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tad-evaṁ
sati viśrabdhaṁ prayatadhvaṁ tathā yathā |
⏑−⏑−¦⏑−−−¦¦⏑−−−¦⏑−⏑−
iyaṁ
npasya vaṁśa-śrīr-ito na syāt-parāṅmukhī || 4.22
4.22
It being
so, with calm confidence,
Apply
yourselves in such a way,
That this
light of the lineage of a protector of men
Might not
be turned away from here.
COMMENT:
The following comment
does not do today's verse justice, but I hope it will at least serve to
underline the point that Aśvaghoṣa is very often saying the
profoundest things about sitting-meditation, indirectly, in those
verses where sitting-meditation might seem to be the furthest thing
from the speaker's mind.
Udāyin's intention is
to tell the courtesans to trust the reliability of his words and on
that basis to hurry up and get on with captivating the prince, so that he might not abandon his father's kingdom and make for
the forest.
Returning to his
well-used instrument of verbal irony, however, Aśvaghoṣa has
framed Udāyin's expression in such a way as not only to express what
Udāyin would have the women do in the way of doing (pravṛtti), but also to express what Aśvaghoṣa
would have his readers and listeners NOT do in the way of non-doing (nivṛtti).
Thus, the first half of
the verse, as Hurry Up Udāyin intends it, is a pushy exhortation to
bold striving– “This being so, boldly put forth your efforts
that...” [EBC]; “This being so, exert yourselves boldy, so
that...” [EHJ]; “Such being the case you should, therefore,
strive boldly in such a way that...”
But Aśvaghoṣa might
really intend the same words, on the contrary, to be a gentle
encouragement to practice that ineffable practice, non-doing, which
proceeds from letting things be as they are.
Such being the case,
“it being so” (tad-evaṁ sati) means, in other words, fishes
swimming like fishes and birds flying like birds.
And such being the
case, “work in such a way” (prayatadhvaṁ tathā yathā) can be
read as an exhortation to practice the ineffable practice of detachment, or non-doing, in the
spirit of let it be.
Again, the desired
outcome expressed by the second half of the verse, as the king's
errand boy Udāyin intends it, is that the prince will not turn his
back on all the royal riches and rank and glory attendant on his
succession to Śuddodhana's throne (vaṁśa-śrīḥ).
But the desired outcome
Aśvaghoṣa has in mind, on the contrary, might be related to the
transmission that at the end of Saundara-nanda the Buddha encourages
the enlightened Nanda to serve:
Therefore forgetting the work that needs to be done in this world on the self, do now, stout soul, what can be done for others. / Among beings who are wandering in the night, their minds shrouded in darkness, let the lamp of this transmission be carried. // SN18.57 //
Such being the case,
śrī means not riches and rank but light -- the light of the conscious
awareness and the light of conscious inhibition which can, when
conditions are right, beget each other in a virtuous circle.
And such being the
case, “not being turned away from here” (ito na syāt-parāṅmukhī)
can be read as a description of the light that is not turned away
from here, when a bloke is practising the backward step of turning
his light and letting it shine within.
Udāyin's words, then,
although Udāyin himself does not know it, contain Aśvaghoṣa's
indirect encouragement to stick to principle, applying the principle
of conscious inhibition here and now, and thus working on the self in
such a way that the light which is not turned away from here, might
ultimately help others too.
Such being the case,
coming as it does after several verses in which I could not detect
any brightness, today's verse truly seems like clarity, after fearful
darkness (bhīmāndhakārād-iva ca prakāśam; SN17.68).
VOCABULARY
tad:
ind. therefore, so
evam:
ind. thus, so
sati
= 3rd pers. sg. pres. part. as: to be
viśrabdham:
ind. confidingly , quietly , without fear or reserve
viśrabdha:
mfn. confiding , confident , fearless , tranquil , calm ; showing or
inspiring confidence
vi-
√śrambh: to confide , be confident , trust in or rely on
√śrambh:
generally found with the prefix vi: to be careless or negligent ; to
trust , confide
prayatadhvam
= 2nd pers. pl. imperative pra- √yat: to be active or
effective ; to strive , endeavour , exert one's self , devote or
apply one's self to
√yat:
to place in order , marshal , join , connect ; to keep pace , be in
line , rival or vie with (instr.); march or fly together or in line ;
to seek to join one's self with , make for , tend towards (loc.) ; to
endeavour to reach , strive after , be eager or anxious for ; to
exert one's self , take pains , endeavour , make effort , persevere ,
be cautious or watchful
tathā
yathā: ind. in such a way that, so that
iyam
(nom. sg. f.): this
nṛ-pasya
(gen. sg.): m. 'ruler/protector of men,' king
pa:
mfn. ( √pā) guarding , protecting , ruling
vaṁśa-śrīḥ
(nom. sg. f.): the royal rank/glory of his lineage ; the light of a
lineage
vaṁśa:
m. a bamboo cane ; the line of a pedigree or genealogy (from its
resemblance to the succession of joints in a bamboo) , lineage , race
, family , stock (esp. a noble race , a dynasty of kings etc.)
śrī:
f. light , lustre , radiance , splendour , glory , beauty , grace ;
prosperity , welfare , good fortune , success , auspiciousness ,
wealth , treasure , riches ; high rank , power , might , majesty ,
royal dignity ; symbol or insignia of royalty
itaḥ:
ind. from hence , hence , here ; from this point ; from this world ,
in this world ; from this time , now
na:
not
syāt
= 3rd pers. sg. opt. as: to be
parāṅmukhī
(nom. sg. f.): mfn. having the face turned away or averted , turning
the back upon ; averse from , hostile to , regardless of , shunning ,
avoiding
當更勤方便 勿令絶王嗣
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