raajyaM kRtv" aapi devaanaaM
papaata nahuSho bhuvi
praaptaH kila bhujaMgatvaM
n' aady' aapi parimucyate
= = = = - = = =
- = - - - = - -
= = - - - = = =
= = - - - = - =
11.44
Though he ruled the gods,
Nahusha fell to earth;
He turned into a snake, so they say,
And even today has not wriggled free.
COMMENT:
What do you want?
Qu'est-ce que vous voulez?
Some nice situation in samsara?
Or an exit route, however tough, out of samsara?
When one wakes up in the morning with stuff to do, as I woke up every morning for many years staring up at a high mountain called the translation of Shobogenzo into English, or as a mother wakes up every morning until her fledglings flee the nest, there is less latitude for asking oneself what one wants. But in recent years, finding myself on more and more days alone in France, with plentiful space and time, I have found myself asking myself: Qu'est-ce que vous voulez? What do you want?
In a couple of weeks my younger son will leave for university. Right now he is the Costa del Sol, my older son went back to his student digs in London last night, and my wife is in Japan where yesterday she attended her mother's funeral. (No doubt somebody was paid handsomely for croaking out the Heart Sutra... Qu'est-ce que vous voulez?) So this morning, though back at the Cross homestead in Aylesbury, I am all alone and it is unusually quiet, with not a plane in the sky. So the question naturally arises...
Qu'est-ce que vous voulez? Perhaps, like Nanda, monsieur might fancy a bevvy of gorgeous nymphs catering to his every sexual whim? Or how about some exalted position seated at the high table, or in the VIP lounge, alongside some exalted leader -- President Obama? David Cameron? Or maybe the Dalai Lama? Why not aim higher still for the absolute top spot in samsara? Rather than simply hob-nobbing with the likes of Bill Gates, Rupert Murdoch, Simon Cowell and David Beckham, might it be better still to obtain dominion over them?
Book 13 of the Mahabharata tells the story of how King Nahusha gained just such an exalted position in samsara, assiduously performing Brahmanical rites and thereby becoming chief of the gods, knocking Indra off top spot. By his arrogance, however, Nahusha incurred the wrath of one of the Rishi who he had charged with carrying his palanquin. This Rishi, named Agastya, reacted to being booted in the head by placing a curse on Nahusha who duly turned into a great big snake and skulked off to a Himalayan cave.
Thereafter, the story goes, when a group of exiled Pandavas found the snake hiding in the cave, the Pandava leader Yudhi-sthira ("Firm in War") recognized that the snake was no ordinary snake and asked it about its origin. Nahusha then confessed and was relieved of his curse, shedding his snakely incarnation.
The story is recounted in detail in this somewhat abstruse translation, in this more bite-sized kids version, and in this version which is more in the middle way.
Whereas the ancient legend says that Nahusha was relieved of the curse, Ananda in today's verse says that Nahusha has not become free even today.
Ashvaghosha's has put into Ananda's mouth a statement that would have appeared to ancient Indian listeners to contradict the ancient legend.
The intention that Ananda is conveying, as I read it, is that regardless of whether Nahusha is back on top, or whether he remains in the world of animals, or whether he has moved on to some other realm of samsara, insofar as he has failed to wriggle free from samsara through the practice of yoga, samsara is just where he is stuck.
EH Johnston:
Though Nahusa ruled over the gods, yet he fell to earth and, it is said, became a snake and is not yet released (from that incarnation).
Linda Covill:
Though Nahusha reigned even over the gods, he fell to earth. They say he became a snake and is still not free.
VOCABULARY:
raajyam (acc. sg.): n. royalty , kingship , sovereignty , empire (with √ kṛ to exercise government , rule , govern)
kRtvaa = abs. kR: to do
api: even, though
devaanaam (gen. pl.): m. god
papaata = 3rd pers. sg. pat: to fly , soar , rush on ; to fall down or off , alight , descend
nahuShaH (nom. sg.): m. name of an ancient king (son of āyu or āyus and father of yayāti ; he took possession of indra's throne but was afterwards deposed and changed into a serpent )
bhuvi (loc. sg.): f. earth
praaptaH (nom. sg. m.): mfn. attained to , reached , arrived at , met with
kila: ind. " so said " " so reported "
bhujaMga-tvam (acc. sg. n.): the state of going in curves; snakehood
bhujaMga: m. (fr. bhujam ind. p. of √bhuj + ga) a serpent , snake , serpent-demon
√bhuj: to bend, curve
-tva: neuter abstract noun suffix
na: not
aadya: ind. today, now, nowadays
api: even
parimucyate = 3rd pers. sg. pari- √ muc: to loosen or free one's self , get rid of ; to be liberated or emancipated (from the ties of the world)
Wednesday, September 7, 2011
Tuesday, September 6, 2011
SAUNDARANANDA 11.43: Down Is a Four-Letter Word
shakrasy' aardh'-aasanaM gatvaa
puurva-paarthiva eva yaH
sa-devatvaM gate kaale
maandhaat" aadhaH punar yayau
= = = = - = = =
= - = - - = - =
- = = = - = = =
= = = = - = - =
11.43
Having attained half of Indra's throne
As a veritable earth-lord of the old school,
Mandhatri when his time with the gods elapsed
Came back down again.
COMMENT:
Mandhatri, reputed to be a 19th-generation descendant of Ikshvaku, was a famous king of the ancient city of Ayodhya in Uttar Pradesh. He was evidently a great mover and shaker and a very fast mover to boot: The history of Ayodhya records that Mandhatri obtained half the throne of Indra and conquered the whole earth in one day.
So whereas King Shibi's route to heaven was that of the goody-two-shoes, Mandhatri as a powerful earth-lord may have been more inclined to barge his way in, not necessarily in a politically correct manner. Either way, from Ananda's standpoint, the sojourn in heaven was just a temporary high-point on the swing of samsara; it was not the result of the practice of yoga, whose dual pillars are awareness/mindfulness (smRti) and integration/balanced stillness (samaadhi) and whose direction is the direction of growth of consciousness - primarily, that is, upward.
They say that what goes up must come down, and on the swing of samsara that might be true. But in the teaching of buddha-ancestors, as if to challenge the view that what goes up must come down, there is a matter which is called "the matter of buddha going on up."
EH Johnston:
The primeval king, Mandhatri, attained half the throne of Indra, yet when his time with the gods had elapsed, he returned to earth below.
Linda Covill:
In the olden days King Mandhatri gained half of Indra's throne, but the time of his divinity passed and he went to the lower region again.
VOCABULARY:
shakrasya (gen. sg. m.): mfn. strong , powerful , mighty (applied to various gods , but esp. to indra); m. name of indra
ardh'-aasanam (acc. sg.): n. half a seat (it is considered a mark of high respect to make room for a guest on one's own seat)
ardha: mfn. half
aasana: n. seat
gatvaa = abs. gam: to go to, partake of, obtain
puurva-paarthivaH (nom. sg. m.): ancient lord of the earth
puurva: mfn. being before; (often ibc. e.g. pūrva-kārin , active before , pūrv'-okta , said before ); former, ancient
paarthiva: mfn. earthen , earthy , earthly , being in or relating to or coming from the earth , terrestrial ; mfn. (from m. below) fit for kings or princes , royal , princely ; m. a lord of the earth , king , prince , warrior
eva: (emphatic)
yaH (nom. sg. m.): [he] who
sa-devatvam (nom. sg. n.): protection of the gods
sa-deva: mfn. accompanied or protected by gods
deva-tva: n. godhead , divinity
sa: (possessive prefix)
-tvam: (neuter abstract noun suffix)
gate (loc. abs..): mfn. gone, passed
kaale (loc. abs.): m. time
maandhaataa (nom. sg. m.): māndhātṛ N. of a king (son of yuvan'-āśva , author of RV.)
adhas: ind. below , down ; in the lower region
punar: ind. back again
yayau = 3rd pers. sg. perfect yaa: to go
puurva-paarthiva eva yaH
sa-devatvaM gate kaale
maandhaat" aadhaH punar yayau
= = = = - = = =
= - = - - = - =
- = = = - = = =
= = = = - = - =
11.43
Having attained half of Indra's throne
As a veritable earth-lord of the old school,
Mandhatri when his time with the gods elapsed
Came back down again.
COMMENT:
Mandhatri, reputed to be a 19th-generation descendant of Ikshvaku, was a famous king of the ancient city of Ayodhya in Uttar Pradesh. He was evidently a great mover and shaker and a very fast mover to boot: The history of Ayodhya records that Mandhatri obtained half the throne of Indra and conquered the whole earth in one day.
So whereas King Shibi's route to heaven was that of the goody-two-shoes, Mandhatri as a powerful earth-lord may have been more inclined to barge his way in, not necessarily in a politically correct manner. Either way, from Ananda's standpoint, the sojourn in heaven was just a temporary high-point on the swing of samsara; it was not the result of the practice of yoga, whose dual pillars are awareness/mindfulness (smRti) and integration/balanced stillness (samaadhi) and whose direction is the direction of growth of consciousness - primarily, that is, upward.
They say that what goes up must come down, and on the swing of samsara that might be true. But in the teaching of buddha-ancestors, as if to challenge the view that what goes up must come down, there is a matter which is called "the matter of buddha going on up."
EH Johnston:
The primeval king, Mandhatri, attained half the throne of Indra, yet when his time with the gods had elapsed, he returned to earth below.
Linda Covill:
In the olden days King Mandhatri gained half of Indra's throne, but the time of his divinity passed and he went to the lower region again.
VOCABULARY:
shakrasya (gen. sg. m.): mfn. strong , powerful , mighty (applied to various gods , but esp. to indra); m. name of indra
ardh'-aasanam (acc. sg.): n. half a seat (it is considered a mark of high respect to make room for a guest on one's own seat)
ardha: mfn. half
aasana: n. seat
gatvaa = abs. gam: to go to, partake of, obtain
puurva-paarthivaH (nom. sg. m.): ancient lord of the earth
puurva: mfn. being before; (often ibc. e.g. pūrva-kārin , active before , pūrv'-okta , said before ); former, ancient
paarthiva: mfn. earthen , earthy , earthly , being in or relating to or coming from the earth , terrestrial ; mfn. (from m. below) fit for kings or princes , royal , princely ; m. a lord of the earth , king , prince , warrior
eva: (emphatic)
yaH (nom. sg. m.): [he] who
sa-devatvam (nom. sg. n.): protection of the gods
sa-deva: mfn. accompanied or protected by gods
deva-tva: n. godhead , divinity
sa: (possessive prefix)
-tvam: (neuter abstract noun suffix)
gate (loc. abs..): mfn. gone, passed
kaale (loc. abs.): m. time
maandhaataa (nom. sg. m.): māndhātṛ N. of a king (son of yuvan'-āśva , author of RV.)
adhas: ind. below , down ; in the lower region
punar: ind. back again
yayau = 3rd pers. sg. perfect yaa: to go
Monday, September 5, 2011
SAUNDARANANDA 11.42: The Wheel -- Anecdotal Evidence
shyenaaya praaNi-vaatsalyaat
sva-maaMsaany api dattavaan
shibhiH svargaat pari-bhraShtas
taadRk kRtv" aapi duShkaraM
= = = = - = = =
- = = - - = - =
- = = = - = = =
= = = = - = - =
11.42
Through tender love for living creatures
Shibi gave his own flesh to a hawk.
He fell back from heaven,
Even after doing such a difficult deed.
COMMENT:
"Qu'est-ce que vous voulez?"
What do you want? Delivered by my French neighbour with a Gallic shrug it seems to be a rhetorical expression of exasperated resignation -- The price of petrol! Qu'est-ce que vous voulez? -- but taking the phrase out of the original context in which I heard it, I have sometimes used it in my solitary practice in France as an aid to waking myself up.
"Qu'est-ce que vous voulez?"
What do you want? What are you up to now?
The question is, in other words, to be or not to be.
"Qu'est-ce que vous voulez?": to get off the wheel of samsara, or to strive for some position on it?
Ananda's point is that if Nanda wished for what he ought to wish for, he would wish to get off the wheel of samsara. He might not wish for any experience on the wheel of samsara, even in heaven, backsliding from there being inevitable in the end. He might wish instead for the end of all backsliding.
As examples to corroborate this point, Ananda now proceeds to cite a number of notable ancients, beginning with King Shibi, whose story, Wikipedia informs us, appears in both the Mahabharata and the Ramayana:
The Gods, wanting to test the compassionate nature of King Shibi, took the form of a hawk and a pigeon. The pigeon chased by the hawk fell on King Shibi's lap seeking his protection. The hawk argued that the pigeon is its food. Shibi offered to compensate with his own flesh. Finally he offered himself to be eaten and the Gods showed him their true form and blessed him.
Since I fell off my bike about three months ago, I can't sit still in lotus for more than about ten or fifteen minutes. So there is some sense of having gone backwards in my practice, not in a good way. At the same time, as I sit dangling my legs off the end of the sitting platform, in between sitting in lotus, I don't stop wishing for my head to go forward and up. So there is also some sense of continuing to go in the right direction, of not backsliding, of never being in danger of backsliding into samsara as long as those directions are not neglected.
Head forward and up, to breathe out...
Head forward and up, to breathe in...
Head forward and up, to breathe out...
This is what I mean to myself by "the wheel of yoga" -- another current phrase that I like to take out of context and usurp for my own purposes.
Head forward and up, to breathe out...
Head forward and up, to breathe in...
Head forward and up, to breathe out...
"Qu'est-ce que vous voulez?"
I wish to allow the head to go forward and up, to let the back lengthen and widen, while sending the knees forwards and away.
"Qu'est-ce que vous voulez?"
FM Alexander said in his teaching: "The experience you want is in the process of getting it. If you have something, give it up. Getting it, not having it, is what you want."
EH Johnston:
Though Sibi did such a marvellous deed as to give his own flesh to a hawk out of affection for everything that draws breath, yet he fell from heaven.
Linda Covill:
In his tenderness for all living things Shibi even gave his own flesh to a hawk, but he fell from heaven even after so difficult a deed.
VOCABULARY:
shyenaaya (dat. sg.): m. a hawk , falcon , eagle , any bird of prey
praaNi-vaatsalyaat (abl. sg.): through love for living creatures
praaNin: mfn. breathing , living , alive; m. a living or sentient being , living creature , animal or man
vaatsalya: n. (fr. vatsala) affection or tenderness (esp. towards offspring) , fondness or love for (gen. loc. or comp.)
vatsa: m. a calf , the young of any animal , offspring , child
vatsala: mfn. child-loving , affectionate towards offspring ; kind
sva-maaMsaani (acc. pl. n.): his own flesh
maaMsa: n. sg. and pl. flesh , meat
api: even, though
dattavaan = nom. sg. m. past active participle daa: to give
shibhiH (nom. sg.): m. N. of a king (renowned for his liberality and unselfishness , and said to have saved agni [transformed into a dove] from indra [transformed into a hawk] by offering an equal quantity of his own flesh weighed in a balance)
svargaat (abl. sg.): m. heaven
pari-bhraShtaH (nom. sg. m.): mfn. fallen or dropped off; sunk, degraded
taadRk: ind. in such a manner
kRtvaa = abs. kR: to do
api: even, though
duShkaram (acc. sg.): n. difficult act
sva-maaMsaany api dattavaan
shibhiH svargaat pari-bhraShtas
taadRk kRtv" aapi duShkaraM
= = = = - = = =
- = = - - = - =
- = = = - = = =
= = = = - = - =
11.42
Through tender love for living creatures
Shibi gave his own flesh to a hawk.
He fell back from heaven,
Even after doing such a difficult deed.
COMMENT:
"Qu'est-ce que vous voulez?"
What do you want? Delivered by my French neighbour with a Gallic shrug it seems to be a rhetorical expression of exasperated resignation -- The price of petrol! Qu'est-ce que vous voulez? -- but taking the phrase out of the original context in which I heard it, I have sometimes used it in my solitary practice in France as an aid to waking myself up.
"Qu'est-ce que vous voulez?"
What do you want? What are you up to now?
The question is, in other words, to be or not to be.
"Qu'est-ce que vous voulez?": to get off the wheel of samsara, or to strive for some position on it?
Ananda's point is that if Nanda wished for what he ought to wish for, he would wish to get off the wheel of samsara. He might not wish for any experience on the wheel of samsara, even in heaven, backsliding from there being inevitable in the end. He might wish instead for the end of all backsliding.
As examples to corroborate this point, Ananda now proceeds to cite a number of notable ancients, beginning with King Shibi, whose story, Wikipedia informs us, appears in both the Mahabharata and the Ramayana:
The Gods, wanting to test the compassionate nature of King Shibi, took the form of a hawk and a pigeon. The pigeon chased by the hawk fell on King Shibi's lap seeking his protection. The hawk argued that the pigeon is its food. Shibi offered to compensate with his own flesh. Finally he offered himself to be eaten and the Gods showed him their true form and blessed him.
Since I fell off my bike about three months ago, I can't sit still in lotus for more than about ten or fifteen minutes. So there is some sense of having gone backwards in my practice, not in a good way. At the same time, as I sit dangling my legs off the end of the sitting platform, in between sitting in lotus, I don't stop wishing for my head to go forward and up. So there is also some sense of continuing to go in the right direction, of not backsliding, of never being in danger of backsliding into samsara as long as those directions are not neglected.
Head forward and up, to breathe out...
Head forward and up, to breathe in...
Head forward and up, to breathe out...
This is what I mean to myself by "the wheel of yoga" -- another current phrase that I like to take out of context and usurp for my own purposes.
Head forward and up, to breathe out...
Head forward and up, to breathe in...
Head forward and up, to breathe out...
"Qu'est-ce que vous voulez?"
I wish to allow the head to go forward and up, to let the back lengthen and widen, while sending the knees forwards and away.
"Qu'est-ce que vous voulez?"
FM Alexander said in his teaching: "The experience you want is in the process of getting it. If you have something, give it up. Getting it, not having it, is what you want."
EH Johnston:
Though Sibi did such a marvellous deed as to give his own flesh to a hawk out of affection for everything that draws breath, yet he fell from heaven.
Linda Covill:
In his tenderness for all living things Shibi even gave his own flesh to a hawk, but he fell from heaven even after so difficult a deed.
VOCABULARY:
shyenaaya (dat. sg.): m. a hawk , falcon , eagle , any bird of prey
praaNi-vaatsalyaat (abl. sg.): through love for living creatures
praaNin: mfn. breathing , living , alive; m. a living or sentient being , living creature , animal or man
vaatsalya: n. (fr. vatsala) affection or tenderness (esp. towards offspring) , fondness or love for (gen. loc. or comp.)
vatsa: m. a calf , the young of any animal , offspring , child
vatsala: mfn. child-loving , affectionate towards offspring ; kind
sva-maaMsaani (acc. pl. n.): his own flesh
maaMsa: n. sg. and pl. flesh , meat
api: even, though
dattavaan = nom. sg. m. past active participle daa: to give
shibhiH (nom. sg.): m. N. of a king (renowned for his liberality and unselfishness , and said to have saved agni [transformed into a dove] from indra [transformed into a hawk] by offering an equal quantity of his own flesh weighed in a balance)
svargaat (abl. sg.): m. heaven
pari-bhraShtaH (nom. sg. m.): mfn. fallen or dropped off; sunk, degraded
taadRk: ind. in such a manner
kRtvaa = abs. kR: to do
api: even, though
duShkaram (acc. sg.): n. difficult act
Sunday, September 4, 2011
SAUNDARANANDA 11.41: Unprofitable Enjoyment
tasya bhuktavataH svarge
viShayaan uttamaan api
bhraShTasy' aartasya duHkhena
kim aasvaadaH karoti saH
= - = - - = = =
- - = = - = - -
= = = = - = = -
- = = = - = - =
11.41
Having enjoyed in heaven
The utmost sensual objects,
He falls back, beset by suffering:
What has the enjoyment done for him?
COMMENT:
What Ananda is describing here is not a fall from grace that has resulted from the tasting of forbidden fruit. Ananda is not saying that enjoyment of the acme of sensuality is the cause of the backslider's backsliding. It is not sensual enjoyment that causes the backslider to fall from heaven; rather, the backslider falls from heaven when his residual good runs out.
So in this verse as I read it Ananda is not telling Nanda that sensuality is originally sinful. He is rather suggesting that the enjoyment of sensuality, for one who aspires to get off the samsaric merry-go-round, is useless, not advantageous, a waste of time.
What eventually causes Ananda to spring free from samsara and attain the state of the anaagaamin, the one not subject to returning, is neither sensual enjoyment nor the denial of sensual enjoyment. What eventually causes Ananda to spring free is neither viShayaan buktavat, having enjoyed sensual objects, nor tapas, asceticism. What eventually causes Ananda to spring free from samsara and attain the state of the anaagaamin, Ashvagosha tells us in 17.41, is yoga, practice.
If I am a fraud I am a fraud because of preaching practice for the sake of practice while concealing in my heart some end-gaining agenda. That seems to be what I am up to much of the time.
EH Johnston:
After enjoying even the choicest pleasures in Paradise, he falls and is grievously afflicted. In what way has that enjoyment advantaged him?
Linda Covill:
He falls, visited by sorrow, after enjoying in heaven the most appetizing sense objects -- and how does that gratification help him?
VOCABULARY:
tasya (gen. sg. m.): him, that [backslider]
bhuktavataH = gen. sg. m. past active participle bhuj: to enjoy , use , possess , (esp.) enjoy a meal ; to enjoy (carnally)
svarge (loc. sg.): in heaven
viShayaan (acc. pl.): m. sense object; 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
uttamaan (acc. pl. m.): mfn. uppermost, highest
api: even
bhraShTasya (gen. sg. m.): mfn. fallen , dropped , fallen down or from or off ; a backslider
aartasya (gen. sg. m.): fallen into (misfortune) , struck by calamity , afflicted , pained , disturbed ; injured ; oppressed , suffering , sick , unhappy
duHkhena (inst. sg.): n. suffering, sorrow
kim: ind. what? how? whence? wherefore? why?
aasvaadaH (nom. sg.):. m. eating with a relish , tasting , enjoying (also metaphorically); flavour , taste
ā- √ svad: to eat , consume : Caus. ā-svādayati , to taste , enjoy , eat with a relish
karoti = 3rd pers. sg. kR: to do ; to do anything for the advantage or injury of another
saH (nom. sg. m.): that, the [enjoyment]
viShayaan uttamaan api
bhraShTasy' aartasya duHkhena
kim aasvaadaH karoti saH
= - = - - = = =
- - = = - = - -
= = = = - = = -
- = = = - = - =
11.41
Having enjoyed in heaven
The utmost sensual objects,
He falls back, beset by suffering:
What has the enjoyment done for him?
COMMENT:
What Ananda is describing here is not a fall from grace that has resulted from the tasting of forbidden fruit. Ananda is not saying that enjoyment of the acme of sensuality is the cause of the backslider's backsliding. It is not sensual enjoyment that causes the backslider to fall from heaven; rather, the backslider falls from heaven when his residual good runs out.
So in this verse as I read it Ananda is not telling Nanda that sensuality is originally sinful. He is rather suggesting that the enjoyment of sensuality, for one who aspires to get off the samsaric merry-go-round, is useless, not advantageous, a waste of time.
What eventually causes Ananda to spring free from samsara and attain the state of the anaagaamin, the one not subject to returning, is neither sensual enjoyment nor the denial of sensual enjoyment. What eventually causes Ananda to spring free is neither viShayaan buktavat, having enjoyed sensual objects, nor tapas, asceticism. What eventually causes Ananda to spring free from samsara and attain the state of the anaagaamin, Ashvagosha tells us in 17.41, is yoga, practice.
If I am a fraud I am a fraud because of preaching practice for the sake of practice while concealing in my heart some end-gaining agenda. That seems to be what I am up to much of the time.
EH Johnston:
After enjoying even the choicest pleasures in Paradise, he falls and is grievously afflicted. In what way has that enjoyment advantaged him?
Linda Covill:
He falls, visited by sorrow, after enjoying in heaven the most appetizing sense objects -- and how does that gratification help him?
VOCABULARY:
tasya (gen. sg. m.): him, that [backslider]
bhuktavataH = gen. sg. m. past active participle bhuj: to enjoy , use , possess , (esp.) enjoy a meal ; to enjoy (carnally)
svarge (loc. sg.): in heaven
viShayaan (acc. pl.): m. sense object; 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
uttamaan (acc. pl. m.): mfn. uppermost, highest
api: even
bhraShTasya (gen. sg. m.): mfn. fallen , dropped , fallen down or from or off ; a backslider
aartasya (gen. sg. m.): fallen into (misfortune) , struck by calamity , afflicted , pained , disturbed ; injured ; oppressed , suffering , sick , unhappy
duHkhena (inst. sg.): n. suffering, sorrow
kim: ind. what? how? whence? wherefore? why?
aasvaadaH (nom. sg.):. m. eating with a relish , tasting , enjoying (also metaphorically); flavour , taste
ā- √ svad: to eat , consume : Caus. ā-svādayati , to taste , enjoy , eat with a relish
karoti = 3rd pers. sg. kR: to do ; to do anything for the advantage or injury of another
saH (nom. sg. m.): that, the [enjoyment]
Saturday, September 3, 2011
SAUNDARANANDA 11.40: Backsliding, Back & Down (Or Not)
yadaa bhraShTasya kushalaM
shiShTaM kiM cin na vidyate
tiryakShu pitR-loke vaa
narake v" opapadyate
- = = = - - - =
= = = = - = - =
= = - - - = = =
- - = = - = - =
11.40
The backslider
When his residual good runs out
Finds himself among the animals
or in the world of the departed,
Or else he goes to hell.
COMMENT:
EHJ identifies pitR in line 3 with preta, which literally means "departed" (from pra-√i, to go away, depart). The Monier Williams dictionary gives preta as "the spirit of a dead person (esp. before obsequial rites are performed), a ghost, an evil being." In Chinese and Japanese preta was rendered into 餓鬼 (GAKI) hungry ghost, one of the six samsaric realms which for my sins I explored in some detail in 2008, before redirecting my energy into this work of translating Ashvaghosha.
It is interesting to note that Ashvaghosha himself refers in this and the previous verse not to six but to five realms: heaven, the world of men, of animals, of departed ancestors (pitR), and hell. He doesn't specifically mention either asura (anti-gods) or preta.
In any event, backsliding into a samsaric realm like the state of a lowly evolved swine, or a world beset by ghosts from the past, or hell, has to do, as I understand that journey, with pulling the head back and down.
Pulling the head back is a stiffening or self-locking reaction, and pulling the head down is a shortening reaction.
When a person with faulty sensory appreciation rooted in immature vestibular reflexes goes directly to gain an end -- even some worthy selfish end like easy upright posture, or healthy flow of internal energy; or some even worthier altruistic end like spreading true Buddhism throughout the world -- this unconscious stiffening and shortening invariably ensues. Q.E.D.
A well-meaning person who aspires to get off the samsaric merry-go-round but who in fact keeps finding himself right back on, is well advised, it seems to me, to keep inquiring into what FM Alexander meant by consciously directing the head forward and up.
What does it mean truly to allow the head FORWARD and UP?
I don't know. Allowing is never a thing I have managed to get my dirty paws on.
But it doesn't mean pulling the head back, and it doesn't mean pulling oneself down. That is for damn sure. It might mean simply thinking the words "head forward and up" and getting on with some job, like this one.
EH Johnston:
As the man who falls from Paradise has no grace subsisting, he is born again among beasts or among the Pretas or in Hell.
Linda Covill:
When no good remains to the descending man, he is reborn among the animals, or in the world of the ancestors, or in hell.
VOCABULARY:
yadaa: ind. when
bhraShTasya (gen. sg. m.): mfn. fallen , dropped , fallen down or from or off ; a backslider
kushalam (nom. sg. n.): mfn. right , proper , suitable , good; n. welfare , well-being , prosperous condition , happiness ; n. benevolence ; n. virtue
shiShTam (nom. sg. n.): mfn. left , remaining , escaped , residual ; n. anything that remains or is left , remains , remnant
kiM cit na vidyate: there is not any
tiryakShu = loc. pl. tiryaNc: m. n. " going horizontally " , an animal (amphibious animal , bird , &c )
pitR-loke (loc. sg.): m. the world or sphere of the pitṛs
pitR: m. pl. the fathers , forefathers , ancestors , (esp.) the pitṛs or deceased ancestors
loka: m. world
vaa: or
narake (loc. sg.): mn. hell , place of torment
vaa: or
upapadyate = 3rd pers. sg. upa- √ pad: to go towards ; to approach , come to , arrive at , enter; to take place , come forth , be produced , appear , occur , happen ; to be present, exist ;
shiShTaM kiM cin na vidyate
tiryakShu pitR-loke vaa
narake v" opapadyate
- = = = - - - =
= = = = - = - =
= = - - - = = =
- - = = - = - =
11.40
The backslider
When his residual good runs out
Finds himself among the animals
or in the world of the departed,
Or else he goes to hell.
COMMENT:
EHJ identifies pitR in line 3 with preta, which literally means "departed" (from pra-√i, to go away, depart). The Monier Williams dictionary gives preta as "the spirit of a dead person (esp. before obsequial rites are performed), a ghost, an evil being." In Chinese and Japanese preta was rendered into 餓鬼 (GAKI) hungry ghost, one of the six samsaric realms which for my sins I explored in some detail in 2008, before redirecting my energy into this work of translating Ashvaghosha.
It is interesting to note that Ashvaghosha himself refers in this and the previous verse not to six but to five realms: heaven, the world of men, of animals, of departed ancestors (pitR), and hell. He doesn't specifically mention either asura (anti-gods) or preta.
In any event, backsliding into a samsaric realm like the state of a lowly evolved swine, or a world beset by ghosts from the past, or hell, has to do, as I understand that journey, with pulling the head back and down.
Pulling the head back is a stiffening or self-locking reaction, and pulling the head down is a shortening reaction.
When a person with faulty sensory appreciation rooted in immature vestibular reflexes goes directly to gain an end -- even some worthy selfish end like easy upright posture, or healthy flow of internal energy; or some even worthier altruistic end like spreading true Buddhism throughout the world -- this unconscious stiffening and shortening invariably ensues. Q.E.D.
A well-meaning person who aspires to get off the samsaric merry-go-round but who in fact keeps finding himself right back on, is well advised, it seems to me, to keep inquiring into what FM Alexander meant by consciously directing the head forward and up.
What does it mean truly to allow the head FORWARD and UP?
I don't know. Allowing is never a thing I have managed to get my dirty paws on.
But it doesn't mean pulling the head back, and it doesn't mean pulling oneself down. That is for damn sure. It might mean simply thinking the words "head forward and up" and getting on with some job, like this one.
EH Johnston:
As the man who falls from Paradise has no grace subsisting, he is born again among beasts or among the Pretas or in Hell.
Linda Covill:
When no good remains to the descending man, he is reborn among the animals, or in the world of the ancestors, or in hell.
VOCABULARY:
yadaa: ind. when
bhraShTasya (gen. sg. m.): mfn. fallen , dropped , fallen down or from or off ; a backslider
kushalam (nom. sg. n.): mfn. right , proper , suitable , good; n. welfare , well-being , prosperous condition , happiness ; n. benevolence ; n. virtue
shiShTam (nom. sg. n.): mfn. left , remaining , escaped , residual ; n. anything that remains or is left , remains , remnant
kiM cit na vidyate: there is not any
tiryakShu = loc. pl. tiryaNc: m. n. " going horizontally " , an animal (amphibious animal , bird , &c )
pitR-loke (loc. sg.): m. the world or sphere of the pitṛs
pitR: m. pl. the fathers , forefathers , ancestors , (esp.) the pitṛs or deceased ancestors
loka: m. world
vaa: or
narake (loc. sg.): mn. hell , place of torment
vaa: or
upapadyate = 3rd pers. sg. upa- √ pad: to go towards ; to approach , come to , arrive at , enter; to take place , come forth , be produced , appear , occur , happen ; to be present, exist ;
Friday, September 2, 2011
SAUNDARANANDA 11.39: Returning Like a Three-Day Monk (Or Not)
kRtv" aapi duShkaraM karma
svargaM labhdv" aapi dur-labham
nR-lokaM punar ev' aiti
pravaasaat sva-gRham yathaa
= = - = - = = =
= = = = - = - =
- = = - - = = =
- = = - - = - =
11.39
Even having done action that is hard to do,
And reached a heaven that is hard to reach,
A man comes right back to the world of men,
As if to his own house after a spell away.
COMMENT:
The metaphor of a man who returns to his original house must have had a particular resonance for the likes of Ashvaghosha and Ananda who had left their homes and their families and for whom there would be no going back.
In that light, I think this verse is also part of a meditation on the irony of impermanence. Because separation is the celestial constant, i.e., because the 2nd law of thermodynamics is the universal rule, the wheel of samsara continues to turn. Samsara is impermanence itself.
The irony is that because of impermanence there are events from which there is no turning back, like birth, like death, like firewood becoming ash, and like a seeker of truth leaving home never to return. Hence...
In order to go entirely beyond the sphere of desire, he overpowered those enemies that grab the heel, / So that he attained, because of practice, the fruit of not returning, and stood as if at the gateway to the citadel of Nirvana.// [17.41]
Because of impermanence, Nanda who had been sorely tempted to go back to his own house after a spell away, was able to attain the fruit of the anaagaamin, the one who does not go back, the one who does not backslide into samsara. Nanda was able to realize that fruit because of impermanence, and at the same time because of practice (yogaat).
EH Johnston:
Man performs the most difficult tasks and reaches Paradise the inaccessible, only to come back again to the world of men as if he were returning to his home from a journey.
Linda Covill:
A man can perform deeds difficult to do and even win heaven so hard to win, but he comes back to the human world, just as a traveler returns home after living abroad.
VOCABULARY:
kRtvaa = abs. kR: to do, make
api: even also
duSh-karam (acc. sg. n.): mfn. hard to be done or borne , difficult , arduous
karma = acc. sg. karman: n. act, action
svargam (acc. sg.): m. heaven
labhdvaa = abs. labh: to reach, obtain, gain, win
api: even also
dur-labham (acc. sg. m.): mfn. mfn. difficult to be obtained or found , hard , scarce , rare
nR-lokam (acc. sg.): m. the world of men , the earth
punar: ind. again, back
eva: (emphatic)
eti = 3rd pers. sg. i: to go; (with punar) to come back again , return
pravaasaat (abl. sg.): m. dwelling abroad , foreign residence , absence from home
sva-gRham (acc. sg.): n. one's own house
yathaa: ind. in which manner or way , according as , as , like
svargaM labhdv" aapi dur-labham
nR-lokaM punar ev' aiti
pravaasaat sva-gRham yathaa
= = - = - = = =
= = = = - = - =
- = = - - = = =
- = = - - = - =
11.39
Even having done action that is hard to do,
And reached a heaven that is hard to reach,
A man comes right back to the world of men,
As if to his own house after a spell away.
COMMENT:
The metaphor of a man who returns to his original house must have had a particular resonance for the likes of Ashvaghosha and Ananda who had left their homes and their families and for whom there would be no going back.
In that light, I think this verse is also part of a meditation on the irony of impermanence. Because separation is the celestial constant, i.e., because the 2nd law of thermodynamics is the universal rule, the wheel of samsara continues to turn. Samsara is impermanence itself.
The irony is that because of impermanence there are events from which there is no turning back, like birth, like death, like firewood becoming ash, and like a seeker of truth leaving home never to return. Hence...
In order to go entirely beyond the sphere of desire, he overpowered those enemies that grab the heel, / So that he attained, because of practice, the fruit of not returning, and stood as if at the gateway to the citadel of Nirvana.// [17.41]
Because of impermanence, Nanda who had been sorely tempted to go back to his own house after a spell away, was able to attain the fruit of the anaagaamin, the one who does not go back, the one who does not backslide into samsara. Nanda was able to realize that fruit because of impermanence, and at the same time because of practice (yogaat).
EH Johnston:
Man performs the most difficult tasks and reaches Paradise the inaccessible, only to come back again to the world of men as if he were returning to his home from a journey.
Linda Covill:
A man can perform deeds difficult to do and even win heaven so hard to win, but he comes back to the human world, just as a traveler returns home after living abroad.
VOCABULARY:
kRtvaa = abs. kR: to do, make
api: even also
duSh-karam (acc. sg. n.): mfn. hard to be done or borne , difficult , arduous
karma = acc. sg. karman: n. act, action
svargam (acc. sg.): m. heaven
labhdvaa = abs. labh: to reach, obtain, gain, win
api: even also
dur-labham (acc. sg. m.): mfn. mfn. difficult to be obtained or found , hard , scarce , rare
nR-lokam (acc. sg.): m. the world of men , the earth
punar: ind. again, back
eva: (emphatic)
eti = 3rd pers. sg. i: to go; (with punar) to come back again , return
pravaasaat (abl. sg.): m. dwelling abroad , foreign residence , absence from home
sva-gRham (acc. sg.): n. one's own house
yathaa: ind. in which manner or way , according as , as , like
Thursday, September 1, 2011
SAUNDARANANDA 11.38: Impermanence As the Celestial Constant
kaamaanaaM praarthanaa duHkhaa
praaptau tRptir na vidyate
viyogaan niyataH shoko
viyogash ca dhruvo divi
= = = = - = = =
= = = = - = - =
- = = - - = = =
- = = = - = - -
11.38
The pursuit of desires is full of suffering,
The attainment is not where satisfaction lies,
The separation is inevitably sorrowful --
And separation is the celestial constant.
COMMENT:
The real satisfaction lies in the process.
That's for damn sure.
On a good day, like today, I really do not give a shit about fame and profit, because the real satisfaction lies in the process. The true gold is already present in the digging for it.
The 4th line of today's verse as I read it refers in its deeper meaning to the 2nd law of thermodynamics.
As an adjective dhruvaH means fixed or certain. So if dhruvaH is read as an adjective, the 4th line says that separation is certain in heaven, and Ananda is forewarning Nanda of the impermanence of enjoyment of celestial nymphs. But that would imply that separation might not be certain on earth, which clearly is not Ananda's intention.
As a masculine noun, dhruvaH expresses various things that are relatively fixed, constant or unchangeable -- like a knot, a stake, and the Indian fig tree. But more pertinently to today's verse, as I read it, dhruvaH as a masculine noun means that which was regarded as fixed, constant or unchangeable in the sky, namely the polar star, the celestial pole, the unchangeable longitude of fixed stars, a constant arc.
So I think today's verse contains an ironic expression of the 2nd law of thermodynamics, or impermanence. Ananda is describing impermanence as that which is fixed, invariable, unchageable, not only on earth but also in the sky and throughout the universe. Ananda is describing the tendency for energy to separate out, i.e. change, as the celestial constant.
EH Johnston:
The quest of love is full of suffering and in its attainment there is no appeasement of desire. Grief ensues inexorably from separation, and separation is inevitable in heaven.
Linda Covill:
The longing for sensual pleasures brings unsatisfactoriness; when they come they deliver no fulfillment, yet when one is deprived of them, as is certain in the hereafter, grief is inevitable.
VOCABULARY:
kaamaanaam (gen. pl.): m. desires, objects of desires, sensual pleasures
praarthanaa (nom. sg.): f. wish , desire , request , entreaty , solicitation , petition or suit for (loc. or comp.) ; prayer (as forming part of the worship of the gods)
pra- √arth: to wish or long for , desire (acc.); to demand in marriage , woo; to look for , search
duHkhaa (nom. sg. f.): mfn. uneasy , uncomfortable , unpleasant , difficult
praaptau (loc. sg.): f. advent , occurrence; attaining to , obtaining , meeting with , finding , acquisition , gain
tRptiH (nom. sg.): f. satisfaction , contentment
na: not
vidyate = 3rd pers. sg. passive vid: to find; (esp. in later language) vidyate , " there is , there exists " , often with na , " there is not "
viyogaat (abl. sg.): m. disjunction , separation (esp. of lovers) , loss or absence or want of
niyataH (nom. sg. m.): mfn. fixed , established , settled , sure , regular , invariable , positive , definite
shokaH (nom. sg.): m. sorrow , affliction , anguish , pain , trouble , grief
viyogaH (nom. sg.): m. disjunction , separation (esp. of lovers) , loss or absence or want of
ca: and
dhruvaH (nom. sg. m.): mfn. fixed , firm , immovable , unchangeable , constant , lasting , permanent , eternal; settled, certain; m. the polar star; m. celestial pole ; m. the unchangeable longitude of fixed stars , a constant arc
divi (loc. sg.): mf. heaven, the sky
praaptau tRptir na vidyate
viyogaan niyataH shoko
viyogash ca dhruvo divi
= = = = - = = =
= = = = - = - =
- = = - - = = =
- = = = - = - -
11.38
The pursuit of desires is full of suffering,
The attainment is not where satisfaction lies,
The separation is inevitably sorrowful --
And separation is the celestial constant.
COMMENT:
The real satisfaction lies in the process.
That's for damn sure.
On a good day, like today, I really do not give a shit about fame and profit, because the real satisfaction lies in the process. The true gold is already present in the digging for it.
The 4th line of today's verse as I read it refers in its deeper meaning to the 2nd law of thermodynamics.
As an adjective dhruvaH means fixed or certain. So if dhruvaH is read as an adjective, the 4th line says that separation is certain in heaven, and Ananda is forewarning Nanda of the impermanence of enjoyment of celestial nymphs. But that would imply that separation might not be certain on earth, which clearly is not Ananda's intention.
As a masculine noun, dhruvaH expresses various things that are relatively fixed, constant or unchangeable -- like a knot, a stake, and the Indian fig tree. But more pertinently to today's verse, as I read it, dhruvaH as a masculine noun means that which was regarded as fixed, constant or unchangeable in the sky, namely the polar star, the celestial pole, the unchangeable longitude of fixed stars, a constant arc.
So I think today's verse contains an ironic expression of the 2nd law of thermodynamics, or impermanence. Ananda is describing impermanence as that which is fixed, invariable, unchageable, not only on earth but also in the sky and throughout the universe. Ananda is describing the tendency for energy to separate out, i.e. change, as the celestial constant.
EH Johnston:
The quest of love is full of suffering and in its attainment there is no appeasement of desire. Grief ensues inexorably from separation, and separation is inevitable in heaven.
Linda Covill:
The longing for sensual pleasures brings unsatisfactoriness; when they come they deliver no fulfillment, yet when one is deprived of them, as is certain in the hereafter, grief is inevitable.
VOCABULARY:
kaamaanaam (gen. pl.): m. desires, objects of desires, sensual pleasures
praarthanaa (nom. sg.): f. wish , desire , request , entreaty , solicitation , petition or suit for (loc. or comp.) ; prayer (as forming part of the worship of the gods)
pra- √arth: to wish or long for , desire (acc.); to demand in marriage , woo; to look for , search
duHkhaa (nom. sg. f.): mfn. uneasy , uncomfortable , unpleasant , difficult
praaptau (loc. sg.): f. advent , occurrence; attaining to , obtaining , meeting with , finding , acquisition , gain
tRptiH (nom. sg.): f. satisfaction , contentment
na: not
vidyate = 3rd pers. sg. passive vid: to find; (esp. in later language) vidyate , " there is , there exists " , often with na , " there is not "
viyogaat (abl. sg.): m. disjunction , separation (esp. of lovers) , loss or absence or want of
niyataH (nom. sg. m.): mfn. fixed , established , settled , sure , regular , invariable , positive , definite
shokaH (nom. sg.): m. sorrow , affliction , anguish , pain , trouble , grief
viyogaH (nom. sg.): m. disjunction , separation (esp. of lovers) , loss or absence or want of
ca: and
dhruvaH (nom. sg. m.): mfn. fixed , firm , immovable , unchangeable , constant , lasting , permanent , eternal; settled, certain; m. the polar star; m. celestial pole ; m. the unchangeable longitude of fixed stars , a constant arc
divi (loc. sg.): mf. heaven, the sky
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