⏑−⏑−¦−⏑⏑¦−⏑−−¦¦⏑−⏑−¦−⏑⏑¦−⏑−− Upajāti
(Premā)
na
caiṣa dharmo vana eva siddhaḥ pure 'pi siddhir-niyatā yatīnām
|
−−⏑−¦−⏑⏑¦−⏑−−¦¦⏑−⏑−¦−⏑⏑¦−⏑−−
buddhiś-ca
yatnaś-ca nimittam-atra vanaṁ ca liṅgaṁ
ca hi bhīru-cihnam || 9.18
9.18
Neither is this dharma
realized only in the woods:
Its realization is
assured in the city too,
for those who make the
effort.
Intention and energy
are what count in this arena.
For the forest and the
uniform are a mark of fearfulness.
COMMENT:
Assuming temporary
sovereignty over the earth, as described in yesterday's verse, I let
my spinal column become a mighty flagpole for carrying the kaṣāya
into battle, and look forward, more or less detoxified as I emerge
from a heavy cold, to a first trip of the year to the forest. Before
I am a writer I am a fighter. If you want to pick a fight with me,
sooner or later, I would like to think, it is you who is going down. Though congenitally fearful, I turn out to be good at fighting – surprising even myself. And
terrible at forgiving – much worse even than my own worst
estimates. If I weren't as good as I am at fighting, there would be
no Nishijima-Cross translation of Shobogenzo. If I were better than I
am at forgiving, there might already be a Nishijima-Cross translation
of Nāgārjuna's Mūla-madhyama-kakārikā. Anyway, being at time of
writing neither down nor out, I am still slowly working in the
direction of such a translation, in my own grimly determined way.
So much for me. What
about the 44 syllables of Aśvaghoṣa's Sanskrit which make up
today's verse?
Two important syllables
are liṅgam, which EBC translated as “the badge,” EHJ as “the
badges of mendicancy,” and PO as “the emblem.”
EHJ adds in an
explanatory footnote that liṅga is the shaven head, robe, etc.; cp.
BC12.46; SN7.49.
PO expands on this in
his own footnote, observing that even Brahmanical texts (MBh
XII.308.47-8) repeatedly state that such things as shaven head, ochre
dress, begging bowl and walking stick are not what brings about
liberation. PO quotes the oft-repeated adage na liṅgam
dharma-kāraṇam, “the emblem does not produce dharma.”
This Brahmanical adage, from where a buddha sits, might have some truth in it, but at the same time might not be the whole truth. In Saundara-nanda the Buddha causes Nanda to have his head shaved and wear the robe, but Nanda and not the Buddha is the one who worries about whether he is fit to bear the liṅga, (which I translated in Saundara-nanda as "the insignia”):
When a man has gone forth, but the red taint of desire has not gone forth from him; when he wears the earth-hued robe but has not transcended dirt; / When he carries the bowl but is not a vessel for the virtues; though he bears the insignia, he is neither a householder nor a beggar. // SN7.49 //
In today's
verse I have translated liṅgam as “the uniform,” being mindful
that today's verse touches on the “don't be impressed by the
uniform” theme that Richard Feynman often referred to, in
connection with his father, whose job was selling impressive uniforms
to unimpressive human beings.
On the surface King
Śuddhodana, in making the same point as Richard Feynman's dad, is
placing content above form.
Below the surface, in
today's verse as I read it, a king of dharma is most assuredly not
placing content above form. Neither, of course, is he placing form
above content.
On the surface, then,
bhīru-cihnam
at the end of the 4th pāda is derogatory
– a coward's signs (EBC), the mark of the faint-hearted
(EHJ). But below the surface bhīru-cihnam,
“a mark of shyness” or “a mark of timidity” or "a mark of fearfulness," might be intended
as being an ironic description of something associated with very
strong fighting spirit, expressed not only in a fighter's mental
intention (buddhi) but also in his physical energy (yatna).
On
the surface, there is no particular logic to the hi (“for”) in
the 4th
pāda, which is presumably why EBC and PO omitted to translate it:
the forest and the
badge are only a coward's signs (EBC)
forest and emblems
are the marks of a coward (PO).
Refusing to overlook the hi, in
his admirably pedantic way, EHJ translated:
for the forest and
the badges of mendicancy are the mark of the faint-hearted.
I think the hi in the
4th pāda can be seen as a nimittam (a sign, something
significant, what to look for, a target area, what counts) in the sense that if we
were so brazen as to pay no attention to matters like shaving the
head, that might not speak well of our fighting spirit. But if
in a matter like shaving the head, or wearing the robe, or begging
with a bowl, we submitted to the traditional rule, that kind of
timidity might speak well of the intention and effort of people who are afraid of wasting time, while death stands over us like an enemy with sword upraised.
The relation of reason
indicated by hi, then, might be that because of retreating shyly to
the forest and wearing the camouflage of a forest robe, a
practitioner's intention and energy are significant.
Retiring shyly to the
forest and meekly submitting to traditional forms might seem on the
surface to be symptomatic of cowardice or faint-heartedness, a lack of fighting spirit. But the
underlying logic of today's verse, as I read it, is intended totally
to subvert that view.
So I assert that shaving
the head and wearing the robe are not necessarily the marks of a
coward or of faint-heartedness. Sometimes they might be, but they might also be a mark of
fearfully submitting to the true and natural order of things, aka Mother Nature – out of
which timid submission, ironically, a fighter can derive intention
and energy to continue the fight.
Since the sun is out, even though a bit of a chilly breeze is blowing, I am going out now into the back garden to shave my head.
Since the sun is out, even though a bit of a chilly breeze is blowing, I am going out now into the back garden to shave my head.
VOCABULARY
na:
not
ca:
and
eṣa
(nom. sg. m.): this, this here
dharmaḥ
(nom. sg.): m. dharma
vane
(loc. sg.): n. forest
eva:
(emphatic)
siddhaḥ
(nom. sg. m.): mfn. accomplished , fulfilled , effected , gained ,
acquired ; perfected , become perfect , beatified , endowed with
supernatural faculties
pure
(loc. sg.): n. a fortress , castle , city , town
api:
even, also
siddhiḥ
(nom. sg.): f. accomplishment , performance , fulfilment , complete
attainment (of any object) , success ; coming into force, validity ;
establishment , substantiation , settlement , demonstration , proof ,
indisputable conclusion , result , issue
niyatā
(nom. sg. f.): mfn. held back or in , fastened , tied to (loc.);
connected with , dependent on (loc.) ; contained or joined in (loc.)
; constant , steady , quite concentrated upon or devoted to (loc.) ;
fixed , established , settled , sure , regular , invariable ,
positive , definite
yatīnām
(gen. pl.): m. an ascetic , devotee
yat:
to endeavour to reach; to exert one's self , take pains , endeavour ,
make effort , persevere ,
buddhiḥ
(nom. sg.): f. mind , intelligence, reason ; comprehension ,
apprehension , understanding ; presence of mind , ready wit ;
thought about or meditation on (loc. or comp.) , intention , purpose
, design
ca:
and
yatnaḥ
(nom. sg.): m. activity of will , volition , aspiring after ;
performance , work ; (also pl.) effort , exertion , energy , zeal ,
trouble , pains , care , endeavour
ca:
and
nimittam
(nom. sg.): n. butt, mark, target ; sign, omen ; cause , motive ,
ground , reason
atra:
ind. in this matter , in this respect
vanam
(nom. sg.): n. forest
ca:
and
liṅgam
(nom. sg.): n. a mark , spot , sign , token , badge , emblem
ca:
and
hi:
for
bhīru-cihnam
(nom. sg. n.): a mark of fearfulness
bhīru:
mfn. fearful , timid , cowardly , afraid of (abl. or comp.) ; f. a
timid woman (esp. voc. " bhīru " , " O timid one! ")
cihna:
n. a mark , spot , stamp , sign , characteristic , symptom ; a banner
, insignia
法不必山林 在家亦脩閑
覺悟勤方便 是則名出家
剃髮服染衣 自放山藪間覺悟勤方便 是則名出家
此則懷畏怖 何足名學仙
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