⏑⏑⏑⏑⏑⏑¦−⏑−⏑−−¦¦⏑⏑⏑⏑−⏑⏑¦−⏑−⏑−− Puṣpitāgrā
pitaram-abhimukhaṁ
sutaṁ ca bālaṁ janam-anuraktam-anuttamāṁ ca lakṣmīm |
⏑⏑⏑⏑⏑⏑¦−⏑−⏑−−¦¦⏑⏑⏑⏑−⏑⏑¦−⏑−⏑−−
kta-matir-apahāya
nir-vyapekṣaḥ pit-nagarāt sa tato vinirjagāma || 5.83
5.83
The father who doted on
him, a son who was still young,
The people who loved
him, and an incomparable fortune –
With his mind made up
and without a care,
he had left them all behind,
And so, on that basis,
from the city of his fathers,
away he went.
COMMENT:
In a list of four
elements the ironic punch line is ever liable to be contained in the
fourth and final element, and so it is in today's verse as I read it,
where ambiguity can be read into the description of lakṣmīm
(fortune, wealth, riches) as an-uttamām. An-uttamām ostensibly means
“unsurpassed” or “incomparably the best,” but it has two
sub-meanings, the first of which I suppose that Aśvaghoṣa may have
had in mind.
The first sub-meaning
of an-uttama – which Aśvaghoṣa likely saw as a vein to be tapped
for ironic plays on words – is “not the best.” Taking an-uttamām like that, the suggestion is that his father's kingdom
was a lesser fortune than the inheritance that awaited the prince
under the bodhi tree. In an effort to include this meaning I have
traslated an-uttamām as “incomparable” utilizing the two
meanings given in the dictionary for “incomparable” viz: 1.
eminent beyond comparison, matchless; 2. not suitable for
comparison.
The
second sub-meaning of an-uttama, which is probably not so relevant to
today's verse but which I shall mention anyway, just in case, is as a
term used in Sanskrit grammar to mean “not used in the uttama, the
first person.” In
describing in SN Canto 17 how Nanda cuts the five upper fetters,
Aśvaghoṣa repeats the phrase uttama-bandhanāni, and
this repetition led EHJ to think that the text might be suspect.
Aśvaghoṣa may in fact have been playing with the various meanings
of uttama, including its use in grammar to mean the first person.
Hence:
Then he cut the five upper fetters: with the sword of intuitive wisdom which is raised aloft by cultivation of the mind, / He completely severed the five aspirational fetters, which are bound up with superiority (uttama-bandhanāni), and tied to the first person (uttama-bandhanāni). // SN17.57 //
The gist of today's
verse, in any event, is contained in its second half, which describes
the prince's decisive attitude, expressed again (as in yesterday's
verse) in movement. Extra emphasis is lent to the sense of going or
moving by the prefixes vi- and nir- in vi-nir-√gam
– not just going, but going away, or getting the hell out. Also, by placing
vinir-jagāma (“he went away”) at the end of the verse,
Aśvaghoṣa further emphasized the sense of the prince now being in
movement.
Apropos of which, and
apropos also of nir-vyapekṣaḥ (being without a care), I shall
finish by quoting again the Alexander teaching of Marjory Barlow:
When
you think you are wrong,
say No,
give your directions,
and go into
movement, without a care in the world....
Right now I don't think
I am wrong. I know I am wrong. Last night I read this article by Russell Brand, and it disturbed me more deeply than did the event on
which it is commentating. Why? Because, it seems to me, Brand is in lazy denial of the real problem. And the mirror principle never fails.
Whether we like it or not, we are all participants in a war on terror. In that situation "appealing for calm" is what a Buddhist might be expected to do. But on the evidence of Aśvaghoṣa's epic tale of Beautiful Joy, what the Buddha actually did was encourage his brother to fight the fight – in the battlefield of his own mind.
After posting this I
shall, with all the decisiveness I can muster, go and empty the compost bin.
VOCABULARY
pitaram
= acc. sg. pitṛ: m. father
abhimukham
(acc. sg. m.): mfn. with the face directed towards , turned towards ,
facing ; ind. towards (often used in a hostile manner Kir. vi , 14
, &c ), in the direction of , in front or presence of , near to
(acc. gen. ; or ifc.)
sutam
(acc. sg.): m. son
ca:
and
bālam
(acc. sg. m.): mfn. young
janam
(acc. sg.): m. people
anuraktam
(acc. sg. m.): mfn. fond of , attached , pleased ; beloved
anuttamām
(acc. sg. f.): mfn. unsurpassed , incomparably the best or chief ,
excellent ; excessive ; not the best ; (in Gr.) not used in the
uttama , or first person.
uttama:
uppermost , highest , chief ; most elevated , principal ; best ,
excellent ;
ca:
and
lakṣmīm
(acc. sg. ): f. a mark , sign , token; (with or without pāpī́) a
bad sign , impending misfortune ; (but in the older language more
usually with púṇyā) a good sign , good fortune , prosperity ,
success , happiness ; wealth, riches ; beauty , loveliness , grace ,
charm , splendour , lustre ; N. of the goddess of fortune and beauty
kṛta-matiḥ
(nom. sg. m.): mfn. one who has taken a resolution , who has resolved
upon anything
apahāya
= abs. apa- √ hā: 1. to run away from (abl.) or off ; 2. to
remain behind , fall short , not reach the desired end
nir-vyapekṣaḥ
(nom. sg. m.): mfn. disregarding , indifferent to (loc. or comp.)
vy-apa-
√īkṣ: to look about , look for , regard , mind , pay regard or
attention to (acc.)
pitṛ-nagarāt
(abl. sg.): his father's city ; the city of his fathers
nagara:
n. a town , city
sa
(nom. sg. m.): he
tataḥ:
ind. then, on that basis
vinirjagāma
= 3rd
pers. sg. perf. vi-nir- √ gam : to go out or away , depart or
escape from (abl.) ; to be beside one's
self
敬重無過父 愛深莫踰子
内外諸眷屬 恩愛亦纒綿
遣情無遺念 飄然超出城
敬重無過父 愛深莫踰子
内外諸眷屬 恩愛亦纒綿
遣情無遺念 飄然超出城
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