mahataam api bhuutaanaam
aavRttir iti cintayan
saMvegaac ca sa-raago 'pi
viita-raaga iv' aabhavat
12.8
"Even the most exalted of creatures
Are subject to return!"
So he reflected,
And from his shock,
Although he was given to redness,
He seemed to blanch.
COMMENT:
Men of wisdom through the ages have observed that change is the ultimate reality.
Startled at the dawning of this realisation, Nanda became like a rabbit on the alert, ears pricked up.
Physiologically, startle can manifest as the agitated redness of the panic reflex or as the shocked whiteness of fear paralysis (the latter being the deeper and more primitive response); or as a combination of both as the two opposing responses struggle against each other for supremacy.
It would seem from this verse that Ashvaghosha understood very clearly and explicitly these two opposing responses to a fearful stimulus, both of which are associated with a heightened sense of alertness.
EH Johnston:
He reflected that even the greatest beings return to this life and, though full of passion, he became as it were free from it in consequence of agitation of mind.
Linda Covill:
He thought about the return to earth of even the greatest beings, and though he was a passionate man, in his shocked agitation he seemed devoid of passion.
VOCABULARY:
mahataam = genitive plural of mahat: great, high, eminent
api: even
bhuutaanaam = genitive plural of bhuuta: n. that which is or exists , any living being
aavRttiH = nominative singular of aavRtti: f. turning towards , entering , turning back or from , reversion , retreat , flight ; recurrence to the same point ; turn of a way , course , direction ; revolving , going round ; worldly existence , the revolution of births
iti: thus
cintayan = imperfect of cint: to think about , reflect upon , direct the thoughts towards
saMvegaat (ablative, from saM-vij, to tremble or start with fear): because of shock/panic
ca: and
sa-raagaH = nominative singular of saraaga: having colour ; reddened ; enamoured , impassioned , passionate
api: even, although
viita-raaga: mfn. free from passions or affections , dispassionate , desireless , calm , tranquil ; colourless , bleached ; m. a sage with subdued passions (esp. applied to a Buddhist or jaina saint)
iva: like
aabhavat: he was, he became
Showing posts with label Moro reflex. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Moro reflex. Show all posts
Sunday, May 31, 2009
Sunday, April 26, 2009
SAUNDARANANDA 16.73: Watching Out for Wildlife
tath" aapy ath' aadhyaatma-nava-grahatvaan
n' aiv' opashaamyed a-shubho vitarkaH
heyaH sa tad-doSha-pariikShaNena
sa-shvaapado maarga iv' aadhvagena
16.73
Even then, stemming from
something inexperienced within the self,
A disagreeable thought might still not subside.
One should abandon the thought
by monitoring the fault therein,
As a traveller abandons a path
on which there is a wild beast.
COMMENT:
This verse raises the question of the inter-connection between a thought and a fault.
The point seems to be that the danger lies not so much in the disagreeable thought itself as in the deeper fault to which it is linked. A disagreeable thought may be seen as linked at the level of the reptilian brain with immature vestibular reflexes, and at the level of the mammalian brain with the three emotional poisons of greed, ill-will, and delusion.
As a general rule, it seems to me, optimistic thoughts tend to be tied up with greed; pessimistic thoughts tend to be tied up with ill-will, especially in regard to oneself; and the realistic thoughts of politicians, businessmen and the like tend to be tied up with delusion, ignorance and arrogance.
In this verse, the connection between a thought and a fault is represented by the metaphor of a path, and a wild beast of prey -- a man-eating tiger, say -- on that path.
The tiger can be seen as representing something unconscious, wild, not susceptible to suppression or inhibition from the top two inches of a human brain. For an extreme example, think of an out-of-control autistic child whose senses have been overloaded. Then remember that we are all somewhere along the autistic spectrum, which ranges from pervasive developmental disorder at the less normal end, to commonplace testosterone-induced behaviour at the more normal end.
FM Alexander spoke of the danger of being out of touch with one's reason, due to unduly excited fear reflexes and emotions. This is a condition which those with autistic tendencies are experiencing much of the time, but which even the coolest of cats is bound to encounter at least some of the time.
At such a time, disagreeable thoughts never subside but pile in one after another. Those thoughts all stem originally, I would suggest, from something which is imperfectly integrated and hence more or less out of control, deep within the self. That something seems to have to do with how one uses the head, neck and back in relation to each other, and seems also to do with the cluster of vestibular reflexes centred on the Moro reflex.
EH Johnston:
Or if nevertheless impure thoughts are not allayed owing to the inexperience of the mind, they should be eliminated by examining the faults inherent in them, as a traveller goes away from a road infested by wild beasts.
Linda Covill:
Even so, an impure thought might not subside because of the individual's inexperience; it should then be abandoned by an examination of its faults, like a traveler leaves a road beset by wild beasts.
VOCABULARY:
tath"aapi: even so, nevertheless,
atha: (connective particle) then, but
adhyaatma: own, belonging to self
nava: new , fresh , recent , young ; a young monk, novice
grahatvaat (ablative of grahatvam) = from grah: to grasp, to lay hold of
na: not
eva: (emphatic)
upashaamyet = optative of upa-√zam: to become calm or quiet ; to cease , become extinct
a-shubhaH (nom. sg. m.): impure, disagreeable, unlovely
vitarkaH (nom. sg.): m. idea, fancy, thought
heyaH (nom. sg. m.): to be left or quitted or abandoned or rejected or avoided
saH (nom. sg. m.): it, that [thought]
tad: it, its
doSha: fault, imbalance
pariikShaNena = inst. sg. pariikShaNa: trying , testing , experiment , investigation (from √pariikS: to look round , inspect carefully , try , examine , find out , observe , perceive)
sa: with, having, possessing
shvaapadaH (nom. sg.): m. a beast of prey , wild beast; a tiger
maargaH (nom. sg.): m. path, road
iva: like
adhvagena = instrumental of adhvaga: road-going , travelling; m. a traveller
n' aiv' opashaamyed a-shubho vitarkaH
heyaH sa tad-doSha-pariikShaNena
sa-shvaapado maarga iv' aadhvagena
16.73
Even then, stemming from
something inexperienced within the self,
A disagreeable thought might still not subside.
One should abandon the thought
by monitoring the fault therein,
As a traveller abandons a path
on which there is a wild beast.
COMMENT:
This verse raises the question of the inter-connection between a thought and a fault.
The point seems to be that the danger lies not so much in the disagreeable thought itself as in the deeper fault to which it is linked. A disagreeable thought may be seen as linked at the level of the reptilian brain with immature vestibular reflexes, and at the level of the mammalian brain with the three emotional poisons of greed, ill-will, and delusion.
As a general rule, it seems to me, optimistic thoughts tend to be tied up with greed; pessimistic thoughts tend to be tied up with ill-will, especially in regard to oneself; and the realistic thoughts of politicians, businessmen and the like tend to be tied up with delusion, ignorance and arrogance.
In this verse, the connection between a thought and a fault is represented by the metaphor of a path, and a wild beast of prey -- a man-eating tiger, say -- on that path.
The tiger can be seen as representing something unconscious, wild, not susceptible to suppression or inhibition from the top two inches of a human brain. For an extreme example, think of an out-of-control autistic child whose senses have been overloaded. Then remember that we are all somewhere along the autistic spectrum, which ranges from pervasive developmental disorder at the less normal end, to commonplace testosterone-induced behaviour at the more normal end.
FM Alexander spoke of the danger of being out of touch with one's reason, due to unduly excited fear reflexes and emotions. This is a condition which those with autistic tendencies are experiencing much of the time, but which even the coolest of cats is bound to encounter at least some of the time.
At such a time, disagreeable thoughts never subside but pile in one after another. Those thoughts all stem originally, I would suggest, from something which is imperfectly integrated and hence more or less out of control, deep within the self. That something seems to have to do with how one uses the head, neck and back in relation to each other, and seems also to do with the cluster of vestibular reflexes centred on the Moro reflex.
EH Johnston:
Or if nevertheless impure thoughts are not allayed owing to the inexperience of the mind, they should be eliminated by examining the faults inherent in them, as a traveller goes away from a road infested by wild beasts.
Linda Covill:
Even so, an impure thought might not subside because of the individual's inexperience; it should then be abandoned by an examination of its faults, like a traveler leaves a road beset by wild beasts.
VOCABULARY:
tath"aapi: even so, nevertheless,
atha: (connective particle) then, but
adhyaatma: own, belonging to self
nava: new , fresh , recent , young ; a young monk, novice
grahatvaat (ablative of grahatvam) = from grah: to grasp, to lay hold of
na: not
eva: (emphatic)
upashaamyet = optative of upa-√zam: to become calm or quiet ; to cease , become extinct
a-shubhaH (nom. sg. m.): impure, disagreeable, unlovely
vitarkaH (nom. sg.): m. idea, fancy, thought
heyaH (nom. sg. m.): to be left or quitted or abandoned or rejected or avoided
saH (nom. sg. m.): it, that [thought]
tad: it, its
doSha: fault, imbalance
pariikShaNena = inst. sg. pariikShaNa: trying , testing , experiment , investigation (from √pariikS: to look round , inspect carefully , try , examine , find out , observe , perceive)
sa: with, having, possessing
shvaapadaH (nom. sg.): m. a beast of prey , wild beast; a tiger
maargaH (nom. sg.): m. path, road
iva: like
adhvagena = instrumental of adhvaga: road-going , travelling; m. a traveller
Saturday, April 4, 2009
SAUNDARANANDA 16.51: Skilfull Ways to Start a Blaze
aardraac ca kaaShThaaj jvalan-abhikaamo
n' aiva prayatnaad api vanhim Rcchet
kaaShThaac ca shuShkaad api paatanena
n' aaiv' aagnim aapnoty an-upaaya-puurvaM
16.51
Again, one who wants fire from damp wood,
Try as he might, might not get fire.
And even if he lays down dry wood,
He won't get fire from that, with bad bushcraft.
COMMENT:
In this metaphor, the aim is to get fire. The end to be gained is fire. In order to gain the end, both the condition of the wood and the method of setting fire to it have to be right.
Why does wood burn less easily when it is damp? A chemist would say that the dampness of the wood raises "the activation energy barriers" which temporarily prevent the wood from dissipating its energy, via combustion or other means. This excellent series of web-pages will help you to understand, if you want to, that burning of wood is a process whereby energy is released as bonds are spontaneously formed between carbon in wood and oxygen in the air. The second law of thermodynamics, or "Time's Arrow," says that the energy that is relatively highly concentrated in the carbon atoms in wood has an inherent tendency to dissipate, by joining up with oxygen atoms through combustion or decay, and then floating away in the form of carbon dioxide. But the damper wood is, the greater are the barriers to the initation of the spontaneous process of a fire burning.
The aim of practice may be seen, like a bonfire, as a spontaneous process in which energy is released. Energies such as greed and anger, like the energy locked up in wood, are bound to dissipate in time. But again, Time's Arrow can be held in check, temporarily, by the taut bow of chemical kinetics. So when a baby is throwing a temper tantrum, for example, the energy of the baby's anger is bound to dissipate sooner or later; it is only a matter of time before a crying baby quietens down. But anger lasts longer in some babies than in others. In some adults too, the barriers which prevent the energy of anger from dissipating are higher than in other adults. In my experience of self and others, adults with blocked anger have in many cases developed compensatory mechanisms for dealing with an aberrant Moro reflex. Criticize it if you will, complain about it if you like, mock it if you must, but sometimes a person's suffering from blocked anger is a fact like firewood having become damp.
So what Ashvaghosha might be telling us with the metaphor of damp wood, as I understand him, is not to be surprised or downhearted by difficult periods of practice, during which body and mind do not spontaneously drop off, and the original face does not appear. Even though theoretically body and mind should tend to drop off, just as wood is supposed to burn, in fact activation energy barriers can get in the way. Sometimes activiation energy barriers are a fact, like having three heads and eight arms.
When one finds oneself in a difficult phase, out of the groove, unable to get going, when it just is not happening, then what else can one do but pass through it? When we are powerlessness to turn the wheel of the Lotus-Universe, what else can we do but leave the wheel to turn itself? Tomorrow will be another day, bringing another opportunity to sit, and another target to aim for -- which might be another verse of Saundarananda.
With regard to method, I borrowed the word "bushcraft" from Ray Mears, whose TV demonstrations of fire-lighting I have enjoyed over the years. Having spent many years very modestly studying the art of lighting fires under native peoples on several continents, Ray is a paragon of the kind of open-minded humility that goes with true confidence. You sense that he could get a fire going from the most unpromising of raw materials, like a very experienced Alexander teacher working with a deeply fixed person. Especially without the aid of modern technology, lighting a fire is a task that requires both the right approach and also a lot of persistence -- which may be why it is a recurrent metaphor in the golden speech of Buddha and in the golden writings of Ashvaghosha.
VOCABULARY:
aardraat = ablative of aardra: wet, damp
ca: and
kaaShThaat = ablative of kaaShta: piece of wood or timber
jvalan = in comp. for jvalat: blazing fire, flame
abhikaamaH (nom. sg. m.): one who is desirous
na: not
eva: (emphatic)
prayatnaad = ablative of prayatna: persevering effort , continued exertion or endeavour; great care
api: even
vanhim (accusative): the conveyer or bearer of oblations to the gods (esp. said of agni, " fire "); fire
Rccheta = 3rd person singular, present optative of √R: to go, send; reach, obtain
kaaShThaat = ablative of kaaShta: piece of wood or timber
ca: and
shuShkaad = ablative of shuShka: dry
api: even
paatanena = instrumental of paatana: n. the act of causing to fall, felling, lowering, humbling; the act of casting
na: not
eva; (emphatic)
agnim (accusative): fire
aapnoti = 3rd person singular of aap: to get, obtain
an: (negative prefix) wrong, bad
upaaya: that by which one reaches one's aim , a means or expedient (of any kind) , way , stratagem , craft
puurvam: (at the end of compounds) with
EH Johnston:
And a man who wants a fire will not obtain one from damp wood, however much he tries, nor because of using the wrong method will he obtain a fire even from dry wood, if he merely throws it down.
Linda Covill:
A man wanting a fire will not get one from damp wood, even if he tries; and even laying on dry wood, he won't get a fire if he uses the wrong method.
n' aiva prayatnaad api vanhim Rcchet
kaaShThaac ca shuShkaad api paatanena
n' aaiv' aagnim aapnoty an-upaaya-puurvaM
16.51
Again, one who wants fire from damp wood,
Try as he might, might not get fire.
And even if he lays down dry wood,
He won't get fire from that, with bad bushcraft.
COMMENT:
In this metaphor, the aim is to get fire. The end to be gained is fire. In order to gain the end, both the condition of the wood and the method of setting fire to it have to be right.
Why does wood burn less easily when it is damp? A chemist would say that the dampness of the wood raises "the activation energy barriers" which temporarily prevent the wood from dissipating its energy, via combustion or other means. This excellent series of web-pages will help you to understand, if you want to, that burning of wood is a process whereby energy is released as bonds are spontaneously formed between carbon in wood and oxygen in the air. The second law of thermodynamics, or "Time's Arrow," says that the energy that is relatively highly concentrated in the carbon atoms in wood has an inherent tendency to dissipate, by joining up with oxygen atoms through combustion or decay, and then floating away in the form of carbon dioxide. But the damper wood is, the greater are the barriers to the initation of the spontaneous process of a fire burning.
The aim of practice may be seen, like a bonfire, as a spontaneous process in which energy is released. Energies such as greed and anger, like the energy locked up in wood, are bound to dissipate in time. But again, Time's Arrow can be held in check, temporarily, by the taut bow of chemical kinetics. So when a baby is throwing a temper tantrum, for example, the energy of the baby's anger is bound to dissipate sooner or later; it is only a matter of time before a crying baby quietens down. But anger lasts longer in some babies than in others. In some adults too, the barriers which prevent the energy of anger from dissipating are higher than in other adults. In my experience of self and others, adults with blocked anger have in many cases developed compensatory mechanisms for dealing with an aberrant Moro reflex. Criticize it if you will, complain about it if you like, mock it if you must, but sometimes a person's suffering from blocked anger is a fact like firewood having become damp.
So what Ashvaghosha might be telling us with the metaphor of damp wood, as I understand him, is not to be surprised or downhearted by difficult periods of practice, during which body and mind do not spontaneously drop off, and the original face does not appear. Even though theoretically body and mind should tend to drop off, just as wood is supposed to burn, in fact activation energy barriers can get in the way. Sometimes activiation energy barriers are a fact, like having three heads and eight arms.
When one finds oneself in a difficult phase, out of the groove, unable to get going, when it just is not happening, then what else can one do but pass through it? When we are powerlessness to turn the wheel of the Lotus-Universe, what else can we do but leave the wheel to turn itself? Tomorrow will be another day, bringing another opportunity to sit, and another target to aim for -- which might be another verse of Saundarananda.
With regard to method, I borrowed the word "bushcraft" from Ray Mears, whose TV demonstrations of fire-lighting I have enjoyed over the years. Having spent many years very modestly studying the art of lighting fires under native peoples on several continents, Ray is a paragon of the kind of open-minded humility that goes with true confidence. You sense that he could get a fire going from the most unpromising of raw materials, like a very experienced Alexander teacher working with a deeply fixed person. Especially without the aid of modern technology, lighting a fire is a task that requires both the right approach and also a lot of persistence -- which may be why it is a recurrent metaphor in the golden speech of Buddha and in the golden writings of Ashvaghosha.
VOCABULARY:
aardraat = ablative of aardra: wet, damp
ca: and
kaaShThaat = ablative of kaaShta: piece of wood or timber
jvalan = in comp. for jvalat: blazing fire, flame
abhikaamaH (nom. sg. m.): one who is desirous
na: not
eva: (emphatic)
prayatnaad = ablative of prayatna: persevering effort , continued exertion or endeavour; great care
api: even
vanhim (accusative): the conveyer or bearer of oblations to the gods (esp. said of agni, " fire "); fire
Rccheta = 3rd person singular, present optative of √R: to go, send; reach, obtain
kaaShThaat = ablative of kaaShta: piece of wood or timber
ca: and
shuShkaad = ablative of shuShka: dry
api: even
paatanena = instrumental of paatana: n. the act of causing to fall, felling, lowering, humbling; the act of casting
na: not
eva; (emphatic)
agnim (accusative): fire
aapnoti = 3rd person singular of aap: to get, obtain
an: (negative prefix) wrong, bad
upaaya: that by which one reaches one's aim , a means or expedient (of any kind) , way , stratagem , craft
puurvam: (at the end of compounds) with
EH Johnston:
And a man who wants a fire will not obtain one from damp wood, however much he tries, nor because of using the wrong method will he obtain a fire even from dry wood, if he merely throws it down.
Linda Covill:
A man wanting a fire will not get one from damp wood, even if he tries; and even laying on dry wood, he won't get a fire if he uses the wrong method.
Saturday, March 28, 2009
SAUNDARANANDA 16.44: Accurate Insight As a Passion-Killer
yad" aiva yaH pashyati naama-ruupaM
kShay' iiti tad darshanam asya samyak
samyak ca nirvedam upaiti pashyan
nandii-kShayaac ca kShayam eti raagaH
16.44
When a man sees a separate bodily form
As decrepit, that insight of his is accurate;
In seeing accurately he is disenchanted
And his optimism ends,
as a result of which redness fades away.
COMMENT:
The last word of the first line, ruupam, carries a connotation of beauty of form or loveliness of figure. I think that Ashvaghosha may have in mind the kind of beauty and loveliness that young women's make-up and mannerisms are designed to accentuate, and that young men's brains are biologically programmed to be enchanted by.
Maybe the biological programming is stronger still that causes a baby to be enchanted by his mother, and the first great disenchantment that we all experience -- though some more devastatingly than others -- is the impermanence of our original relationship with our mother. Eihei Dogen and Kodo Sawaki are two Zen masters who experienced this disenchantment particularly acutely, history records, as young orphans.
In the last year or two before I left Japan at the end of 1994, several times I visited a dojo in Ohito, in the Izu peninsular, where some personal effects of Master Kodo Sawaki were stored. The dojo belonged to a Zen Master by the name of Tsunemasa Abe, whose father was a great friend of Master Kodo. Among Master Kodo's personal effects I found a book of cartoons that began with a depiction of a gorgeous young Japanese woman dressed in traditional finery; the cartoons progressed to showing her in old age, death, and beyond death -- rotting skin falling from her old bones. How much attention Master Kodo paid to these pictures, and whether he found it useful to look at them, I don't know. I only know that the book was still there, 30 years after the Master's death, among his personal effects.
What is also known is that Master Kodo expressed his frank disenchantment in his old age in many ways, for example, by his description of the ways of Japanese society as "gurupo boke," group idiocy; and by his calling himself Masu-O, the King of Masturbation.
When the old man called himself Masu-O, was he expressing the continuation of something that should not exist? Or was he expressing the fact that something that should not exist had completely faded away?
As the bastard grandson of Kodo, I do not have any more grounds for optimism than he did.
At the core of my being is an aberrant Moro reflex that made me burn in the past, is making me burn in the present, and will make me burn in the future. Being like this is nothing to celebrate. It is no matter for joy, delight, or happiness. There are no grounds for optimism.
VOCABULARY:
yadaa: when
eva: [emphatic]
yaH: [he] who
pashyati = 3rd person singular of dRSh: to see
naaman: a characteristic mark or sign; name
ruupa: n. any outward appearance; handsome form , loveliness
naama-ruupam (acc. sg. n.): "name and form" = an individual being;
a distinguishable form, a separate bodily form
kShayi = acc. sg. m. kShayin: mfn. wasting , decaying , waning ; perishable
iti: thus, that, as
tad: that, in that [regard]
darshanam (nom. sg.): n. seeing , observing , looking , noticing , observation , perception; n. apprehension , judgement; discernment , understanding; n. view
asya (gen. sg.): of him
samyak: true, correct, accurate
samyak: truly, correctly, accurately
ca: and
nir: being without
veda: knowledge , true or sacred knowledge or lore , knowledge of ritual; name of certain celebrated works which constitute the basis of the first period of the Hindu religion; feeling , perception; property , goods
nirvedam = acc. sg. nirveda: not having the vedas , infidel , unscriptural; complete indifference, disregard of worldly objects
upaiti = 3rd person singular upa-√i: to go or come or step near , approach , arrive at , meet with; enter into any state , fall into
pashyan: nom. sg. m. pashyat: seeing , beholding , rightly understanding
nandii = f. of nanda: joy, delight, happiness ,
kShayaat = abl. sg. kShaya: m. ending
ca: and
kShayam (acc. sg.): m. ending; loss , waste , wane , diminution , destruction , decay , wasting or wearing away
eti = 3rd person singular aa-√i: to reach, attain, enter
raagaH (nom. sg.): m. colour , hue , tint , dye , (esp.) red colour , redness; any feeling or passion , (esp.) love , affection or sympathy for , vehement desire of , interest or joy or delight in
EH Johnston:
For when anyone sees that corporeality is impermanent, his views are correct, and seeing correctly he attains complete detachment and by the abolition of complaisance (in the things of this world) his passion is abolished.
Linda Covill:
When someone sees that pyscho-physical existence is imbued with decay, his insight is correct; with this correct vision he becomes disinterested in wordly objects and from the ending of pleasure in worldly objects his passion comes to an end.
kShay' iiti tad darshanam asya samyak
samyak ca nirvedam upaiti pashyan
nandii-kShayaac ca kShayam eti raagaH
16.44
When a man sees a separate bodily form
As decrepit, that insight of his is accurate;
In seeing accurately he is disenchanted
And his optimism ends,
as a result of which redness fades away.
COMMENT:
The last word of the first line, ruupam, carries a connotation of beauty of form or loveliness of figure. I think that Ashvaghosha may have in mind the kind of beauty and loveliness that young women's make-up and mannerisms are designed to accentuate, and that young men's brains are biologically programmed to be enchanted by.
Maybe the biological programming is stronger still that causes a baby to be enchanted by his mother, and the first great disenchantment that we all experience -- though some more devastatingly than others -- is the impermanence of our original relationship with our mother. Eihei Dogen and Kodo Sawaki are two Zen masters who experienced this disenchantment particularly acutely, history records, as young orphans.
In the last year or two before I left Japan at the end of 1994, several times I visited a dojo in Ohito, in the Izu peninsular, where some personal effects of Master Kodo Sawaki were stored. The dojo belonged to a Zen Master by the name of Tsunemasa Abe, whose father was a great friend of Master Kodo. Among Master Kodo's personal effects I found a book of cartoons that began with a depiction of a gorgeous young Japanese woman dressed in traditional finery; the cartoons progressed to showing her in old age, death, and beyond death -- rotting skin falling from her old bones. How much attention Master Kodo paid to these pictures, and whether he found it useful to look at them, I don't know. I only know that the book was still there, 30 years after the Master's death, among his personal effects.
What is also known is that Master Kodo expressed his frank disenchantment in his old age in many ways, for example, by his description of the ways of Japanese society as "gurupo boke," group idiocy; and by his calling himself Masu-O, the King of Masturbation.
When the old man called himself Masu-O, was he expressing the continuation of something that should not exist? Or was he expressing the fact that something that should not exist had completely faded away?
As the bastard grandson of Kodo, I do not have any more grounds for optimism than he did.
At the core of my being is an aberrant Moro reflex that made me burn in the past, is making me burn in the present, and will make me burn in the future. Being like this is nothing to celebrate. It is no matter for joy, delight, or happiness. There are no grounds for optimism.
VOCABULARY:
yadaa: when
eva: [emphatic]
yaH: [he] who
pashyati = 3rd person singular of dRSh: to see
naaman: a characteristic mark or sign; name
ruupa: n. any outward appearance; handsome form , loveliness
naama-ruupam (acc. sg. n.): "name and form" = an individual being;
a distinguishable form, a separate bodily form
kShayi = acc. sg. m. kShayin: mfn. wasting , decaying , waning ; perishable
iti: thus, that, as
tad: that, in that [regard]
darshanam (nom. sg.): n. seeing , observing , looking , noticing , observation , perception; n. apprehension , judgement; discernment , understanding; n. view
asya (gen. sg.): of him
samyak: true, correct, accurate
samyak: truly, correctly, accurately
ca: and
nir: being without
veda: knowledge , true or sacred knowledge or lore , knowledge of ritual; name of certain celebrated works which constitute the basis of the first period of the Hindu religion; feeling , perception; property , goods
nirvedam = acc. sg. nirveda: not having the vedas , infidel , unscriptural; complete indifference, disregard of worldly objects
upaiti = 3rd person singular upa-√i: to go or come or step near , approach , arrive at , meet with; enter into any state , fall into
pashyan: nom. sg. m. pashyat: seeing , beholding , rightly understanding
nandii = f. of nanda: joy, delight, happiness ,
kShayaat = abl. sg. kShaya: m. ending
ca: and
kShayam (acc. sg.): m. ending; loss , waste , wane , diminution , destruction , decay , wasting or wearing away
eti = 3rd person singular aa-√i: to reach, attain, enter
raagaH (nom. sg.): m. colour , hue , tint , dye , (esp.) red colour , redness; any feeling or passion , (esp.) love , affection or sympathy for , vehement desire of , interest or joy or delight in
EH Johnston:
For when anyone sees that corporeality is impermanent, his views are correct, and seeing correctly he attains complete detachment and by the abolition of complaisance (in the things of this world) his passion is abolished.
Linda Covill:
When someone sees that pyscho-physical existence is imbued with decay, his insight is correct; with this correct vision he becomes disinterested in wordly objects and from the ending of pleasure in worldly objects his passion comes to an end.
Friday, March 6, 2009
SAUNDARANANDA 16.22: How the Three Poisons Develop
roSh'aadhike janmani tiivra-roSha
utpadyate raagiNi tiivra-raagaH
moh'-aadhike moha-bal'-aadhikash ca
tad-alpa-doShe ca tad-alpa-doShaH
16.22
In a life dominated by anger arises violent anger,
In the lover of passion arises burning passion,
And in the predominantly ignorant,
overwhelming ignorance.
In one who has a lesser fault, again,
the lesser fault develops.
COMMENT:
Anger/hatred, greed/lust and ignorance/delusion are the three root faults, sometimes called the three poisons. Lesser faults include being proud, jealous and opinionated.
The Buddha here is reminding Nanda that these basic afflictions, or fundamental faults, are the cause of suffering.
My efforts to get to the bottom of faults, and to understand what is truly basic and fundamental, always seem to lead me back to the vestibular reflexes, and in particular to the antagonism between fear paralysis and the infantile panic/grasp reflex.
For the how and the where of direction of human energy, whether unconsciously or consciously, the vestibular system is fundamental.
VOCABULARY:
roSha: anger , rage , wrath , passion , fury
adhike = locative of adhika: additional, extra-, super- ; surpassing (in number or quantity or quality); n. surplus , abundance , redundancy , hyperbole ; n. more.
janmani = locative janman: birth, existence, life; rebirth
tiivra: strong , severe , violent , intense , hot , pervading , excessive , ardent , sharp , acute , pungent , horrible
roShaH (nom. sg.): m. anger
utpadyate = 3rd person passive singular of utpad: to arise , rise , originate , be born or produced ; to come forth , become visible , appear; to cause to issue or come forth
raagiNi = locative of raagin: having a colour; of a red colour; red; impassioned , affectionate , enamoured; a lover, libertine; a wanton and intriguing woman
tiivra: strong, violent, intense, hot
raagaH = nominative, singular of raaga: colour, red colour; any feeling or passion , (esp.) love
moha: loss of consciousness , bewilderment , perplexity , distraction , infatuation , delusion , error , folly; (in phil.) darkness or delusion of mind (preventing the discernment of truth and leading men to believe in the reality of worldly objects) ; (with Buddhists) ignorance (one of the three roots of vice)
adhike = locative of adhika: surpassing, super, predominant
moha: ignorance, delusion, folly
bala: power, strength
adhikaH = nominative singular of adhika: surpassing, predominating
ca: and
tat: that, those [faults]
alpa: small, less than
doShe = locative of doSha: fault
ca: and
tat: that, those [faults]
alpa: small, less than
doShaH = nominative, singular of doSha: fault
EH Johnston:
In the (new) birth of one addicted to malevolence extreme malevolence is developed, of one possessed by passion excessive passion, of one in whom delusion predominates excessive store of delusion, and of one whose vices are less than this a lesser vice only.
Linda Covill:
Violent hatred arises in the future birth of someone given to hate, violent lust in someone who was lustful, a very powerful delusion in someone given to delusion, and a lesser fault in someone whose fault was less than these.
utpadyate raagiNi tiivra-raagaH
moh'-aadhike moha-bal'-aadhikash ca
tad-alpa-doShe ca tad-alpa-doShaH
16.22
In a life dominated by anger arises violent anger,
In the lover of passion arises burning passion,
And in the predominantly ignorant,
overwhelming ignorance.
In one who has a lesser fault, again,
the lesser fault develops.
COMMENT:
Anger/hatred, greed/lust and ignorance/delusion are the three root faults, sometimes called the three poisons. Lesser faults include being proud, jealous and opinionated.
The Buddha here is reminding Nanda that these basic afflictions, or fundamental faults, are the cause of suffering.
My efforts to get to the bottom of faults, and to understand what is truly basic and fundamental, always seem to lead me back to the vestibular reflexes, and in particular to the antagonism between fear paralysis and the infantile panic/grasp reflex.
For the how and the where of direction of human energy, whether unconsciously or consciously, the vestibular system is fundamental.
VOCABULARY:
roSha: anger , rage , wrath , passion , fury
adhike = locative of adhika: additional, extra-, super- ; surpassing (in number or quantity or quality); n. surplus , abundance , redundancy , hyperbole ; n. more.
janmani = locative janman: birth, existence, life; rebirth
tiivra: strong , severe , violent , intense , hot , pervading , excessive , ardent , sharp , acute , pungent , horrible
roShaH (nom. sg.): m. anger
utpadyate = 3rd person passive singular of utpad: to arise , rise , originate , be born or produced ; to come forth , become visible , appear; to cause to issue or come forth
raagiNi = locative of raagin: having a colour; of a red colour; red; impassioned , affectionate , enamoured; a lover, libertine; a wanton and intriguing woman
tiivra: strong, violent, intense, hot
raagaH = nominative, singular of raaga: colour, red colour; any feeling or passion , (esp.) love
moha: loss of consciousness , bewilderment , perplexity , distraction , infatuation , delusion , error , folly; (in phil.) darkness or delusion of mind (preventing the discernment of truth and leading men to believe in the reality of worldly objects) ; (with Buddhists) ignorance (one of the three roots of vice)
adhike = locative of adhika: surpassing, super, predominant
moha: ignorance, delusion, folly
bala: power, strength
adhikaH = nominative singular of adhika: surpassing, predominating
ca: and
tat: that, those [faults]
alpa: small, less than
doShe = locative of doSha: fault
ca: and
tat: that, those [faults]
alpa: small, less than
doShaH = nominative, singular of doSha: fault
EH Johnston:
In the (new) birth of one addicted to malevolence extreme malevolence is developed, of one possessed by passion excessive passion, of one in whom delusion predominates excessive store of delusion, and of one whose vices are less than this a lesser vice only.
Linda Covill:
Violent hatred arises in the future birth of someone given to hate, violent lust in someone who was lustful, a very powerful delusion in someone given to delusion, and a lesser fault in someone whose fault was less than these.
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