−−⏑−¦−⏑⏑¦−⏑−−¦¦−−⏑−¦−⏑⏑¦−⏑−− Upajāti
(Indravajrā)
kṣyādibhir-dharmabhir-anvitānāṁ
kāmātmakānāṁ ca niśamya duḥkham |
−−⏑−¦−⏑⏑¦−⏑−−¦¦−−⏑−¦−⏑⏑¦−⏑−−
svāsthyaṁ
ca kāmeṣv-akutūhalānāṁ kāmān vihātuṁ kṣamam-ātmavadbhiḥ
|| 11.20
11.20
After they have seen
the suffering of desire-driven men
Who are chained to
duties such as ploughing and the rest
And have seen the
well-being
of men who are not
unduly interested in desires,
It is natural for
people in possession of themselves to give desires up.
COMMENT:
EBC translated
dharmabhir-anvitānām as “devoted to worldly pursuits,” and
cross-referenced dharmabhir (worldly pursuits) to BC5.5-6:
As the ploughs tore and scattered tufts of young grass over the soil, and littered the soil with dead worms, insects, and other little creatures, / He saw that soil like that, and felt intense sorrow, as if at the killing of his own human relatives.//BC5.5// Again, seeing the men ploughing, their complexions riven by the wind, the sun's rays and the dust, / And seeing the oxen unsteady from the exhaustion of drawing, the most noble one felt extreme pity.// BC5.6//
EHJ amended to
karmabhir-arditānāṁ, and translated “afflicted as they are by
pursuits [such as agriculture, etc.]”.
Today's verse
introduces the teaching of being ātmavad,
in possession of oneself, as opposed to being kāmātmaka or
kāmātman, driven by desires.
The
main teaching point to take from today's verse, then, may be that
although the bodhisattva is ostensibly out to put the blame on desires, when we reflect exactly on what the bodhisattva is saying,
he is actually highlighting the importance of being in possession of
oneself, and therefore is implicitly putting the blame on lack of self-possession.
In
the 3rd
pāda kāmeṣv-akutūhalānām can be taken as “not unduly
interested in
desires” or “having no particular fascination for
desires;” it can also be read as “not being eager/impetuous while
among
desires.” Either way, it is a description of a practitioner who is in
possession of himself or herself, as opposed to a person who is
pulled and pushed by passing fancies (even though, in the latter
reading, the practitioner may still be subject to such passing fancies).
How do we go about thus coming into possession of ourselves?
Master Dogen's rules
for sitting-zen, as set out for example in Fukan-zazengi, can
be read as nothing other than fundamental instructions for coming
into possession of ourselves. Hence the conclusion:
HISASHIKU INMO NARU
KOTO O NASABA
If for a long time you
practice what is like this,
SUBEKARAKU INMO
NARUBESHI.
You will assuredly
become it.
HOZO ONOZUKARA HIRAKETE
The treasure house will
spontaneously open up
JU-YO NYO-I NARAN.
And accepting and using
of its contents will be up to you.
Why did Dogen have to
go and dampen our optimistic expectations by adding the word HISASHIKU “for a long
time”?
As the Buddha tells
Nanda in SN Canto 16:
ekena kalpena sacen-na
hanyāt sv-abhyasta-bhāvād-asubhān vitarkān /
“It
may not be possible, following a single method,
to
kill off unwholesome thoughts that habit has so deeply entrenched;
tato dvitīyaṃ
kramam-ārabheta na tv-eva heyo guṇavān prayogaḥ //SN16.70
In that case, one
should commit to a second course
but never give up the good work.
anādi-kālopacitātmakatvād
balīyasaḥ kleśa-gaṇasya caiva /
Because of the
instinct-led accumulation, from time without beginning,
of the powerful mass of
afflictions,
samyak prayogasya ca
duṣkaratvāc-chettuṃ na śakyāḥ sahasā hi doṣāḥ //SN16.71
And because true
practice is so difficult to do,
the faults cannot be cut off all at
once.
I think Dogen added "for a
long time" because he was pointing in the direction of a pot of gold
that lies at the end of a rainbow of growth, or development
This is a point which
has not been lost on Tibetan masters who have preserved the tradition
of bhāvana, which is
generally rendered into English as meditation, but whch literally means developing or cultivating -- nothing that can be achieved in a hurry.
Apropos of which,
speaking of the secret treasure-house yielding up its gold, here is
another quote from Matthieu Ricard's book The Art of Meditation:
Every being has the potential for englightenment just as surely, say the traditional texts, as every sesame seed contains oil. Despite this, to use another traditional comparison, we wander about in confusion like a beggar who is simultaneously both rich and poor because he does not know that he has a treasure buried under the floor of his hut.
Apopros of which,
again, what did the Buddha tell Rāhula, as recorded in the Pali Suttas?
....samaṁ bhāvanaṁ
bhāvehi
develop the developing,
in balance....
[like earth, water, fire, wind, space]
These are the means,
bhāvana, the developmental means, by which we are to extinguish what
lies behind desires. And these, equally, are the means, the
developmental means, by which we are to take possession of ourselves.
Sitting with reflective
awareness of all of the above, reflecting on what I have been
reflecting on for the past 30 years as a student of Zen Master
Dogen, and for the past 20 years as a student of FM Alexander, but
also in light of what I have been reading in recent weeks in
the Tibetan tradition as reported by Matthieu Ricard, and in the Pali
Suttas as translated by Ānandajoti Bhikkhu, I have a sense of arrows
all pointing in the same direction.
The direction is primarily up, for which reason the vestibular system, responsible for a true or faulty sense of upright balance, might be the essential pivot for going in the right direction, the direction of growth, the direction of developing.
At the same time, the direction is
primarily backwards, back towards the origin, back towards original
nature, back towards taking possession of the treasure of the self.
But taking possession
of the treasure of the self does not necessarily mean getting a grip on something.
On the contrary, the Buddha tells Rāhula:
ānāpānasatiṁ
Rāhula bhāvanaṁ bhāvehi,
Develop the developing, Rāhula, that is reflective awareness while breathing....
vimocayaṁ cittaṁ
assasissāmī ti sikkhati,
he trains like this: freeing the mind I
will breathe in,
vimocayaṁ cittaṁ passasissāmī ti sikkhati....
vimocayaṁ cittaṁ passasissāmī ti sikkhati....
he trains like this: freeing the mind
I will breathe out....
paṭinissaggānupassī
assasissāmī ti sikkhati,
he trains like this:
contemplating letting go I will breathe in,
paṭinissaggānupassī passasissāmī ti sikkhati....
paṭinissaggānupassī passasissāmī ti sikkhati....
he trains like this: contemplating
letting go I will breathe out....
evaṁ bhāvitā kho
Rāhula ānāpānasati evaṁ bahulīkatā
In this way, Rāhula,
reflective awareness while breathing out and in
when it has been developed like this and made much of
when it has been developed like this and made much of
mahapphalā hoti
mahānisaṁsā.
yields great fruit, brings great advantages.
VOCABULARY
kṛṣyādibhiḥ
(inst. pl. n.): ploughing et cetera
dharmabhiḥ = inst.
pl. dharman: n. law , rule , duty ; n. practice , custom , mode ,
manner (dhármaṇā , °mabhis ; °maṇas pári in regular order ,
naturally )
anvitānām (gen. pl.
m.): mfn. gone along with ; joined , attended , accompanied by ,
connected with , linked to ; having as an essential or inherent part
, endowed with , possessed of , possessing
karmabhiḥ
(inst. pl.): n. acts, actions, occupations
arditānām
(gen. pl. m.): mfn. injured , pained , afflicted , tormented ,
wounded
kāmātmakānām
(gen. pl. m.): men of desire
kāmātman:
mfn. " whose very essence is desire " , consisting of
desire , indulging one's desires , given to lust , sensual ,
licentious
ātmaka:
mfn. having or consisting of the nature or character of (in comp.)
ca:
and
niśamya
= abs. ni- √ śam: to observe, hear
duḥkham
(acc. sg.): n. sorrow, suffering, pain
svāsthyam
(acc. sg.): n. (fr. sva-stha) self-dependence , sound state (of body
or soul) , health , ease , comfort , contentment , satisfaction
ca:
and
kāmeṣu
(loc. pl.): m. desire, pleasure
akutūhalānām
(gen. pl. m.): mfn. not taking interest in (loc.), Bcar.
kutūhala:
n. (fr. kutas and hala , " calling out " ?) , curiosity ,
interest in any extra-ordinary matter ; eagerness, impetuosity
kāmān
(acc. pl.): m. desire, pleasure
vihātum
= inf. to leave behind , relinquish , quit , abandon ; to get rid
of or free from (acc.)
kṣamam
(acc. sg. n.): mfn. fit , appropriate , becoming , suitable , proper
for (gen. dat. , loc. inf.)
ātmavadbhiḥ
(inst. pl. m.): mfn. having a soul ; self-possessed , composed ,
prudent
種種苦求利 悉爲貪所使
若無貪欲者 勤苦則不生
慧者見苦過 滅除於貪欲
若無貪欲者 勤苦則不生
慧者見苦過 滅除於貪欲
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