−−⏑⏑¦⏑−−−¦¦⏑−−⏑¦⏑−⏑−
rājñas-tu
viniyogena kumārasya ca mārdavāt |
−−−⏑¦⏑−−−¦¦⏑−⏑⏑¦⏑−⏑−
jahuḥ
kṣipram-aviśraṁbhaṁ madena madanena ca || 4.26
4.26
But in
view of the king's assignment,
And thanks
to a prince's mildness of manner,
They
quickly shed their diffidence --
Through
inspiration and through enchantment.
COMMENT:
Despite being subject to the limitations
of one who purports to translate the Buddha's teaching without having
got to the bottom of that teaching in his own practice and
experience, I have to admit that PO sometimes has a very nice way
with words. (Attentive students of English grammar may be assured, in
light of the mirror principle, that the preceding sentence does not
need re-casting.)
Among the three
previous translations that I refer to on this blog, PO's translation
of today's verse stands out for its beautiful rendering of the
ostensible meaning, viz:
But on account of the king's command,
and the gentle nature of the prince,
they quickly dropped their timidity,
under the spell of liqour and love.
The hidden meaning of
today's verse, however, as I read it, is very different from the ostensible
meaning, and “under the spell of liquor and love,” though it
sounds good, blots out the hidden meaning.
In the hidden meaning, the king (rājṇan) is Gautama Buddha, and a prince
(kumāra) is an heir to his teaching. In that case, those who quickly
shed their diffidence (i.e. who are momentarily liberated from a habitual lack of confidence) are individuals who
have been inspired by the Buddha's teaching and who have entered into sympathetic
resonance with a mild-mannered individual (i.e. not a
violent end-gainer) who is an heir to the Buddha's teaching.
In his Rule of
Sitting-Zen for Everybody, Dogen wrote that when we get the gist of the Buddha's teaching,
we are like a dragon that found water, or like a tiger before its
mountain stronghold:
What is called sitting-zen, sitting-meditation, is not meditation that is learned. It is the Dharma-gate of effortless ease. It is the practice and experience that gets to the bottom of the Buddha's enlightenment. The laws of the Universe are realized, around which there are no nets or cages. To grasp this meaning is to be like a dragon that has found water, or like a tiger before a mountain stronghold. Remember, true reality spontaneously emerges, and darkness and dissipation vanish at a stroke.
“The king's
assignment” (rājño
viniyoga) Dogen expressed as this meaning. And “shedding
diffidence” (aviśraṁbham √hā) Dogen expressed as being like a
dragon or a tiger in its natural element.
The 4th pāda of today's verse is not about being inspired by the truth of the Buddha's teaching,
and neither is it about being totally enamoured with sitting-Zen: it
is about both, about practice and theory in mutual accord.
The above being so, I
venture to assert, today's verse also is nothing but the lifeblood.
On the surface today's
verse is the recounting of historical details by means of beautiful
poetry but Aśvaghoṣa's intention, as stated by him at the end of
his epic story of beautiful joy, was that we should extract what is truly
valuable, discarding all the poetic stuff like a dirt-washer in search of gold.
What Aśvaghoṣa is really telling, in every verse, is the epic story of awakened action (buddha-carita); the historical details of the Buddha's career (also buddha-carita) are of incidental importance.
Similarly, for a teacher of the FM Alexander Technique, it is not important to know the historical details of the life of FM Alexander (though Alexander teachers naturally tend to be interested in such details). What is vital is to understand how FM Alexander -- following a plan that might have been based on the Buddha's four noble truths, though it wasn't -- solved the problem that manifested itself in him losing his voice when reciting. This also is a story of awakened action.
In the end, what is the Dharma-king's assignment? What did Dogen mean by this meaning? What is the lifeblood? And what is Aśvaghoṣa's true gold?
On a bad day, the answer might be a non-mild-mannered
Grrrr.
VOCABULARY
rājñaḥ
(gen. sg.): m. the king
tu:
but
viniyogena
(inst. sg.): m. commission , charge , duty , task , occupation
vi-ni-
√ yuj: to unyoke; to discharge (an arrow) ; to assign , commit ,
appoint to , charge or entrust with
kumārasya
(gen. sg.): m. the prince
ca:
and
mārdavāt
(abl. sg.): n. softness (lit. and fig.) , pliancy , weakness ,
gentleness , kindness , leniency
jahuḥ
= 3rd pers. pl. perf. hā: to leave , abandon , desert ,
quit , forsake , relinquish ; to shed
kṣipram:
ind. quickly , immediately , directly
aviśraṁbham
(acc. sg.): m. want of confidence , diffidence
madena
(inst. sg.): m. hilarity , rapture , excitement , inspiration ,
intoxication
madanena
(inst. sg.): n. passion , love or the god of love ; the season of
spring
ca:
and
情欲實其心 兼奉大王旨
慢形媟隱陋 忘其慚愧情
No comments:
Post a Comment