⏑⏑⏑⏑⏑⏑¦−⏑−⏑−−¦¦⏑⏑⏑⏑−⏑⏑¦−⏑−⏑−− Puṣpitāgrā
tyaja
nara-vara śokam-ehi dhairyaṁ
ku-dhtir-ivārhasi dhīra nāśru moktum |
⏑⏑⏑⏑⏑⏑¦−⏑−⏑−−¦¦⏑⏑⏑⏑−⏑⏑¦−⏑−⏑−−
srajam-iva
mditām-apāsya lakṣmīṁ bhuvi
bahavo hi n-pā vanāny-atīyuḥ || 8.83
8.83
“Abandon
sorrow, O best of men, and come back to constancy;
You
should not shed tears, O stout soul, like a man who lacked grit.
For,
flinging away their fortune like a crushed garland,
Many
rulers of men on this earth have gone into the forests.
COMMENT:
Even
if the intention behind them is to give a real person's voice to the
noble truth of suffering, lamentations of drama queens and drama
kings are hard to listen to for too long.
That
being so, today's verse is music to the ear. It is easy not only on
the ear but also on the intellectual faculties, since the gist of
today's verse is what it says on the tin.
The
1st pāda, in particular, as I read it, expresses the essential practical instruction for sitting-meditation practice.
If
the virtue of dhairyam, firmness, constancy, fortitude, is the
idealistic thesis, the description in BC8.81 can be read as a
description of the anti-thesis, throwing away constancy (vihāya
dhairyam); and now comes the practical synthesis, in the injunction
to come back to constancy (ehi dhairyam).
In this practical
imperative, the operative word might be the ā of ā-√i, to come back, to come again to.
The
ehi (come back to), as I read it, expresses the difference in approach between practice that aims at being something special, like an enlightened being, and practice whose aim is simply to come back to balance,
allowing oneself to be what one originally is.
I
am not at all impressed when people use Japanese Zen words,
especially ones of dubious derivation that Dogen never used – the
so-called sesshin (or “intensive Zen retreat”) being a
prime example....
And as I begin another tirade along these lines, I am caused to reflect, via the mirror principle, that this kind of artificiality is much easier for me to see in others than it
is to see in myself.
If
I see it at all, how come?
Maybe
the answer, following on from the thoughts expressed yesterday, is
that I begin to see it
(a) as a result of being informed, via teaching that requires me to listen, and to
practice a certain discipline; but mainly
(b) as a result of getting older.
Having
seen it, what is the right direction to go in?
The
right direction to go in might be the direction that follows the
decision to give up all idea of being firm, or constant, or right.
Understanding
without experience, like a junior doctor making big decisions in a
hospital, or like a new M.B.A in charge of a trading desk, might be
dangerous. So might experience without understanding be
life-threatening and potentially disastrous, like an old Zen Master
pulling and pushing here and there on the basis of an un-abandoned
view on “correct posture.”
In
today's verse, in summary, understanding and experience, experience
and understanding, are speaking with one voice, saying “Come back
to constancy” and, moreover, “Don't be such a wimp.”
VOCABULARY
tyaja
= 2nd pers. sg. imp. tyaj: to leave , abandon , quit ; to
let go, dismiss; to give up , surrender , resign , part from ,
renounce ; to shun , avoid , get rid of , free one's self from (any
passion &c ); to set aside , leave unnoticed , disregard
nara-vara
(voc. sg.): O best of men
vara:
" select " , choicest , valuable , precious , best , most
excellent or eminent among (gen. loc. abl. , or comp.)
śokam
(acc. sg.): m. sorrow , affliction , anguish , grief
ehi
= 2nd pers. sg. imp. ā- √i: to come near or towards ,
go near , approach ; (with and without punar) to come back , come
again to ; to reach , attain , enter , come into (a state or
position)
dhairyam
(acc. sg.): n. firmness, constancy, fortitude
ku-dhtiḥ
(nom. sg. m.): mfn. one who has little or no control over himself,
Bcar.
ku-:
a prefix implying deterioration , depreciation , deficiency , want ,
littleness , hindrance , reproach , contempt , guilt
dhti:
f. holding , seizing , keeping , supporting , firmness , constancy ,
resolution , will , command
iva:
like
arhasi
(2nd pers. sg. arh): you ought, please do
dhīra
(voc. sg.): mfn. steady , constant , firm , resolute , brave ,
energetic , courageous , self-possessed , composed , calm , grave
na:
not
aśru
(acc. sg.): n. tears
moktum
= inf. muc: to shed, release
srajam
(acc. sg.): f. a wreath of flowers , garland , chaplet worn on the
head , any wreath or garland
iva:
like
mṛditām
(acc. sg. f.): mfn. pressed , squeezed , crushed , broken , trampled
down , laid waste
apāsya
= abs. apa √as: to fling away , throw away or off , discard ; to
disregard
lakṣmīm
(acc. sg.): f. a good sign , good fortune , prosperity , success ,
happiness (also pl.) ; wealth , riches
bhuvi
(loc. sg.): f. the earth
bahavaḥ
(nom. pl. m.): mfn. many
hi:
for
nṛ-pāḥ
(nom. sg. m.): protectors of men, kings
vanāni
(acc. pl.): n. woods
atīyuḥ
= 3rd pers. pl. perf. ati-√i: to pass by , elapse ,
pass over , overflow ; to pass through; to enter
願自寛情念 勿以憂自傷
古昔諸勝王 棄國如散花
古昔諸勝王 棄國如散花
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