handsome
iti: "....," thus
yat (nom. sg. n.): that
ca: and
manyase = 2nd pers. sg. man: to think, believe , imagine , suppose
vicakShaNam (nom. sg. n.): mfn. conspicuous; clear-sighted (lit. and fig.) , sagacious , clever , wise
na: not
etad (acc./nom. sg. n.): mfn. this , this here , here (especially as pointing to what is nearest to the speaker) ; etad generally refers to what precedes , esp. when connected with idam
idam (acc./nom. sg. n.): this (idam often refers to something immediately following , whereas etad points to what precedes)
ca: and
gRhyataam = 3rd pers. sg. passive imperative grah: to grasp, to take on one's self ; to perceive (with the organs of sense or with manas) , observe , recognise ; to receive into the mind , apprehend , understand , learn ; to accept , admit , approve
kva: where
tad (nom. sg. n.): that
vapuH (nom. sg.): n. form , figure , (esp.) a beautiful form or figure , wonderful appearance , beauty
saa (nom. sg. f.): that, the [body]
ca: and
vapuShmatii (nom. sg. f.): mfn. having a beautiful form
tanuH (nom. sg.): f. the body , person , self
gadasya (gen. sg.): m. Gada ; N. of a son of vasu-deva and younger brother of kRShNa
saamyasya (gen. sg.): m. Samya = (?) Samba
saamba: m. (also written shaamba) N. of a son of kRShNa and jaambavatii
saamya: n: equality , evenness , equilibrium , equipoise , equal or normal state
ca: and
saaraNasya (gen. sg.): m. Sarana; N. of a brother of kRShNa
ca: and
Friday, April 22, 2011
SAUNDARANANDA 9.23: Exhortation to Beat the Six Senses
tathaa hi viiraaH puruShaa na te mataa
jayanti ye s'-aashva-ratha-dvipaan ariin
yathaa mataa viirataraa maniiShiNo
jayanti lolaani ShaD-indriyaaNi ye
- = - = = - - = - = - =
- = - = = - - = - = - =
- = - = = - - = - = - =
- = - = = - - = - = - =
9.23
Less heroic are those men thought
Who conquer enemies
armed with horses, chariots and elephants,
Than those heroic thinkers are thought
Who conquer the restless six senses.
COMMENT:
As an avid listener of BBC Radio 4 Long Wave, especially when in France, I cannot help be aware that today is a big day in the Christian calendar. As easy as falling off a log would it be for me to complain about being subjected to a lot of ludicrous stories about resurrection and other so-called Christian miracles that fly in the face of reason. It does irritate me greatly that Radio 4, which is generally a bastion of reason, gives itself up for so many minutes in the day to religious bullshit.
Equally, it is not too difficult for me to see the fault in what the striver is saying in today's verse. Just as Christian preachers, when they ask others to believe in a heap of bullshit called "the resurrection," ask too much, so also the striver, when he asks us to believe that it is possible to conquer the six senses, is asking too much. The truth might be that nobody can control the six senses; the best we can hope for, bringing reason to bear, is to contain the power or influence of faulty sensory appreciation.
In Canto 13 there are several verses in which the senses are portrayed as besieging or oppressing enemies. But nowhere in Canto 13 does the Buddha speak of conquering the senses. The verb the striver uses is √ji, to conquer. The verbs the Buddha uses are ni-√vR, to ward off, restrain, hold back [13.30], and saM-√vR, to ward off, keep back, restrain, check.
Standing grounded in mindfulness, the naturally impetuous senses / From the objects of those senses you should hold back (nivaarayitum arhasi). [13.30]
Through effort of the highest order, therefore, contain (kaaryaH saMvaraH) the power of the senses; / For unguarded senses make for suffering and for becoming. [13.54]
Whereas the Buddha uses verbs from the root √vR, which expresses the more modest and indirect principle of prevention, the striver speaks in terms of jit-endriya "conquering the senses," which is an end-gaining idea, an ascetic concept. Indeed, as a masculine noun, jit-endriya means an ascetic.
So far, so good. I feel like I am winning the argument, putting the striver firmly in the deluded camp, alongside irrational religious believers. A couple of objections, however, arise.
First, the title of Canto 13 in our source text is shiil'-endriya-jayaH, which I have translated as "Thwarting the Power of the Senses through the Practice of Integrity." If this was Ashvaghosha's original title, then I would argue in its defence that in this title indriya is not necessarily plural. The compound indriya-jayaH is literally translated as "conquering the senses" (plural) or equally as "thwarting the power of the senses" (singular). The latter translation, I have reckoned, is less direct, and more in line with what I have understood from Alexander work: namely, "We cannot control our feelings; our feelings control us. But we can have some control over what we think. The thinking educates the feeling, and the feeling educates the body. It is that way round."
Interestingly, in the version of Saundara-nanda published by Digital Sanskrit Buddhist Canon Project of Nagarjuna Institute, Nepal, Canto 13 has a different title: śīla evaṃ indriya-saṃyama. The word saṃyama, which the dictionary gives as holding together, restraint, is more in line with the content of the Canto.
The second objection that arises to the above analysis, on reflection, is that it is always too easy to see religious believers, strivers, and the like, as different from myself. What is more challenging is to see that of the religious believer, and that of the ascetic striver, in myself.
A couple of days ago I was sweeping in the kitchen when I nudged a plastic bin, which nudged an empty glass bottle, which fell over with a sharp clink. Because I couldn't see the bottle which was hiding behind the bin, the sound took me by surprise and seemed to penetrate to the core of my being. For a few seconds I was gripped by intense anger and an intense desire in some way to retaliate, for example, by smashing something. After a few seconds, reason was able to intervene and I was able to think to myself, largely thanks to the teaching of an Alexander teacher named Ray Evans, "This is what an auditory Moro reflex feels like."
Thirty-five years ago, when I resolved to try to get to the bottom of whatever it was inside me that caused me to over-react in certain situations, my attitude was very much like the striver's attitude. I wanted to conquer my problem. But that kind of desire for resolution is just a manifestation of the problem itself, which might originally be rooted in the Moro reflex, whose agenda is always the urgent gaining of an end.
Nowadays -- it would be easy for me to say -- I am no longer like that. I have seen the error of end-gaining ways, and so I don't expect to be perfect. But the truth might be that deep down I am still very much like that. The ascetic desire to have direct control over the senses is still there in me. So that when I over-react to a bottle falling over, it is not only the loud clink that surprises me. My immature reaction also comes as a surprise, giving rise to a sense of disappointed expectation. And when that disappointed expectation is examined, it might be nothing other than the unreal expectation of the ascetic striver that the six senses might some day be conquered.
I understand the ascetic, end-gaining striver so well and yet he still annoys me so much, because there is still so much of him in me.
And why, finally, have I written "still"? What am I expecting to change? How different am I from all those deluded Christians who are irrationally expecting something that is never going to happen?
EH Johnston:
For men may overcome foes, who are well provided with horses, chariots and elephants, yet they are not counted such heroes as the wise men who overcome the six restless senses.
Linda Covill:
for men who conquer enemies well-equipped with horses, chariots and elephants are not considered as heroic as those thoughtful men who conquer the six roving senses.
VOCABULARY:
tathaa: ind. so, to the same extent
hi: for
viiraaH (nom. pl. m.): mfn. heroic , powerful , strong , excellent , eminent
puruShaaH (nom. pl.): m. men
na: not
te (nom. pl. m.): they, those men
mataaH (nom. pl. m.): mfn. thought; regarded or considered as , taken or passing for (nom.)
jayanti = 3rd pers. pl. ji: to win, conquer (in battle) , vanquish (in a game or lawsuit) , defeat
ye (nom. pl. m.): [those] who
s'-aashva-ratha-dvipaan (acc. pl. m.): with their horses, chariots, and elephants
sa: (possessive prefix) with
ashva: m. horse
ratha: m. "goer", a chariot , car , esp. a two-wheeled war-chariot
dvi-pa: m. elephant (lit. drinking twice , sc. with his trunk and with his mouth)
ariin (acc. pl.): m. enemies
yathaa: ind. (correlative of tathaa) as
mataaH (nom. pl. m.): mfn. thought; regarded or considered as , taken or passing for (nom.)
viira-taraaH (nom. pl. m.): mfn. stronger , bolder; more heroic , powerful , strong , excellent
maniiShiNaH (nom. pl. m.): mfn. thoughtful , intelligent , wise , sage , prudent; m. a learned Brahman , teacher , Pandit
jayanti = 3rd pers. pl. ji: to win, conquer , defeat
lolaani (acc. pl. n.): mfn. moving hither and thither , shaking , rolling , tossing , dangling , swinging , agitated , unsteady , restless ; changeable , transient , inconstant , fickle ; desirous , greedy , lustful
ShaD-indriyaaNi (acc. pl.): n. the six senses
ye (nom. pl. m.): [those men] who
jayanti ye s'-aashva-ratha-dvipaan ariin
yathaa mataa viirataraa maniiShiNo
jayanti lolaani ShaD-indriyaaNi ye
- = - = = - - = - = - =
- = - = = - - = - = - =
- = - = = - - = - = - =
- = - = = - - = - = - =
9.23
Less heroic are those men thought
Who conquer enemies
armed with horses, chariots and elephants,
Than those heroic thinkers are thought
Who conquer the restless six senses.
COMMENT:
As an avid listener of BBC Radio 4 Long Wave, especially when in France, I cannot help be aware that today is a big day in the Christian calendar. As easy as falling off a log would it be for me to complain about being subjected to a lot of ludicrous stories about resurrection and other so-called Christian miracles that fly in the face of reason. It does irritate me greatly that Radio 4, which is generally a bastion of reason, gives itself up for so many minutes in the day to religious bullshit.
Equally, it is not too difficult for me to see the fault in what the striver is saying in today's verse. Just as Christian preachers, when they ask others to believe in a heap of bullshit called "the resurrection," ask too much, so also the striver, when he asks us to believe that it is possible to conquer the six senses, is asking too much. The truth might be that nobody can control the six senses; the best we can hope for, bringing reason to bear, is to contain the power or influence of faulty sensory appreciation.
In Canto 13 there are several verses in which the senses are portrayed as besieging or oppressing enemies. But nowhere in Canto 13 does the Buddha speak of conquering the senses. The verb the striver uses is √ji, to conquer. The verbs the Buddha uses are ni-√vR, to ward off, restrain, hold back [13.30], and saM-√vR, to ward off, keep back, restrain, check.
Standing grounded in mindfulness, the naturally impetuous senses / From the objects of those senses you should hold back (nivaarayitum arhasi). [13.30]
Through effort of the highest order, therefore, contain (kaaryaH saMvaraH) the power of the senses; / For unguarded senses make for suffering and for becoming. [13.54]
Whereas the Buddha uses verbs from the root √vR, which expresses the more modest and indirect principle of prevention, the striver speaks in terms of jit-endriya "conquering the senses," which is an end-gaining idea, an ascetic concept. Indeed, as a masculine noun, jit-endriya means an ascetic.
So far, so good. I feel like I am winning the argument, putting the striver firmly in the deluded camp, alongside irrational religious believers. A couple of objections, however, arise.
First, the title of Canto 13 in our source text is shiil'-endriya-jayaH, which I have translated as "Thwarting the Power of the Senses through the Practice of Integrity." If this was Ashvaghosha's original title, then I would argue in its defence that in this title indriya is not necessarily plural. The compound indriya-jayaH is literally translated as "conquering the senses" (plural) or equally as "thwarting the power of the senses" (singular). The latter translation, I have reckoned, is less direct, and more in line with what I have understood from Alexander work: namely, "We cannot control our feelings; our feelings control us. But we can have some control over what we think. The thinking educates the feeling, and the feeling educates the body. It is that way round."
Interestingly, in the version of Saundara-nanda published by Digital Sanskrit Buddhist Canon Project of Nagarjuna Institute, Nepal, Canto 13 has a different title: śīla evaṃ indriya-saṃyama. The word saṃyama, which the dictionary gives as holding together, restraint, is more in line with the content of the Canto.
The second objection that arises to the above analysis, on reflection, is that it is always too easy to see religious believers, strivers, and the like, as different from myself. What is more challenging is to see that of the religious believer, and that of the ascetic striver, in myself.
A couple of days ago I was sweeping in the kitchen when I nudged a plastic bin, which nudged an empty glass bottle, which fell over with a sharp clink. Because I couldn't see the bottle which was hiding behind the bin, the sound took me by surprise and seemed to penetrate to the core of my being. For a few seconds I was gripped by intense anger and an intense desire in some way to retaliate, for example, by smashing something. After a few seconds, reason was able to intervene and I was able to think to myself, largely thanks to the teaching of an Alexander teacher named Ray Evans, "This is what an auditory Moro reflex feels like."
Thirty-five years ago, when I resolved to try to get to the bottom of whatever it was inside me that caused me to over-react in certain situations, my attitude was very much like the striver's attitude. I wanted to conquer my problem. But that kind of desire for resolution is just a manifestation of the problem itself, which might originally be rooted in the Moro reflex, whose agenda is always the urgent gaining of an end.
Nowadays -- it would be easy for me to say -- I am no longer like that. I have seen the error of end-gaining ways, and so I don't expect to be perfect. But the truth might be that deep down I am still very much like that. The ascetic desire to have direct control over the senses is still there in me. So that when I over-react to a bottle falling over, it is not only the loud clink that surprises me. My immature reaction also comes as a surprise, giving rise to a sense of disappointed expectation. And when that disappointed expectation is examined, it might be nothing other than the unreal expectation of the ascetic striver that the six senses might some day be conquered.
I understand the ascetic, end-gaining striver so well and yet he still annoys me so much, because there is still so much of him in me.
And why, finally, have I written "still"? What am I expecting to change? How different am I from all those deluded Christians who are irrationally expecting something that is never going to happen?
EH Johnston:
For men may overcome foes, who are well provided with horses, chariots and elephants, yet they are not counted such heroes as the wise men who overcome the six restless senses.
Linda Covill:
for men who conquer enemies well-equipped with horses, chariots and elephants are not considered as heroic as those thoughtful men who conquer the six roving senses.
VOCABULARY:
tathaa: ind. so, to the same extent
hi: for
viiraaH (nom. pl. m.): mfn. heroic , powerful , strong , excellent , eminent
puruShaaH (nom. pl.): m. men
na: not
te (nom. pl. m.): they, those men
mataaH (nom. pl. m.): mfn. thought; regarded or considered as , taken or passing for (nom.)
jayanti = 3rd pers. pl. ji: to win, conquer (in battle) , vanquish (in a game or lawsuit) , defeat
ye (nom. pl. m.): [those] who
s'-aashva-ratha-dvipaan (acc. pl. m.): with their horses, chariots, and elephants
sa: (possessive prefix) with
ashva: m. horse
ratha: m. "goer", a chariot , car , esp. a two-wheeled war-chariot
dvi-pa: m. elephant (lit. drinking twice , sc. with his trunk and with his mouth)
ariin (acc. pl.): m. enemies
yathaa: ind. (correlative of tathaa) as
mataaH (nom. pl. m.): mfn. thought; regarded or considered as , taken or passing for (nom.)
viira-taraaH (nom. pl. m.): mfn. stronger , bolder; more heroic , powerful , strong , excellent
maniiShiNaH (nom. pl. m.): mfn. thoughtful , intelligent , wise , sage , prudent; m. a learned Brahman , teacher , Pandit
jayanti = 3rd pers. pl. ji: to win, conquer , defeat
lolaani (acc. pl. n.): mfn. moving hither and thither , shaking , rolling , tossing , dangling , swinging , agitated , unsteady , restless ; changeable , transient , inconstant , fickle ; desirous , greedy , lustful
ShaD-indriyaaNi (acc. pl.): n. the six senses
ye (nom. pl. m.): [those men] who
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