praNamya ca gurau muurdhnaa
baaShpa-vyaakula-locanaH
kRtv" aaNjalim uvaac' edaM
hriyaa kiM cid avaaN-mukhaH
12.12
After bowing his head to the guru,
Eyes filled with tears,
He joined the palms of his hands and spoke as follows,
His face somewhat lowered, in shame:
COMMENT:
Shame is a negative emotion that can have great positive value.
Shame has to do with consciousness of faults, and consciousness of faults is the essence of the progress, through four realisations, that Nanda makes in the final Canto of this poem.
Lack of due attention to the means of practice (because of undue interest in expected rewards such as the love and appreciation of nymphs etc.) is a primary fault in sitting practice. Attachment to the joy that follows from the giving up of an end-gaining idea is also a fault. And the feeling of ease that follows from giving up attachment to joy is also a kind of fault.
Such is the practice that Ashvaghosha is describing: fault follows fault follows fault, beginning with end-gaining.
A face somewhat lowered is the cart; shame is the horse.
In a past life I made such a virtue of putting the cart before the horse that my ears were closed for a long time to the opposite principle; it was a partial, end-gaining view, born of ignorance.
In this verse, as I read it, the horse is before the cart.
EH Johnston:
And bowing his head to the Guru, with his eyes dimmed by tears he folded his hands and spoke as follows, looking somewhat downwards in shame :--
Linda Covill:
He bowed his head to the guru and folded his hands in reverence, and with tears filling his eyes and his face partially lowered in shame, he said:
VOCABULARY:
praNamya = absolutive of praNam: to bend or bow down before (often with muurdhnaa)
ca: and
gurau (locative): to the guru
muurdhnaa = instrumental of muurdha: the head
baaShpa: tear
vyaakula: full of
locanaH = nominative, singular of locana: " organ of sight " , the eye
kRtvaa = absolutive of kR: to do, make
aNjalim = accusative of aNjali: m. the open hands placed side by side and slightly hollowed (as if by a beggar to receive food ; hence when raised to the forehead , a mark of supplication) , reverence , salutation , benediction ; a measure of corn , sufficient to fill both hands when placed side by side
uvaaca = perfect of vac: to speak
idaM: this, the following
hriyaa = instrumental of hrii: f. shame , modesty , shyness , timidity
kiM cid: somewhat
avaaN: turned downwards , being or situated below
mukhaH (nominative, singular): face
Showing posts with label end-gaining. Show all posts
Showing posts with label end-gaining. Show all posts
Thursday, June 4, 2009
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
SAUNDARANANDA 12.4: Why Extreme Agitation Happens
a-pariikShaka-bhaavaac ca
puurvaM matvaa divaM dhruvam
tasmaat kSheShNuM parishrutya
bhRshaM saMvegam eyivaan
12.4
Being of an unquestioning nature,
He had presumed heaven to be a constant;
So hearing that it was perishable,
He became extremely agitated.
COMMENT:
Nanda was of an unquestioning nature. He was, in other words, not truly and fully conscious. He was more or less subconsciously controlled -- not like you and me who are terribly clever, with our scientific education.
In conversation over breakfast yesterday with my 18-year-old son, I asked him what Chemistry was. "The study of why things happen," was his answer.
OK then, all-knowing Chemist, why did Nanda get extremely agitated? Was it all down to too much testosterone, too little dopamine, blah, blather, blather?
If a neuro-surgeon were to come along and dissect Nanda, wishing to locate the source of the extreme agitation in his nervous system, the surgeon might open up Nandas testicles and check for over-production of testosterone, or he might cut open the spinal chord and identify the autonomic nervous system as important, or he might go deep into the brainstem and look at the nuclei of the vestibular system and other neuronal circuits that set off the fear reflexes. But even then the surgeon's knife wouldn't have gone deep enough to get to the real root of the problem, as identified in this verse; namely, a wrong presumption, linked to an unconscious end-gaining idea.
In recent times nobody, in my book, has understood this kind of problem (the causal relation between agitated or collapsed states of being and end-gaining ideas) more clearly and exactly than FM Alexander.
Then why isn't Alexander better known? How come Alexander's name is not so well known as contemporaries of his such as Einstein or Freud?
The answer might have something to do with how terribly well educated we all are. FM used to say, "A child of three can understand this work. But give me a man who's been educated, and God help me."
EH Johnston:
With his superficial nature he had previously deemed the joys of heaven to be eternal and, learning them now to be transitory, he became extremely agitated.
Linda Covill:
Because his nature was not given to careful inspection, he had previously considered heaven to be permanent. So when he heard about its perishability he was profoundly disturbed.
VOCABULARY:
a: not
pariikShaka: an examiner
bhaavaat = ablative of bhaava: being, innate property
ca: and, certainly (sometimes used expletively)
puurvam: previously
matvaa = absolutive of man: to think
divam = accusative of diva: heaven
dhruva: fixed; fixed (in astrology); certain
tasmaat: so, therefore
kSheShNu: perishable
parishrutya = absolutive of parishru: to hear , learn , understand
bhRsham: strongly , violently , vehemently , excessively , greatly
saMvegam = accusative of saMvega: violent agitation , excitement , flurry
eyivaan: got, became
puurvaM matvaa divaM dhruvam
tasmaat kSheShNuM parishrutya
bhRshaM saMvegam eyivaan
12.4
Being of an unquestioning nature,
He had presumed heaven to be a constant;
So hearing that it was perishable,
He became extremely agitated.
COMMENT:
Nanda was of an unquestioning nature. He was, in other words, not truly and fully conscious. He was more or less subconsciously controlled -- not like you and me who are terribly clever, with our scientific education.
In conversation over breakfast yesterday with my 18-year-old son, I asked him what Chemistry was. "The study of why things happen," was his answer.
OK then, all-knowing Chemist, why did Nanda get extremely agitated? Was it all down to too much testosterone, too little dopamine, blah, blather, blather?
If a neuro-surgeon were to come along and dissect Nanda, wishing to locate the source of the extreme agitation in his nervous system, the surgeon might open up Nandas testicles and check for over-production of testosterone, or he might cut open the spinal chord and identify the autonomic nervous system as important, or he might go deep into the brainstem and look at the nuclei of the vestibular system and other neuronal circuits that set off the fear reflexes. But even then the surgeon's knife wouldn't have gone deep enough to get to the real root of the problem, as identified in this verse; namely, a wrong presumption, linked to an unconscious end-gaining idea.
In recent times nobody, in my book, has understood this kind of problem (the causal relation between agitated or collapsed states of being and end-gaining ideas) more clearly and exactly than FM Alexander.
Then why isn't Alexander better known? How come Alexander's name is not so well known as contemporaries of his such as Einstein or Freud?
The answer might have something to do with how terribly well educated we all are. FM used to say, "A child of three can understand this work. But give me a man who's been educated, and God help me."
EH Johnston:
With his superficial nature he had previously deemed the joys of heaven to be eternal and, learning them now to be transitory, he became extremely agitated.
Linda Covill:
Because his nature was not given to careful inspection, he had previously considered heaven to be permanent. So when he heard about its perishability he was profoundly disturbed.
VOCABULARY:
a: not
pariikShaka: an examiner
bhaavaat = ablative of bhaava: being, innate property
ca: and, certainly (sometimes used expletively)
puurvam: previously
matvaa = absolutive of man: to think
divam = accusative of diva: heaven
dhruva: fixed; fixed (in astrology); certain
tasmaat: so, therefore
kSheShNu: perishable
parishrutya = absolutive of parishru: to hear , learn , understand
bhRsham: strongly , violently , vehemently , excessively , greatly
saMvegam = accusative of saMvega: violent agitation , excitement , flurry
eyivaan: got, became
Thursday, May 21, 2009
SAUNDARANANDA 16.98: In the End, Growth ...?
kRShTvaa gaaM paripaalya ca shrama-shatair ashnoti sasya-shriyam
yatnena pravigaahya saagara-jalaM ratna-shriyaa kriiDati
shatruuNaam avadhuuya viiryam iShubhir bhuNkte narendra-shriyaM
tad viiryaM kuru shaantaye viniyataM viirye hi sarva-rddhayaH
Saundaranande mahaa-kaavya aarya-satya-vyaakhyaano naama ShoDashaH sargaH
16.98
After ploughing and protecting the soil with great pains,
a farmer gains a bounteous crop of corn;
After striving to plumb the ocean's waters,
a diver basks in a bounty of coral and pearls;
After seeing off with arrows the endeavour of rival kings,
a king enjoys royal dominion.
So direct your energy in pursuit of peace,
for in directed energy lies all growth."
End of the 16th Canto of the epic poem Handsome Nanda, titled "Exposition of the Noble Truths."
COMMENT:
And so we come to an end, and as we do so we might question what that means.
After directing his energies in the dedicated manner that farmers around the world all still tend to do, to this day (I am thinking of my inspirationally hardworking neighbour in France), the farmer gains the end he has laboured to gain -- producing lots of food.
The pearl diver, likewise, gains an end that is not at all abstract. By his own independent efforts, he makes tbe ocean's riches into his own possession.
The king in the 3rd line enjoys royal dominion -- supreme authority, absolute ownership.
So, on first reading, the Buddha seems to be finishing this long monologue (which began back in 12.19), by pointing to the gaining of a definite end, which might be absolute ownership of the four noble truths. In coming to the translation of the final word of the Canto, Rddhi, therefore, my first thought was to translate it as success or accomplshment -- "In endeavour lies all success/accomplishment."
But if we dig deeper into the verse, one thing to notice might be a certain irony around the notion of endeavour. Hitherto the Buddha has heaped nothing but praise on the supreme and invincible virtue of viirya, manly endeavour. But the viirya in the 3rd line is the manly endeavour of rival kings which is defeated, by arrows. The point I take from this apparent irony of viirya being defeated is that endeavour as an abstract concept, or a concept connected to a puffed up, macho, sense of unreal self-confidence, is always liable to be trumped by the real direction of real energy, as manifested, for example, in flying arrows.
So when the Buddha speaks again in the 4th line of viirya, along with shaanti, peace, and Rddhi, success, the irony contained in the 3rd line might be a kind of clue not to react too quickly to those words, not to trust the intellect as it rapidly latches on and tries to convince that it knows. As FM Alexander used to say: "Be careful of the printed matter: you may not read it as it is written down."
Yes, the final word of the Canto, Rddhi, in the context of the previous three lines, seems to point to the gaining of a definite end, i.e. making the four noble truths into one's own possession, gaining full dominion over them. But the first meaning of Rddhi is growth. It is from the verb, Rdh, to grow. So, yes, Rddhi means success or accomplishment, the gaining of an end, but it can also be understood as pointing to growth as an ongoing process. Whether the ambiguity was deliberate, I do not know. But I suspect it was, and I have translated Rddhi accordingly as growth.
Because, in the end, what end have we got to look forward to? The long term outlook for us all, unless we meet a sudden and premature end, is sickness or old age, followed by death -- at which point corn, pearls, or royal power are absolutely no bloody good to us whatsoever. We know, if we open our eyes and look, that those who try to hold on to their corn or their pearls or their little kingdom, in that very effort to hold on, stop growing. That is the usual case. When people grow old, they stop growing. In contrast to that I have been priviliged to have worked with some elderly Alexander teachers who were without question still growing in the truth and toward the truth. Above all, I was privileged to visit my Alexander head of training Ray Evans shortly before he died. Even at death's door, Ray was evidently still working on himself as he had endeavored to teach me to work on myself, by directing my head to go forward and up out of a lengthening and widening back -- and not being too serious about it. As Ray drifted out of the here and now of directed consciousness, and back again, he reported, "I come and go. But that's OK."
From the privilege of meeting Ray in this state, I learned something that has informed my understanding of Alexander work and also, I hope, of this verse.
FM Alexander said, "The experience you want is in the process of getting it. If you have something, give it up."
Again, FM said, "Don't you see that if you get perfection today, you will be further away from perfection than you have ever been."
So in the end, to what end is the fourth line directing our attention? Success, or growth? In the end, I think what the fourth line is mainly directing our attention to is neither success nor growth. What the fourth line is directing our attention to, primarily, is the direction of our attention.
EH Johnston:
By ploughing the soil and by guarding (his field) with infinite pains man obtains a splendid crop ; by diving strenuously into the ocean he rejoices in splendid jewels; by overwhelming the might of his enemies with arrows he enjoys the splendour of sovereignty. Therefore show energy for the sake of tranquillity ; for of a certainty all prosperity lies in energy.
Linda Covill:
When a man has plowed the soil and protected it with infinite pains he earns a bounteous crop of corn; after labouring to plumb the ocean's waters he glories in his wealth of jewels; and when his arrows have driven off an enemy force, he enjoys royal sovereignty. So strive for peace, for all progress surely lies in endeavor."
VOCABULARY:
kRShTvaa = absolutive of kRSh: to draw or make furrows , plough
gaaM (accusative): earth, soil, ground
paripaalya = absolutive of paripaal: to , guard , protect , defend
ca: and
shrama: exertion, pains
shataiH = instrumental plural of shata: a hundred ; any very large number
ashnoti = 3rd person singular of ash: to reach , come to , reach , come to , arrive at , get , gain , obtain
sasya: corn , grain , fruit , a crop of corn
shriyam = acc. sg. shrii: f. light , lustre , radiance , splendour , glory , beauty , grace , loveliness; prosperity , welfare , good fortune , success , auspiciousness , wealth , treasure , riches ; bounty
yatnena = instrumental of yatna: effort , exertion , energy , zeal , trouble , pains
pravigaahya = abs. pra-vi-√gaah: to dive into , enter (acc.)
saagara: the ocean
jalam (acc.): water
ratna: a jewel , gem , treasure , precious stone (the nine jewels are pearl , ruby , topaz , diamond , emerald , lapis lazuli , coral , sapphire , gomeda)
shriyaa = instrumental of shrii: f. splendour; wealth , treasure , riches ; bounty
kriiDati = 3rd person singular of kriiD: to play , sport , amuse one's self , frolic , gambol , dally (used of men , animals , the wind and waves , &c); to jest , joke with (instr.)
shatruuNaam = gen. pl. shatru: m. " overthrower " , an enemy , foe , rival , a hostile king (esp. a neighbouring king as a natural enemy)
avadhuuya = abs. ava-√dhuu: to shake off or out or down; to shake off (as enemies or evil spirits or anything disagreeable) , frighten away
viiryam (acc. sg.): n. manly vigour, valour, strength, power,
iShubhiH = inst. pl. iShu: an arrow
bhuNkte = 3rd person singular of bhuj: to enjoy
narendra: m. " man-lord " , king , prince
shriyaM (acc. sg.): f. splendour; wealth , treasure , riches ; high rank , power , might , majesty , royal dignity
tad: so
viiryam (acc. sg.): n. manly endeavour, energy
kuru = imperative of kR: to do, make
shaantaye = dative of shaanti: f. tranquillity , peace , quiet , peace or calmness of mind , absence of passion
viniyata: mfn. restrained , checked , regulated
viniyatam: ind. certainly, surely
viirye = locative of viirya: energy, endeavour
hi: for
sarva: all
RddhayaH = nominative, plural of Rddhi: f. increase , growth , prosperity, success , good fortune , wealth , abundance ; accomplishment
yatnena pravigaahya saagara-jalaM ratna-shriyaa kriiDati
shatruuNaam avadhuuya viiryam iShubhir bhuNkte narendra-shriyaM
tad viiryaM kuru shaantaye viniyataM viirye hi sarva-rddhayaH
Saundaranande mahaa-kaavya aarya-satya-vyaakhyaano naama ShoDashaH sargaH
16.98
After ploughing and protecting the soil with great pains,
a farmer gains a bounteous crop of corn;
After striving to plumb the ocean's waters,
a diver basks in a bounty of coral and pearls;
After seeing off with arrows the endeavour of rival kings,
a king enjoys royal dominion.
So direct your energy in pursuit of peace,
for in directed energy lies all growth."
End of the 16th Canto of the epic poem Handsome Nanda, titled "Exposition of the Noble Truths."
COMMENT:
And so we come to an end, and as we do so we might question what that means.
After directing his energies in the dedicated manner that farmers around the world all still tend to do, to this day (I am thinking of my inspirationally hardworking neighbour in France), the farmer gains the end he has laboured to gain -- producing lots of food.
The pearl diver, likewise, gains an end that is not at all abstract. By his own independent efforts, he makes tbe ocean's riches into his own possession.
The king in the 3rd line enjoys royal dominion -- supreme authority, absolute ownership.
So, on first reading, the Buddha seems to be finishing this long monologue (which began back in 12.19), by pointing to the gaining of a definite end, which might be absolute ownership of the four noble truths. In coming to the translation of the final word of the Canto, Rddhi, therefore, my first thought was to translate it as success or accomplshment -- "In endeavour lies all success/accomplishment."
But if we dig deeper into the verse, one thing to notice might be a certain irony around the notion of endeavour. Hitherto the Buddha has heaped nothing but praise on the supreme and invincible virtue of viirya, manly endeavour. But the viirya in the 3rd line is the manly endeavour of rival kings which is defeated, by arrows. The point I take from this apparent irony of viirya being defeated is that endeavour as an abstract concept, or a concept connected to a puffed up, macho, sense of unreal self-confidence, is always liable to be trumped by the real direction of real energy, as manifested, for example, in flying arrows.
So when the Buddha speaks again in the 4th line of viirya, along with shaanti, peace, and Rddhi, success, the irony contained in the 3rd line might be a kind of clue not to react too quickly to those words, not to trust the intellect as it rapidly latches on and tries to convince that it knows. As FM Alexander used to say: "Be careful of the printed matter: you may not read it as it is written down."
Yes, the final word of the Canto, Rddhi, in the context of the previous three lines, seems to point to the gaining of a definite end, i.e. making the four noble truths into one's own possession, gaining full dominion over them. But the first meaning of Rddhi is growth. It is from the verb, Rdh, to grow. So, yes, Rddhi means success or accomplishment, the gaining of an end, but it can also be understood as pointing to growth as an ongoing process. Whether the ambiguity was deliberate, I do not know. But I suspect it was, and I have translated Rddhi accordingly as growth.
Because, in the end, what end have we got to look forward to? The long term outlook for us all, unless we meet a sudden and premature end, is sickness or old age, followed by death -- at which point corn, pearls, or royal power are absolutely no bloody good to us whatsoever. We know, if we open our eyes and look, that those who try to hold on to their corn or their pearls or their little kingdom, in that very effort to hold on, stop growing. That is the usual case. When people grow old, they stop growing. In contrast to that I have been priviliged to have worked with some elderly Alexander teachers who were without question still growing in the truth and toward the truth. Above all, I was privileged to visit my Alexander head of training Ray Evans shortly before he died. Even at death's door, Ray was evidently still working on himself as he had endeavored to teach me to work on myself, by directing my head to go forward and up out of a lengthening and widening back -- and not being too serious about it. As Ray drifted out of the here and now of directed consciousness, and back again, he reported, "I come and go. But that's OK."
From the privilege of meeting Ray in this state, I learned something that has informed my understanding of Alexander work and also, I hope, of this verse.
FM Alexander said, "The experience you want is in the process of getting it. If you have something, give it up."
Again, FM said, "Don't you see that if you get perfection today, you will be further away from perfection than you have ever been."
So in the end, to what end is the fourth line directing our attention? Success, or growth? In the end, I think what the fourth line is mainly directing our attention to is neither success nor growth. What the fourth line is directing our attention to, primarily, is the direction of our attention.
EH Johnston:
By ploughing the soil and by guarding (his field) with infinite pains man obtains a splendid crop ; by diving strenuously into the ocean he rejoices in splendid jewels; by overwhelming the might of his enemies with arrows he enjoys the splendour of sovereignty. Therefore show energy for the sake of tranquillity ; for of a certainty all prosperity lies in energy.
Linda Covill:
When a man has plowed the soil and protected it with infinite pains he earns a bounteous crop of corn; after labouring to plumb the ocean's waters he glories in his wealth of jewels; and when his arrows have driven off an enemy force, he enjoys royal sovereignty. So strive for peace, for all progress surely lies in endeavor."
VOCABULARY:
kRShTvaa = absolutive of kRSh: to draw or make furrows , plough
gaaM (accusative): earth, soil, ground
paripaalya = absolutive of paripaal: to , guard , protect , defend
ca: and
shrama: exertion, pains
shataiH = instrumental plural of shata: a hundred ; any very large number
ashnoti = 3rd person singular of ash: to reach , come to , reach , come to , arrive at , get , gain , obtain
sasya: corn , grain , fruit , a crop of corn
shriyam = acc. sg. shrii: f. light , lustre , radiance , splendour , glory , beauty , grace , loveliness; prosperity , welfare , good fortune , success , auspiciousness , wealth , treasure , riches ; bounty
yatnena = instrumental of yatna: effort , exertion , energy , zeal , trouble , pains
pravigaahya = abs. pra-vi-√gaah: to dive into , enter (acc.)
saagara: the ocean
jalam (acc.): water
ratna: a jewel , gem , treasure , precious stone (the nine jewels are pearl , ruby , topaz , diamond , emerald , lapis lazuli , coral , sapphire , gomeda)
shriyaa = instrumental of shrii: f. splendour; wealth , treasure , riches ; bounty
kriiDati = 3rd person singular of kriiD: to play , sport , amuse one's self , frolic , gambol , dally (used of men , animals , the wind and waves , &c); to jest , joke with (instr.)
shatruuNaam = gen. pl. shatru: m. " overthrower " , an enemy , foe , rival , a hostile king (esp. a neighbouring king as a natural enemy)
avadhuuya = abs. ava-√dhuu: to shake off or out or down; to shake off (as enemies or evil spirits or anything disagreeable) , frighten away
viiryam (acc. sg.): n. manly vigour, valour, strength, power,
iShubhiH = inst. pl. iShu: an arrow
bhuNkte = 3rd person singular of bhuj: to enjoy
narendra: m. " man-lord " , king , prince
shriyaM (acc. sg.): f. splendour; wealth , treasure , riches ; high rank , power , might , majesty , royal dignity
tad: so
viiryam (acc. sg.): n. manly endeavour, energy
kuru = imperative of kR: to do, make
shaantaye = dative of shaanti: f. tranquillity , peace , quiet , peace or calmness of mind , absence of passion
viniyata: mfn. restrained , checked , regulated
viniyatam: ind. certainly, surely
viirye = locative of viirya: energy, endeavour
hi: for
sarva: all
RddhayaH = nominative, plural of Rddhi: f. increase , growth , prosperity, success , good fortune , wealth , abundance ; accomplishment
Friday, May 15, 2009
SAUNDARANANDA 16.92: Working to Principle
yaM vikramaM yoga-vidhaav akurvaMs
tam eva shiighraM vidhivat kuruShva
tataH padaM praapsyasi tair avaaptaM
sukh'-aavRtais tvaM niyataM yashash ca
16.92
The prowess they have shown
with regard to the principle of practice,
Be quick to do the same, working to principle.
Then your realisation of the step that they took,
And of the splendour that adorns those ease-filled ones,
will be assured.
COMMENT:
Courage displayed in practice, as I see it, is absolutely no guarantee of any kind of splendid result, unless that practice is carried out according to the means-whereby principle. So for me the key word in this verse is vidhi.
Vidhi, as I read it, expresses the means-whereby principle which stands in opposition to blind end-gaining. Courage in blind end-gaining is the last thing we need to emulate. What we should emulate is prowess in working to the preventive principle.
According to the preventive principle, the first thing we attend to, rather than grasping unconsciously for an end in view, is cutting out faults. The most basic of these faults are, on the one hand, over-excited energy, hyper-tension, fixing, postural stiffening; and, on the other hand, weak energy, lack of tone, irresolution, postural collapse.
Considered in these terms, in terms of energetic tone, with this verse the pace seems to switch from the calming stimulus of running through a long list of names -- which is as exciting as conjugating French verbs or counting sheep -- to the garnering stimulus of being exhorted to lively up ourselves, quickening the conscious mind and showing manly endeavour in working to principle.
EH Johnston:
The courage which they showed in the practice of Yoga do you also display quickly in proper form. Then you will certainly reach the stage and the glory those... ones reached.
Linda Covill:
that courage which they showed in the practice of yoga, be quick to do the same, as instructed. Then you will certainly attain the state, and the glory, that those blissful ones reached.
VOCABULARY:
yam (acc. sg. m.): [that] which
vikramam (acc. sg.): m. a step , stride , pace; going , proceeding , walking , motion , gait ; course , way , manner ; valour , courage , heroism , power , strength ; force , forcible means
yoga: practice, formal practice
vidhau = locative of vidhi: rule, direction; use , employment , application ; method , manner or way of acting , mode of life , conduct , behaviour; work ; any act or action , performance , accomplishment , contrivance , work , business (ifc. often pleonastically e.g. mathana-vidhi , the [act of] disturbing)
akurvan = 3rd person plural, imperfect of kR: to do, make
vikramaM- √kR: to display prowess , use one's strength
tam (correlative of yam): that [which]
eva: same, very
shiighram: quickly
vidhivat: according to rule , duly
kuruShva = imperative of kR: to do
tataH: in that case, then
padam (acc. sg.): n. step
praapsyasi = 2nd person future of praap: to attain to ; reach , arrive at , meet with , realise
taiH (inst. pl): by them
avaaptam (acc. sg. n.): attained, reached, obtained, got
sukha: ease, happiness
aavRtaiH (inst. pl. m.): filled with , abounding with
tvam (nominative, singular): you
niyatam: decidedly , inevitably , surely
yashaH = acc. sg. yashas: n. beautiful appearance , beauty , splendour , worth ; honour , glory , fame , renown
tam eva shiighraM vidhivat kuruShva
tataH padaM praapsyasi tair avaaptaM
sukh'-aavRtais tvaM niyataM yashash ca
16.92
The prowess they have shown
with regard to the principle of practice,
Be quick to do the same, working to principle.
Then your realisation of the step that they took,
And of the splendour that adorns those ease-filled ones,
will be assured.
COMMENT:
Courage displayed in practice, as I see it, is absolutely no guarantee of any kind of splendid result, unless that practice is carried out according to the means-whereby principle. So for me the key word in this verse is vidhi.
Vidhi, as I read it, expresses the means-whereby principle which stands in opposition to blind end-gaining. Courage in blind end-gaining is the last thing we need to emulate. What we should emulate is prowess in working to the preventive principle.
According to the preventive principle, the first thing we attend to, rather than grasping unconsciously for an end in view, is cutting out faults. The most basic of these faults are, on the one hand, over-excited energy, hyper-tension, fixing, postural stiffening; and, on the other hand, weak energy, lack of tone, irresolution, postural collapse.
Considered in these terms, in terms of energetic tone, with this verse the pace seems to switch from the calming stimulus of running through a long list of names -- which is as exciting as conjugating French verbs or counting sheep -- to the garnering stimulus of being exhorted to lively up ourselves, quickening the conscious mind and showing manly endeavour in working to principle.
EH Johnston:
The courage which they showed in the practice of Yoga do you also display quickly in proper form. Then you will certainly reach the stage and the glory those... ones reached.
Linda Covill:
that courage which they showed in the practice of yoga, be quick to do the same, as instructed. Then you will certainly attain the state, and the glory, that those blissful ones reached.
VOCABULARY:
yam (acc. sg. m.): [that] which
vikramam (acc. sg.): m. a step , stride , pace; going , proceeding , walking , motion , gait ; course , way , manner ; valour , courage , heroism , power , strength ; force , forcible means
yoga: practice, formal practice
vidhau = locative of vidhi: rule, direction; use , employment , application ; method , manner or way of acting , mode of life , conduct , behaviour; work ; any act or action , performance , accomplishment , contrivance , work , business (ifc. often pleonastically e.g. mathana-vidhi , the [act of] disturbing)
akurvan = 3rd person plural, imperfect of kR: to do, make
vikramaM- √kR: to display prowess , use one's strength
tam (correlative of yam): that [which]
eva: same, very
shiighram: quickly
vidhivat: according to rule , duly
kuruShva = imperative of kR: to do
tataH: in that case, then
padam (acc. sg.): n. step
praapsyasi = 2nd person future of praap: to attain to ; reach , arrive at , meet with , realise
taiH (inst. pl): by them
avaaptam (acc. sg. n.): attained, reached, obtained, got
sukha: ease, happiness
aavRtaiH (inst. pl. m.): filled with , abounding with
tvam (nominative, singular): you
niyatam: decidedly , inevitably , surely
yashaH = acc. sg. yashas: n. beautiful appearance , beauty , splendour , worth ; honour , glory , fame , renown
Saturday, May 2, 2009
SAUNDARANANDA 16.79: Freedom First from Fearful Faults
yathaa hi bhiito nishi taskarebhyo
dvaaram priyebhyo 'pi na daatum icchet
praajNas tathaa saMharati prayogaM
samaM shubhasy' aapy ashubhasya doShaiH
16.79
For just as a man afraid of thieves in the night
Would not open his door even to friends,
So does a wise man withhold consent to the doing
Of anything bad or of anything good
that involves the faults.
COMMENT:
In this metaphor, thieves in the night are faults, and keeping the door shut is withholding consent to the doing of an activity that might invite in the faults.
The effect of the verse is again to let us know, lest any smidgen of doubt should dare to remain, that the whole point of the four noble truths is the elimination of the faults.
Like the father for whom the safety of his family is a much more important aim than being able to see any friends that might visit, the overriding aim of the life of a follower of the Buddha is to keep the faults at bay, even if that might mean missing out on an end that could be agreeable and good.
If I have begun to understand this verse even a little, it is thanks to FM Alexander. This verse is very strong advocacy against what Alexander called end-gaining -- whether the aim in view be a worthy end or an unworthy one.
The whole basis of Alexander work is learning to withhold consent to the doing of an activity, until such time as the means have been established which may enable the activity to be done (or to do itself) without instigating habitual patterns of misuse; i.e,, faults.
People who know nothing about swimming and understand very little of the human condition -- doctors, physiotherapists and the like -- will often say that swimming is good exercise. But as my brother and wife spend their lives teaching people, if a person swims in a faulty way (in a way that involves them putting themselves under undue stress) then the first thing they must learn, in order to swim better, is to withhold consent to the activity of swimming. Even though swimming is good exercise, insofar as it involves the faults, people have to learn first not to swim but just to remain in the water, blowing bubbles or floating or gliding or engaging in some other form of non-swimming. After they have thus learnt to simply be in the water more or less free of their fearful faults, only then can the door to swimming (without stress) begin to open.
For an example still closer to home, in contrast to the Shobogenzo translation which was done with a sense of urgency that, in the run up to the publication of the first volume in 1994, brought me to the edge of ill-health, I am deliberately translating Ashvaghosha at the slow but relentless pace of one verse per day. This translation work, I hope, is something good and if I could get to the end of it that would be great, and wild horses won't stop me from doing that. But there is always the possibility that death will stop me. Even so, I am withholding consent. And from the withholding of consent comes a greater sense of being in the driving seat -- of relative freedom from the fearful faults that might otherwise drive me.
EH Johnston:
For as a man frightened of thieves will not grant entrance at night even to his friends, so the wise man represses the practice of good and evil (thoughts) alike together with the faults.
Linda Covill:
For just as a man fearful of thieves does not like to open his door at night, even to friends, likewise a wise man expels the activity of pure and impure thoughts alike, due to their faults.
VOCABULARY:
yathaa: just as
hi: for
bhiitaH (nom. sg.): m. one who is frightened
nishi = locative of nish: night
taskarebhyaH = ablative plural of taskara: thief, robber
dvaaram (acc. sg.): n. door , gate , passage , entrance
priyebhyaH = ablative/dative, plural of priya: friend
api: also, even
na: not
daatum = infintitive of daa: to give, to permit , allow (with inf.)
icchet = 3rd person singular, optative of iSh: to wish, intend, be about to do something; to assent
praajNaH = nominative, singular of praajNa: a wise or learned man
tathaa: likewise (correlative of yathaa)
saMharati = 3rd person singular of saMhR: to bring or draw together , unite , compress ; to lay hold of , attract , take for one's self , appropriate ; to take away , carry off , rob ; to lay or draw aside , withdraw , withhold from (abl.) ; to restrain , curb , check , suppress ; to crush together , crumple up , destroy , annihilate
prayogam (acc. sg.): offering ; undertaking , beginning , commencement ; practice ; cause, motive ; course of proceeding
samam: ind. in like manner , alike , equally , similarly:
shubhasya = genitive of shubha: pleasant , agreeable , suitable , fit , capable , useful , good (applied to persons and things); auspicious , fortunate , prosperous ; good (in moral sense) , righteous , virtuous , honest ; pure (as an action)
api: and, also, even
ashubhasya = genitive of ashubha: not beautiful or agreeable , disagreeable, inauspicious , bad , vicious (as thought or speech)
doShaiH = instrumental, plural of doSha: fault
dvaaram priyebhyo 'pi na daatum icchet
praajNas tathaa saMharati prayogaM
samaM shubhasy' aapy ashubhasya doShaiH
16.79
For just as a man afraid of thieves in the night
Would not open his door even to friends,
So does a wise man withhold consent to the doing
Of anything bad or of anything good
that involves the faults.
COMMENT:
In this metaphor, thieves in the night are faults, and keeping the door shut is withholding consent to the doing of an activity that might invite in the faults.
The effect of the verse is again to let us know, lest any smidgen of doubt should dare to remain, that the whole point of the four noble truths is the elimination of the faults.
Like the father for whom the safety of his family is a much more important aim than being able to see any friends that might visit, the overriding aim of the life of a follower of the Buddha is to keep the faults at bay, even if that might mean missing out on an end that could be agreeable and good.
If I have begun to understand this verse even a little, it is thanks to FM Alexander. This verse is very strong advocacy against what Alexander called end-gaining -- whether the aim in view be a worthy end or an unworthy one.
The whole basis of Alexander work is learning to withhold consent to the doing of an activity, until such time as the means have been established which may enable the activity to be done (or to do itself) without instigating habitual patterns of misuse; i.e,, faults.
People who know nothing about swimming and understand very little of the human condition -- doctors, physiotherapists and the like -- will often say that swimming is good exercise. But as my brother and wife spend their lives teaching people, if a person swims in a faulty way (in a way that involves them putting themselves under undue stress) then the first thing they must learn, in order to swim better, is to withhold consent to the activity of swimming. Even though swimming is good exercise, insofar as it involves the faults, people have to learn first not to swim but just to remain in the water, blowing bubbles or floating or gliding or engaging in some other form of non-swimming. After they have thus learnt to simply be in the water more or less free of their fearful faults, only then can the door to swimming (without stress) begin to open.
For an example still closer to home, in contrast to the Shobogenzo translation which was done with a sense of urgency that, in the run up to the publication of the first volume in 1994, brought me to the edge of ill-health, I am deliberately translating Ashvaghosha at the slow but relentless pace of one verse per day. This translation work, I hope, is something good and if I could get to the end of it that would be great, and wild horses won't stop me from doing that. But there is always the possibility that death will stop me. Even so, I am withholding consent. And from the withholding of consent comes a greater sense of being in the driving seat -- of relative freedom from the fearful faults that might otherwise drive me.
EH Johnston:
For as a man frightened of thieves will not grant entrance at night even to his friends, so the wise man represses the practice of good and evil (thoughts) alike together with the faults.
Linda Covill:
For just as a man fearful of thieves does not like to open his door at night, even to friends, likewise a wise man expels the activity of pure and impure thoughts alike, due to their faults.
VOCABULARY:
yathaa: just as
hi: for
bhiitaH (nom. sg.): m. one who is frightened
nishi = locative of nish: night
taskarebhyaH = ablative plural of taskara: thief, robber
dvaaram (acc. sg.): n. door , gate , passage , entrance
priyebhyaH = ablative/dative, plural of priya: friend
api: also, even
na: not
daatum = infintitive of daa: to give, to permit , allow (with inf.)
icchet = 3rd person singular, optative of iSh: to wish, intend, be about to do something; to assent
praajNaH = nominative, singular of praajNa: a wise or learned man
tathaa: likewise (correlative of yathaa)
saMharati = 3rd person singular of saMhR: to bring or draw together , unite , compress ; to lay hold of , attract , take for one's self , appropriate ; to take away , carry off , rob ; to lay or draw aside , withdraw , withhold from (abl.) ; to restrain , curb , check , suppress ; to crush together , crumple up , destroy , annihilate
prayogam (acc. sg.): offering ; undertaking , beginning , commencement ; practice ; cause, motive ; course of proceeding
samam: ind. in like manner , alike , equally , similarly:
shubhasya = genitive of shubha: pleasant , agreeable , suitable , fit , capable , useful , good (applied to persons and things); auspicious , fortunate , prosperous ; good (in moral sense) , righteous , virtuous , honest ; pure (as an action)
api: and, also, even
ashubhasya = genitive of ashubha: not beautiful or agreeable , disagreeable, inauspicious , bad , vicious (as thought or speech)
doShaiH = instrumental, plural of doSha: fault
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
SAUNDARANANDA 16.68: Retreating from Endgaining & Coming Back to Principle
ity evam a-nyaaya-nivartanaM ca
nyaayaM ca tasmai sugato babhaaShe
bhuuyash ca tat-tac caritaM viditvaa
vitarka-haanaaya vidhiin uvaaca
16.68
Thus, on retreat from muddling through
And on the principle to come back to,
the One Who Went Well spoke to him;
And knowing the ins and outs of his career,
He instructed him further on giving up thoughts.
COMMENT:
The antonyms a-nyaaya in the first line and nyaaya in the second line could easily be translated "wrong methods" and "the right method."
But when one reflects on the content of the preceding verses, the whole point is that a stimulus that is appropriate for one individual may not be appropriate for another individual, and what is appropriate for one individual at one moment will not be appropriate for the same individual at another moment.
That being so, the fundamental principle of what EH Johnston calls "the right plan," and the essence of what Linda Covill calls "right method," might be the principle that there is no such thing as "the right method."
"The right method" exists only as a figment of the imagination of an optimistic seeker, such as I have zealously been, who would like to grasp "the right method."
What can truly be relied on, what is always available to come back to, is what FM Alexander called "the means-whereby principle." The word nyaaya seems to me to express the means-whereby principle. The opposite conception, a-nyaaya, which means disorder, irregularity, or lack of method, suggests to me the disorder which invariably accompanies blind end-gaining, i.e. muddling through without conscious reliance on a guiding principle.
The 4th line refers to instructions the Buddha is going to give Nanda from now onwards, on alternative methods for eliminating negative thoughts. The instructions, as I understand them, are not to eliminate thinking in general, but to give up certain negative or disagreeable (asubha) ways of thinking -- “the negative mental chatter” (to quote Jordan Fountain from his 2009 New Year’s Resolution) which, like impurities remaining in worked gold, are not compatible with an individual's pursuit of his or her peaceable path.
EH Johnston:
Thus the Blessed One spoke to him of the right plan and of abandoning the wrong one and, knowing all the varieties of behaviour, He further explained the processes for the elimination of thought.
Linda Covill:
In this way the Sugata spoke to him concerning right method and the retreat from the wrong method; and knowing all the various behavioural types, he gave further instructions for abandoning opinionated thought.
VOCABULARY:
iti: [end of quotes]
evam: thus
anyaaya: unjust or unlawful action ; impropriety , indecorum; irregularity , disorder
nivartanam (acc. sg.): n. turning back , returning , turning the back i.e. retreating , fleeing; ceasing , not happening or occurring , being prevented; desisting or abstaining from (abl.)
ca: and
nyaayam (acc. sg.): m. that into which a thing goes back i.e. an original type , standard , method , rule , (esp.) a general or universal rule , model , axiom , system , plan , manner , right or fit manner or way
ca: and
tasmai (dative): to him
sugataH (nom. sg. m.): One Who Fared Well, Buddha
babhaaShe = 3rd person singular, perfect of bhan: to sound , resound , call aloud , speak , declare
bhuuyas: further
ca: and
tad tad: this and that , various , different; respective
caritam (acc. sg.): n. going, moving, course; doing , practice , behaviour
viditvaa = absolutive of vid: to know; to mind , notice , observe
vitarka: conjecture , supposition , guess , fancy , imagination , opinion ; doubt , uncertainty; reasoning , deliberation , consideration
haanaaya = dative of haana: n. the act of abandoning , relinquishing , giving up , escaping , getting rid of
vidhiin (acc. pl.): rules, directions, instructions, formulae
uvaaca = 3rd person singular, perfect of vac: to speak
nyaayaM ca tasmai sugato babhaaShe
bhuuyash ca tat-tac caritaM viditvaa
vitarka-haanaaya vidhiin uvaaca
16.68
Thus, on retreat from muddling through
And on the principle to come back to,
the One Who Went Well spoke to him;
And knowing the ins and outs of his career,
He instructed him further on giving up thoughts.
COMMENT:
The antonyms a-nyaaya in the first line and nyaaya in the second line could easily be translated "wrong methods" and "the right method."
But when one reflects on the content of the preceding verses, the whole point is that a stimulus that is appropriate for one individual may not be appropriate for another individual, and what is appropriate for one individual at one moment will not be appropriate for the same individual at another moment.
That being so, the fundamental principle of what EH Johnston calls "the right plan," and the essence of what Linda Covill calls "right method," might be the principle that there is no such thing as "the right method."
"The right method" exists only as a figment of the imagination of an optimistic seeker, such as I have zealously been, who would like to grasp "the right method."
What can truly be relied on, what is always available to come back to, is what FM Alexander called "the means-whereby principle." The word nyaaya seems to me to express the means-whereby principle. The opposite conception, a-nyaaya, which means disorder, irregularity, or lack of method, suggests to me the disorder which invariably accompanies blind end-gaining, i.e. muddling through without conscious reliance on a guiding principle.
The 4th line refers to instructions the Buddha is going to give Nanda from now onwards, on alternative methods for eliminating negative thoughts. The instructions, as I understand them, are not to eliminate thinking in general, but to give up certain negative or disagreeable (asubha) ways of thinking -- “the negative mental chatter” (to quote Jordan Fountain from his 2009 New Year’s Resolution) which, like impurities remaining in worked gold, are not compatible with an individual's pursuit of his or her peaceable path.
EH Johnston:
Thus the Blessed One spoke to him of the right plan and of abandoning the wrong one and, knowing all the varieties of behaviour, He further explained the processes for the elimination of thought.
Linda Covill:
In this way the Sugata spoke to him concerning right method and the retreat from the wrong method; and knowing all the various behavioural types, he gave further instructions for abandoning opinionated thought.
VOCABULARY:
iti: [end of quotes]
evam: thus
anyaaya: unjust or unlawful action ; impropriety , indecorum; irregularity , disorder
nivartanam (acc. sg.): n. turning back , returning , turning the back i.e. retreating , fleeing; ceasing , not happening or occurring , being prevented; desisting or abstaining from (abl.)
ca: and
nyaayam (acc. sg.): m. that into which a thing goes back i.e. an original type , standard , method , rule , (esp.) a general or universal rule , model , axiom , system , plan , manner , right or fit manner or way
ca: and
tasmai (dative): to him
sugataH (nom. sg. m.): One Who Fared Well, Buddha
babhaaShe = 3rd person singular, perfect of bhan: to sound , resound , call aloud , speak , declare
bhuuyas: further
ca: and
tad tad: this and that , various , different; respective
caritam (acc. sg.): n. going, moving, course; doing , practice , behaviour
viditvaa = absolutive of vid: to know; to mind , notice , observe
vitarka: conjecture , supposition , guess , fancy , imagination , opinion ; doubt , uncertainty; reasoning , deliberation , consideration
haanaaya = dative of haana: n. the act of abandoning , relinquishing , giving up , escaping , getting rid of
vidhiin (acc. pl.): rules, directions, instructions, formulae
uvaaca = 3rd person singular, perfect of vac: to speak
Thursday, April 16, 2009
SAUNDARANANDA 16.63: Again, What Not to Do
moh-anubaddhe manasaH pracaare
maitr-ashubhaa c'aiva bhavaty ayogaH
taabhyaaM hi saMmoham upaiti bhuuyo
vaayv-aatmako ruukSham iv' opaniiya
16.63
Where there is wandering of the mind, tied to delusion,
Both love and unpleasantness are unsuitable,
For a deluded man is further deluded by these two,
Like a windy type given an astringent.
COMMENT:
Being deeply deluded, the primary thing, I have found, is NOT to try to be anything other than deluded. This verse, as I read it, supports that conclusion.
Moha means ignorance or delusion. Milking a cow by the horn, in which context moha is used in 16.50, I would see as primarily an instance of ignorance, that is, lack of knowledge or intelligence or open-minded awareness.
This verse, as I read it, is about delusion rather than ignorance. Although there is obviously considerable overlap between the two, ignorance and delusion can also be somewhat contradictory tendencies -- the less ignorant (in the sense of more intelligent) human beings have become, the more prone we seem to have become to delusion. This is the basic thesis of FM Alexander's second book, Constructive Conscious Control of the Individual (CCCI).
Alexander saw human delusion as intimately related with the problem of reliance on unreliable feeling. Ignorant animals, Alexander pointed out, at least in their wild state, generally enjoy reliable feeling -- monkeys do not generally fall from trees -- and therefore they do not tend to suffer from the kind of mind-wandering that is tied to human delusion.
Alexander work, in a nutshell, is a method for dealing with deluded human reaction. Hence it is mainly through Alexander work, applied to sitting practice, that I have understood (at least a bit, in my own experience) that the primary thing, in dealing with one's own delusion, is NOT to try to be anything other than deluded. Again, the first thing to be aware of, is what NOT to do. That is the point of verses 16.53, 16.55, 16.57. 16.59, 16.61, and 15.63: Do not, by intervening to try to make things better, actually make things worse. Better to let delusion play itself out -- let the Lotus Universe turn itself, to paraphrase Daikan Eno.
As regards the particular problem of mind-wandering, and its intimate relation with the general problem of delusion, FM Alexander addressed exactly this in the opening chapter ("Sensory Appreciation in its Relation to Man's Evolutionary Development") of CCCI. If your eyes are beginning to glaze over as blocks of italicized Alexander loom, may I politely invite you to wake up and pay attention as Alexander explains what delusion is -- in terms that made total sense to non-ignoramuses of his day such as the father of modern neuro-physiology Charles Sherrington and the American philosopher John Dewey, and which I am sure would have made total sense to Ashvghosha too. In a section of CCCI sub-titled "Mind-Wandering Recognized as a Shortcoming -- Its Relation to Self-Preservation," Alexander writes:
Most of us are aware of the marvellous accuracy in the use of the organism manifested by the wild animal or the savage in the various familiar spheres of activity concerned with self-preservation. The civilized creature does not manifest anything like the same standard of accuracy in the employment of the organism in the spheres of activity concerned with self-preservation. In other words, the civilized human being does not enjoy the same standard of effective direction and control as the savage and the wild animal, and it is the lack of this adequate standard in the human creature which manifests itself as a shortcoming in some sphere of activity, and, as I have said, in the sphere of learning something and learning to do something, the shortcoming most frequently recognized is that known as "mind-wandering."
Now there exists a close connexion between the shortcoming which is recognized as "mind-wandering" and the shortcoming which manifests itself as a seriously weakened response to a stimulus to an act (or acts) of self-preservation. To make this connexion clear, we have only to consider the psycho-physical processes involved in these two shortcomings to realize that in both cases these processes are the same.
For the lack underlying these two shortcomings is the lack of an adequate standard of direction and control in the human creature, manifesting itself, in the one case, in the broad sphere of self-preservation and, in the other, in the specific sphere of learning something or learning to do something....
As a matter of fact, the defective use of the mechanisms which is responsible for such conditions cannot be adequately described as "mind-wandering," seeing that it is the manifestation of harmful and misdirected action and reaction, not only in connexion with those processes commonly spoken of as "mind" but throughout the whole psycho-physical organism. It is the manifestation of that imperfectly co-ordinated condition which is associated with an unreliable sense of feeling (sensory appreciation)....
When people suffering from unreliable sensory appreciation attempt to practice just sitting, what happens? They notice their mind wandering. Then what do they do? They try to put the problem right by doing something specific, by end-gaining. They try to concentrate their minds.
The seriousness of this inability of the human creature to "keep his mind on" what he is doing is widely recognized, and this recognition has led to the almost universal adoption of what is called concentration as the cure for "mind-wandering." Unfortunately, this remedy, as I shall show later, is in itself a most harmful and delusive psycho-physical manifestation, and has been adopted without any consideration being taken of its effect upon the organism in general or of the psycho-physical processes involved in what is called "learning to concentrate."
Thus, if you follow Alexander's argument, you might conclude that when there is wandering of the mind, tied to delusion, one would be wise not only to shun loving-kindness meditation and impurity meditation, but also to shun every other kind of end-gaining approach too. When deluded, in short, the last thing to do is to try by direct means to gain the end of not being deluded.
"You are an inveterate worrier, aren't you?" FM Alexander's niece Marjory Barlow once said to me. "I know, because I am too," she added. And when Marjory said she knew, she really did know. She may have been prone to delusion, but she was not ignorant.
EH Johnston:
When the working of the mind is subject to delusion, the subjects of benevolence and impurity are unsuitable ; for from them a man is overtaken by further delusion, as a man of windy temperament is overtaken by further unconsciousnes, if given astringent treatment.
Linda Covill:
When the activities of the mind are related to delusion, neither the loving-kindness nor the impurity meditation is suitable; for a deluded man is further dazed by these two, like a patient with a wind condition treated with astringents.
VOCABULARY:
moha: delusion, ignorance
anubaddha: bound to , obliged to , connected with , related to , belonging to
manasaH = genitive of manas: mind
pracaare = locative of pracaara: roaming , wandering ; manifestation , occurrence , existence, application , employment , use; conduct , behaviour
maitra = vRddhi form of maitrii: friendship, goodwill, loving-kindness, love
ashubhaa (nom. sg.): f. non-beauty, disagreeable, unpleasant
ca: and
eva: (emphatic)
bhavati = 3rd person singular of bhuu: become, turn into
ayogaH (nom. sg): m. unfitness , unsuitableness
taabhyaam (ablative, dual): because of/from those two
hi: from
saMmoham (accusative): stupefaction , bewilderment , confusion , insensibility , unconsciousness , ignorance , folly , illusion of mind
upaiti = 3rd person singular of upe (upa-√i): meet with, reach, enter into any state
bhuuyas: still more, further
vaayv-aatmakaH (nom. sg. m.): a windy type
vaayu: (in medicine) the windy humour or any morbid affection of
aatmaka: having the nature of
ruukSham (nom. sg.): n. an astringent
iva: like
upaniiya = absolutive of upa- √nii: to bring near, bring, offer
maitr-ashubhaa c'aiva bhavaty ayogaH
taabhyaaM hi saMmoham upaiti bhuuyo
vaayv-aatmako ruukSham iv' opaniiya
16.63
Where there is wandering of the mind, tied to delusion,
Both love and unpleasantness are unsuitable,
For a deluded man is further deluded by these two,
Like a windy type given an astringent.
COMMENT:
Being deeply deluded, the primary thing, I have found, is NOT to try to be anything other than deluded. This verse, as I read it, supports that conclusion.
Moha means ignorance or delusion. Milking a cow by the horn, in which context moha is used in 16.50, I would see as primarily an instance of ignorance, that is, lack of knowledge or intelligence or open-minded awareness.
This verse, as I read it, is about delusion rather than ignorance. Although there is obviously considerable overlap between the two, ignorance and delusion can also be somewhat contradictory tendencies -- the less ignorant (in the sense of more intelligent) human beings have become, the more prone we seem to have become to delusion. This is the basic thesis of FM Alexander's second book, Constructive Conscious Control of the Individual (CCCI).
Alexander saw human delusion as intimately related with the problem of reliance on unreliable feeling. Ignorant animals, Alexander pointed out, at least in their wild state, generally enjoy reliable feeling -- monkeys do not generally fall from trees -- and therefore they do not tend to suffer from the kind of mind-wandering that is tied to human delusion.
Alexander work, in a nutshell, is a method for dealing with deluded human reaction. Hence it is mainly through Alexander work, applied to sitting practice, that I have understood (at least a bit, in my own experience) that the primary thing, in dealing with one's own delusion, is NOT to try to be anything other than deluded. Again, the first thing to be aware of, is what NOT to do. That is the point of verses 16.53, 16.55, 16.57. 16.59, 16.61, and 15.63: Do not, by intervening to try to make things better, actually make things worse. Better to let delusion play itself out -- let the Lotus Universe turn itself, to paraphrase Daikan Eno.
As regards the particular problem of mind-wandering, and its intimate relation with the general problem of delusion, FM Alexander addressed exactly this in the opening chapter ("Sensory Appreciation in its Relation to Man's Evolutionary Development") of CCCI. If your eyes are beginning to glaze over as blocks of italicized Alexander loom, may I politely invite you to wake up and pay attention as Alexander explains what delusion is -- in terms that made total sense to non-ignoramuses of his day such as the father of modern neuro-physiology Charles Sherrington and the American philosopher John Dewey, and which I am sure would have made total sense to Ashvghosha too. In a section of CCCI sub-titled "Mind-Wandering Recognized as a Shortcoming -- Its Relation to Self-Preservation," Alexander writes:
Most of us are aware of the marvellous accuracy in the use of the organism manifested by the wild animal or the savage in the various familiar spheres of activity concerned with self-preservation. The civilized creature does not manifest anything like the same standard of accuracy in the employment of the organism in the spheres of activity concerned with self-preservation. In other words, the civilized human being does not enjoy the same standard of effective direction and control as the savage and the wild animal, and it is the lack of this adequate standard in the human creature which manifests itself as a shortcoming in some sphere of activity, and, as I have said, in the sphere of learning something and learning to do something, the shortcoming most frequently recognized is that known as "mind-wandering."
Now there exists a close connexion between the shortcoming which is recognized as "mind-wandering" and the shortcoming which manifests itself as a seriously weakened response to a stimulus to an act (or acts) of self-preservation. To make this connexion clear, we have only to consider the psycho-physical processes involved in these two shortcomings to realize that in both cases these processes are the same.
For the lack underlying these two shortcomings is the lack of an adequate standard of direction and control in the human creature, manifesting itself, in the one case, in the broad sphere of self-preservation and, in the other, in the specific sphere of learning something or learning to do something....
As a matter of fact, the defective use of the mechanisms which is responsible for such conditions cannot be adequately described as "mind-wandering," seeing that it is the manifestation of harmful and misdirected action and reaction, not only in connexion with those processes commonly spoken of as "mind" but throughout the whole psycho-physical organism. It is the manifestation of that imperfectly co-ordinated condition which is associated with an unreliable sense of feeling (sensory appreciation)....
When people suffering from unreliable sensory appreciation attempt to practice just sitting, what happens? They notice their mind wandering. Then what do they do? They try to put the problem right by doing something specific, by end-gaining. They try to concentrate their minds.
The seriousness of this inability of the human creature to "keep his mind on" what he is doing is widely recognized, and this recognition has led to the almost universal adoption of what is called concentration as the cure for "mind-wandering." Unfortunately, this remedy, as I shall show later, is in itself a most harmful and delusive psycho-physical manifestation, and has been adopted without any consideration being taken of its effect upon the organism in general or of the psycho-physical processes involved in what is called "learning to concentrate."
Thus, if you follow Alexander's argument, you might conclude that when there is wandering of the mind, tied to delusion, one would be wise not only to shun loving-kindness meditation and impurity meditation, but also to shun every other kind of end-gaining approach too. When deluded, in short, the last thing to do is to try by direct means to gain the end of not being deluded.
"You are an inveterate worrier, aren't you?" FM Alexander's niece Marjory Barlow once said to me. "I know, because I am too," she added. And when Marjory said she knew, she really did know. She may have been prone to delusion, but she was not ignorant.
EH Johnston:
When the working of the mind is subject to delusion, the subjects of benevolence and impurity are unsuitable ; for from them a man is overtaken by further delusion, as a man of windy temperament is overtaken by further unconsciousnes, if given astringent treatment.
Linda Covill:
When the activities of the mind are related to delusion, neither the loving-kindness nor the impurity meditation is suitable; for a deluded man is further dazed by these two, like a patient with a wind condition treated with astringents.
VOCABULARY:
moha: delusion, ignorance
anubaddha: bound to , obliged to , connected with , related to , belonging to
manasaH = genitive of manas: mind
pracaare = locative of pracaara: roaming , wandering ; manifestation , occurrence , existence, application , employment , use; conduct , behaviour
maitra = vRddhi form of maitrii: friendship, goodwill, loving-kindness, love
ashubhaa (nom. sg.): f. non-beauty, disagreeable, unpleasant
ca: and
eva: (emphatic)
bhavati = 3rd person singular of bhuu: become, turn into
ayogaH (nom. sg): m. unfitness , unsuitableness
taabhyaam (ablative, dual): because of/from those two
hi: from
saMmoham (accusative): stupefaction , bewilderment , confusion , insensibility , unconsciousness , ignorance , folly , illusion of mind
upaiti = 3rd person singular of upe (upa-√i): meet with, reach, enter into any state
bhuuyas: still more, further
vaayv-aatmakaH (nom. sg. m.): a windy type
vaayu: (in medicine) the windy humour or any morbid affection of
aatmaka: having the nature of
ruukSham (nom. sg.): n. an astringent
iva: like
upaniiya = absolutive of upa- √nii: to bring near, bring, offer
Thursday, April 2, 2009
SAUNDARANANDA 16.49: The When & How of Giving Up Afflictions
klesha-prahaaNaaya ca nishcitena
kaalo 'bhyupaayash ca pariikShitavyaH
yogo 'py a-kaale hy an-upaayatash ca
bhavaty an-arthaaya na tad-guNaaya
16.49
One set on giving up the afflictions, then,
Should attend to timing and method;
For even formal practice,
done at the wrong time and relying on wrong means,
Makes for disappointment and not for the desired end.
COMMENT:
This verse can be seen as the first verse in another series of four verses.
16.49 makes the point.
16.50 illustrates the point with a memorable metaphor that is iconoclastic in tone -- the metaphor of milking a cow by the horn.
16.51 illustrates the point further with a metaphor that resonates with everybody's everyday experience -- the metaphor of trying in vain to start a fire.
16.52 re-caps, and exhorts us to get on with practice itself.
What strikes me about these four verses, and what strikes me about the whole of Saundarananda, is Ashvaghosha's complete unwavering clarity in regard to the end, which is freedom from the afflictions. It might be argued that the whole point of Saundarananda is to cause the reader, you and me, to be that very one whose mind is set upon giving up the afflictions.
In this verse, 16.49, the desired end of being rid of afflictions is indicated directly.
In 16.50 the desired end is to get milk.
In 16.51 the desired end is to get fire.
16.52 is an exhortation, being clear in one's mind with regard to end and means, to devote oneself to the means.
Then, from verse 16.53 onwards, detailed consideration is given to the means. But before that Ashvaghosha is reminding us now that the means he is going to describe are a means-whereby we might progress towards a desired end, which is freedom from affliction.
Giving up affliction, it has been explained to us already, means not practising those causes of suffering (that begin with thirsting) such as greed, hatred, and ignorance, which prevent us from truly seeing what is.
So giving up affliction corresponds, as I see it, with giving up the misuse associated with what FM Alexander called 'faulty sensory appreciation.' This giving up of misuse of the self, in Alexander work, centres upon formal work on the self, in which the worker consciously inhibits his habitual unconscious reaction to a particular stimulus. The basic point of Alexander teacher training is to set aside a large number of hours over three years of a person's life that can be devoted to such formal practice of working on the self. But the three years are only a beginning, and the really difficult stimuli tend to arise outside of formal work on oneself.
I think Ashvaghosha, similarly, is talking here about finding the time and space in which to devote oneself to a true means-whereby for working on oneself, while not forgetting, even at times which are not suited to formal practice, the end to which one is working, which is elimination of the wrong.
If I had to sum up the teaching of Shobogenzo in six words it would be "Giving up body and mind, sit." Alexander work in three words is "Inhibit unconscious reaction." Ashvaghosha's teaching in three words would seem to be "Give up afflictions."
There is, as I see it, no contradiction. But, as Ashvaghosha reminds us in 16.71, and as FM Alexander wrote somewhere, "Time is the essence of the contract."
VOCABULARY:
klesha: affliction
prahaaNaaya = dative of prahaaNa = action noun from pra-√hA: to desert , quit , abandon , give up
ca: (conjunctive or sometimes disjunctive particle) and, moreover; but
nishcitena = instrumental (indicating agent of passive construction with -tavya) of nishcita: one who has come to a conclusion or formed a certain opinion , determined to , resolute upon (dative)
kaalaH = nominative, singular of kaala: the proper time or season
abhyupaayaH = nominative, singular of abhyupaaya: a means, expedient
ca: and
pariikShitavyaH = nom. sg. m. from gerundive of pariikSh: to look round , inspect carefully , try , examine , find out , observe
yogaH = nominative, singular of yoga: formal practice
api: even
a-kaale (locative of a-kaala): at a wrong or bad time
hi: for
an (negative suffix, sometimes expressing disparagement): bad
upaaya: that by which one reaches one's aim , a means or expedient
-taH (ablative suffix): from, on the basis of, in accordance with
ca: and
bhavati = 3rd person singular of bhuu: to become, to be; to serve for , tend or conduce to (with dative)
an-arthaaya = dative of anartha: non-value , a worthless or useless object; disappointing occurrence , reverse , evil
na: not
tad: that, the one in question, the desired
guNaaya = dative of guNa: "the requisite"; a quality , peculiarity , attribute or property; good quality , virtue , merit , excellence
EH Johnston:
And he who has set his mind on the abolition of the vices must consider the time and the method ; for even Yoga, when practised out of season and by the wrong method, leads to calamity and not to the proper result.
Linda Covill:
When someone has formed a resolve to abandon the defilements, he should carefully consider the correct time and method to do so; for even yogic discipline can lead to failure, not success, if practiced at the wrong time or in the wrong way.
kaalo 'bhyupaayash ca pariikShitavyaH
yogo 'py a-kaale hy an-upaayatash ca
bhavaty an-arthaaya na tad-guNaaya
16.49
One set on giving up the afflictions, then,
Should attend to timing and method;
For even formal practice,
done at the wrong time and relying on wrong means,
Makes for disappointment and not for the desired end.
COMMENT:
This verse can be seen as the first verse in another series of four verses.
16.49 makes the point.
16.50 illustrates the point with a memorable metaphor that is iconoclastic in tone -- the metaphor of milking a cow by the horn.
16.51 illustrates the point further with a metaphor that resonates with everybody's everyday experience -- the metaphor of trying in vain to start a fire.
16.52 re-caps, and exhorts us to get on with practice itself.
What strikes me about these four verses, and what strikes me about the whole of Saundarananda, is Ashvaghosha's complete unwavering clarity in regard to the end, which is freedom from the afflictions. It might be argued that the whole point of Saundarananda is to cause the reader, you and me, to be that very one whose mind is set upon giving up the afflictions.
In this verse, 16.49, the desired end of being rid of afflictions is indicated directly.
In 16.50 the desired end is to get milk.
In 16.51 the desired end is to get fire.
16.52 is an exhortation, being clear in one's mind with regard to end and means, to devote oneself to the means.
Then, from verse 16.53 onwards, detailed consideration is given to the means. But before that Ashvaghosha is reminding us now that the means he is going to describe are a means-whereby we might progress towards a desired end, which is freedom from affliction.
Giving up affliction, it has been explained to us already, means not practising those causes of suffering (that begin with thirsting) such as greed, hatred, and ignorance, which prevent us from truly seeing what is.
So giving up affliction corresponds, as I see it, with giving up the misuse associated with what FM Alexander called 'faulty sensory appreciation.' This giving up of misuse of the self, in Alexander work, centres upon formal work on the self, in which the worker consciously inhibits his habitual unconscious reaction to a particular stimulus. The basic point of Alexander teacher training is to set aside a large number of hours over three years of a person's life that can be devoted to such formal practice of working on the self. But the three years are only a beginning, and the really difficult stimuli tend to arise outside of formal work on oneself.
I think Ashvaghosha, similarly, is talking here about finding the time and space in which to devote oneself to a true means-whereby for working on oneself, while not forgetting, even at times which are not suited to formal practice, the end to which one is working, which is elimination of the wrong.
If I had to sum up the teaching of Shobogenzo in six words it would be "Giving up body and mind, sit." Alexander work in three words is "Inhibit unconscious reaction." Ashvaghosha's teaching in three words would seem to be "Give up afflictions."
There is, as I see it, no contradiction. But, as Ashvaghosha reminds us in 16.71, and as FM Alexander wrote somewhere, "Time is the essence of the contract."
VOCABULARY:
klesha: affliction
prahaaNaaya = dative of prahaaNa = action noun from pra-√hA: to desert , quit , abandon , give up
ca: (conjunctive or sometimes disjunctive particle) and, moreover; but
nishcitena = instrumental (indicating agent of passive construction with -tavya) of nishcita: one who has come to a conclusion or formed a certain opinion , determined to , resolute upon (dative)
kaalaH = nominative, singular of kaala: the proper time or season
abhyupaayaH = nominative, singular of abhyupaaya: a means, expedient
ca: and
pariikShitavyaH = nom. sg. m. from gerundive of pariikSh: to look round , inspect carefully , try , examine , find out , observe
yogaH = nominative, singular of yoga: formal practice
api: even
a-kaale (locative of a-kaala): at a wrong or bad time
hi: for
an (negative suffix, sometimes expressing disparagement): bad
upaaya: that by which one reaches one's aim , a means or expedient
-taH (ablative suffix): from, on the basis of, in accordance with
ca: and
bhavati = 3rd person singular of bhuu: to become, to be; to serve for , tend or conduce to (with dative)
an-arthaaya = dative of anartha: non-value , a worthless or useless object; disappointing occurrence , reverse , evil
na: not
tad: that, the one in question, the desired
guNaaya = dative of guNa: "the requisite"; a quality , peculiarity , attribute or property; good quality , virtue , merit , excellence
EH Johnston:
And he who has set his mind on the abolition of the vices must consider the time and the method ; for even Yoga, when practised out of season and by the wrong method, leads to calamity and not to the proper result.
Linda Covill:
When someone has formed a resolve to abandon the defilements, he should carefully consider the correct time and method to do so; for even yogic discipline can lead to failure, not success, if practiced at the wrong time or in the wrong way.
Thursday, March 26, 2009
SAUNDARANANDA 16.42: Forward and Backward Steps
tasmaat pravRttiM parigaccha duHkhaM
pravartakaan apy avagaccha doShaan
nivRttim aagaccha ca tan-nirodhaM
nivartakaM c' aapy avagaccha maargaM
16.42
Accordingly, comprehend suffering as end-gaining,
And understand the faults as doing.
Realise the stopping of all that as non-doing,
And understand the path as a turning back.
COMMENT:
The first difficulty with this verse has been plucking up the courage to translate pravRtti as "end-gaining," instead of a less overtly Alexandrian term such as "progressive striving."
A second difficulty has been deciding what is the object of nirodha in the 3rd line. Does tan-nirodha mean the inhibition/suppression/stopping of those [faults], the stopping of that [suffering], the stopping of that [end-gaining], or the inhibition/stopping of all that [stuff in the first two lines]?
My ears are, I hope, open to feedback.
Notwithstanding the above difficulties, I am very happy to have arrived at this translation of this verse. My sense is that the argument I have been struggling to make for 15 years has, with this translation of this verse, already become obsolete -- because this verse is just Ashvaghosha's teaching, just the Buddha's teaching, just the teaching of all the ancestors in India, and there is not any room for argument.
This verse is also just the teaching of FM Alexander. There is, as I see it, no contradiction at all.
That being so, I would like to illustrate the meaning of each of the four lines of this verse with some quotes from FM Alexander and some of the teachers he taught.
(1)
Whenever a person sets out to achieve a particular end his procedure will be based on one of two principles which I have called "end-gaining" and the "means-whereby" principles. The "end-gaining" principle involves a direct procedure on the part of the person endeavouring to gain the desired "end." This direct procedure is associated with dependence upon subsconscious guidance and control, leading, in cases where a condition of mal-coordination is present, to an unsatisfactory use of the mechanisms and to an increase in the defects and peculiarities already existing.
(FM Alexander, Constructive Conscious Control of the Individual)
When a person has reached a given stage of unsatisfactory use and functioning, his habit of end-gaining will prove to be the impeding factor in all his attempts to profit by any teaching method whatsoever. Ordinary teaching methods, in whatever sphere, cannot deal with this impeding factor, indeed, they tend actually to encourage 'end-gaining.'
(FM Alexander, The Use of the Self)
"In most people their direction of the use of themselves is habitual and instinctive... Unfortunately, with the increasing prevalence of untrustworthy sensory appreciation, this instinctive direction of use tends, as time goes on, to become more and more a misdirection, having a harmful effect, as was proved in my own case, upon functioning and consquently, upon the reactions which result." (Ibid)
(2)
"The wrong inner patterns are the doing which has to be stopped."
(Marjory Barlow, 1965 Memorial Lecture)
(3)
Non-doing is, above all, an attitude of mind. It's a wish. It's a decision to leave everything alone and see what goes on, see what happens. Your breathing and your circulation and your postural mechanisms are all working and taking over. The organism is functioning in its automatic way, and you are doing nothing.
If you're going to succeed in doing nothing, you must exercise control over your thinking processes. You must really wish to do nothing. If you're thinking anxious, worried thoughts, if you're thinking exciting thoughts that are irrelevant to the situation at hand, you stir up responses in your body that are not consistent with doing nothing. It's not a matter of just not moving--that can lead to fixing or freezing--it's a matter of really leaving yourself alone and letting everything just happen and take over.
This is what we're aiming at in an Alexander lesson, and if we're wise, and we understand, it's also what we aim at in our own practice of non-doing. It is something that requires practice. Like most other things in life, it isn't some-thing that you can achieve by simply wishing to do so, by just thinking, 'Well, I will now leave myself alone and not do anything.' Unfortunately, it doesn't work out like that. The whole process requires a lot of practice, and a lot of observation. Out of this process a tremendous lot of experience is to be gained...
(Walter Carrington, Thinking Aloud)
Of course, non-doing is a kind of doing, but it is very subtle. The difference is that, in doing, you do it, whereas in non-doing, it does you.
(Patrick Macdonald, The Alexander Technique As I See It.)
(4)
It is owing to this habit of rushing from one extreme to another -- a habit which, as I have pointed out, seems to go hand in hand with subconscious guidance and direction -- to this tendency, that is, to take the narrow and treacherous sidetracks instead of the great, broad, midway path, that our plan of civilization has proved a comparative failure.
(FM Alexander, Constructive Conscious Control of the Individual)
I venture to predict that before we can unravel the horribly tangled skein of our present existence, we must come to a full STOP, and return to conscious, simple living, believing in the unity underlying all things, and acting in a practical way in accordance with the laws and principles involved. (Ibid.)
VOCABULARY:
tasmaat: from that, on that account, therefore
praVrttim (accusative): moving onwards , advance , progress; active life (as opp. to ni-vRtti [q.v.] and to contemplative devotion)
parigaccha = imperative of pari-√ gam: to go round or about or through , circumambulate , surround , inclose; to come to any state or condition , get , attain (acc.)
pari: ind. round , around, fully
pravartakam (acc. sg.): acting , proceeding; setting in motion or action , setting on foot , advancing , promoting , forwarding
api: also
avagaccha = imperative of ava-√ gam: to understand
ava: ind. off , away , down
doShaan (accusative, plural): m. faults
nivRttim (accusative): returning; ceasing , cessation; ceasing from worldly acts , inactivity , rest
aagaccha = imperative aa-√ gam: to come, arrive at , attain , reach ; to fall into (any state of mind) , have recourse to
aa: near, near to towards; with roots like gam it reverses the action ; e.g. aa-gacchati , " he comes "
ca: and
tat: those [faults]; that [suffering/end-gaining]; [all] that; the
nirodhaM (accusative): suppression, inhibition, stopping
nirvartakam (acc. sg.): turning back ; causing to cease , abolishing , removing; desisting from , stopping , ceasing
ca: and
api: also
avagaccha (imperative): understand
maargam (acc. sg.): m. the path
EH Johnston:
Accordingly recognise suffering to be identical with active being and understand that the faults are the cause of active being; realise that inactivity is the suppression of active being and understand that it is the Path which leads to inactivity.
Linda Covill:
Therefore accept that active life is suffering, and understand faults as being related to active life; recognize cessation of suffering to be the ceasing of active life, and know the path as being related to cessation.
pravartakaan apy avagaccha doShaan
nivRttim aagaccha ca tan-nirodhaM
nivartakaM c' aapy avagaccha maargaM
16.42
Accordingly, comprehend suffering as end-gaining,
And understand the faults as doing.
Realise the stopping of all that as non-doing,
And understand the path as a turning back.
COMMENT:
The first difficulty with this verse has been plucking up the courage to translate pravRtti as "end-gaining," instead of a less overtly Alexandrian term such as "progressive striving."
A second difficulty has been deciding what is the object of nirodha in the 3rd line. Does tan-nirodha mean the inhibition/suppression/stopping of those [faults], the stopping of that [suffering], the stopping of that [end-gaining], or the inhibition/stopping of all that [stuff in the first two lines]?
My ears are, I hope, open to feedback.
Notwithstanding the above difficulties, I am very happy to have arrived at this translation of this verse. My sense is that the argument I have been struggling to make for 15 years has, with this translation of this verse, already become obsolete -- because this verse is just Ashvaghosha's teaching, just the Buddha's teaching, just the teaching of all the ancestors in India, and there is not any room for argument.
This verse is also just the teaching of FM Alexander. There is, as I see it, no contradiction at all.
That being so, I would like to illustrate the meaning of each of the four lines of this verse with some quotes from FM Alexander and some of the teachers he taught.
(1)
Whenever a person sets out to achieve a particular end his procedure will be based on one of two principles which I have called "end-gaining" and the "means-whereby" principles. The "end-gaining" principle involves a direct procedure on the part of the person endeavouring to gain the desired "end." This direct procedure is associated with dependence upon subsconscious guidance and control, leading, in cases where a condition of mal-coordination is present, to an unsatisfactory use of the mechanisms and to an increase in the defects and peculiarities already existing.
(FM Alexander, Constructive Conscious Control of the Individual)
When a person has reached a given stage of unsatisfactory use and functioning, his habit of end-gaining will prove to be the impeding factor in all his attempts to profit by any teaching method whatsoever. Ordinary teaching methods, in whatever sphere, cannot deal with this impeding factor, indeed, they tend actually to encourage 'end-gaining.'
(FM Alexander, The Use of the Self)
"In most people their direction of the use of themselves is habitual and instinctive... Unfortunately, with the increasing prevalence of untrustworthy sensory appreciation, this instinctive direction of use tends, as time goes on, to become more and more a misdirection, having a harmful effect, as was proved in my own case, upon functioning and consquently, upon the reactions which result." (Ibid)
(2)
"The wrong inner patterns are the doing which has to be stopped."
(Marjory Barlow, 1965 Memorial Lecture)
(3)
Non-doing is, above all, an attitude of mind. It's a wish. It's a decision to leave everything alone and see what goes on, see what happens. Your breathing and your circulation and your postural mechanisms are all working and taking over. The organism is functioning in its automatic way, and you are doing nothing.
If you're going to succeed in doing nothing, you must exercise control over your thinking processes. You must really wish to do nothing. If you're thinking anxious, worried thoughts, if you're thinking exciting thoughts that are irrelevant to the situation at hand, you stir up responses in your body that are not consistent with doing nothing. It's not a matter of just not moving--that can lead to fixing or freezing--it's a matter of really leaving yourself alone and letting everything just happen and take over.
This is what we're aiming at in an Alexander lesson, and if we're wise, and we understand, it's also what we aim at in our own practice of non-doing. It is something that requires practice. Like most other things in life, it isn't some-thing that you can achieve by simply wishing to do so, by just thinking, 'Well, I will now leave myself alone and not do anything.' Unfortunately, it doesn't work out like that. The whole process requires a lot of practice, and a lot of observation. Out of this process a tremendous lot of experience is to be gained...
(Walter Carrington, Thinking Aloud)
Of course, non-doing is a kind of doing, but it is very subtle. The difference is that, in doing, you do it, whereas in non-doing, it does you.
(Patrick Macdonald, The Alexander Technique As I See It.)
(4)
It is owing to this habit of rushing from one extreme to another -- a habit which, as I have pointed out, seems to go hand in hand with subconscious guidance and direction -- to this tendency, that is, to take the narrow and treacherous sidetracks instead of the great, broad, midway path, that our plan of civilization has proved a comparative failure.
(FM Alexander, Constructive Conscious Control of the Individual)
I venture to predict that before we can unravel the horribly tangled skein of our present existence, we must come to a full STOP, and return to conscious, simple living, believing in the unity underlying all things, and acting in a practical way in accordance with the laws and principles involved. (Ibid.)
VOCABULARY:
tasmaat: from that, on that account, therefore
praVrttim (accusative): moving onwards , advance , progress; active life (as opp. to ni-vRtti [q.v.] and to contemplative devotion)
parigaccha = imperative of pari-√ gam: to go round or about or through , circumambulate , surround , inclose; to come to any state or condition , get , attain (acc.)
pari: ind. round , around, fully
pravartakam (acc. sg.): acting , proceeding; setting in motion or action , setting on foot , advancing , promoting , forwarding
api: also
avagaccha = imperative of ava-√ gam: to understand
ava: ind. off , away , down
doShaan (accusative, plural): m. faults
nivRttim (accusative): returning; ceasing , cessation; ceasing from worldly acts , inactivity , rest
aagaccha = imperative aa-√ gam: to come, arrive at , attain , reach ; to fall into (any state of mind) , have recourse to
aa: near, near to towards; with roots like gam it reverses the action ; e.g. aa-gacchati , " he comes "
ca: and
tat: those [faults]; that [suffering/end-gaining]; [all] that; the
nirodhaM (accusative): suppression, inhibition, stopping
nirvartakam (acc. sg.): turning back ; causing to cease , abolishing , removing; desisting from , stopping , ceasing
ca: and
api: also
avagaccha (imperative): understand
maargam (acc. sg.): m. the path
EH Johnston:
Accordingly recognise suffering to be identical with active being and understand that the faults are the cause of active being; realise that inactivity is the suppression of active being and understand that it is the Path which leads to inactivity.
Linda Covill:
Therefore accept that active life is suffering, and understand faults as being related to active life; recognize cessation of suffering to be the ceasing of active life, and know the path as being related to cessation.
Sunday, February 22, 2009
SAUNDARANANDA 16.10: The Suffering of Disappointments
jar"-aadayo n'aika-vidhaaH prajaanaaM
satyaaM pravRttau prabhavanty an-arthaaH
pravaatsu ghoreShv api maaruteShu,
na hy a-prasuutaas taravash calanti.
16.10
The many and various disappointments of men,
like old age,
Occur to them as disappointments
so long as their end-gaining goes on;
For even when violent winds blow,
Trees do not shake that never sprouted.
COMMENT:
When we reflect on big disappointments, behind every one of them, if we are honest, was there not a strong and deep expectation of a different outcome?
If not for some end-gaining expectation, deeply buried though the expectation may have been, how could we ever have been disappointed?
Expectation of a desired outcome is the essence of end-gaining, and this is precisely what Ashvaghosha is describing in this verse, as I read it, with the word pravRtti.
Thus, in the Monier-Williams dictionary definition of pravRtti, the term is explained as: “active life, as opposed to contemplative devotion, and defined as consisting of the wish to act, knowledge of the means, and accomplishment of the object.”
What Ashvaghosha meant by pravRtti, which could be translated as “actively striving after ends” or “end-gaining” or simply as “doing,” should become gradually clearer as the term re-appears repeatedly in the verses of this canto.
In this particular verse, as I see it, Ashvaghosha is considering a very mental kind of suffering, which is disappointment. In the following verses, he will progress to psycho-physical suffering (16.11) suffering of body and mind (16.12; 16.13); past, present, and future suffering (16.14;16;15), and existential suffering here and now (16.16).
So, even though a fourfold progression within each verse is not easily discernible in the present section on suffering, a kind of fourfold progression can be observed through this and the next six verses, as follows:
(1) Suffering of MIND and body (16.10-11);
(2) Suffering of BODY and mind (16.12-13);
(3) Suffering in TIME (16.14-15).
(4) Suffering as REAL EXISTENCE itself (16.16)
VOCABULARY:
jara: (from √ 1. jRR) " becoming old"; the act of wearing out , wasting
adayaH = nominative, plural of adi: beginning with, et cetera
naika: not one , more than one , various , manifold , numerous , many
vidhaaH: nominative, plural of vidhaa: form , manner , kind , sort [mani]-fold
prajaanaam = genitive, plural of prajaa: offspring, children, family, race, posterity, descendants, a creature, animal, man, mankind
satyaam (loc. sg. f. present participle as, to be): (locative absolute construction) [as long as it] persists, [insofar as it] continues
pravRttau = loc. sg. of pravRtti: f. moving onwards, advance, progress; coming forth, appearance, manifestation; activity, exertion, efficacy; active life (as opposed to ni-vRtti [q.v.] and to contemplative devotion, and defined as consisting of the wish to act, knowledge of the means, and accomplishment of the object)
nivRtti: ceasing from worldly acts, inactivity, rest, repose (opposed to pra-vRtti)
pravRtti is originally a verbal noun from pra- √ vRt: to roll or go onwards (as a carriage), be set in motion or going.
The root √ vRt literally means to turn.
prabhavanti = 3rd person plural of pra- √ bhU: to come forth, spring up, appear, become visible, happen, occur
an-arthaaH = nominative, plural of an-artha: non-value, a worthless or useless object, disappointing occurrence
pravaata: blown forward, agitated by the wind
ghoreShu = locative, plural of ghora: terrific , frightful , terrible , dreadful , violent , vehement
maaruteShu = locative, plural of mAruta: relating to or derived from the wind, windy; wind
na: not
hi: for
prasuutaaH = nominative, plural of prasUta: procreated, begotten, born, produced, sprung
a-prasuutaaaH: non-existent, not yet sprouted
taravaH = nominative, plural of taru: tree
calanti = 3rd person plural of cal: to be moved , stir , tremble , shake , quiver
EH Johnston:
So long as active being persists among creatures, calamities of many sorts, old age etc., are produced among them ; for trees that have not come into existence cannot be shaken, however fearful the winds that blow.
Linda Covill:
All kinds of troubles, old age for instance, will appear among mankind as long as life continues, for non-existent trees do not shake even when violent gales blow.
satyaaM pravRttau prabhavanty an-arthaaH
pravaatsu ghoreShv api maaruteShu,
na hy a-prasuutaas taravash calanti.
16.10
The many and various disappointments of men,
like old age,
Occur to them as disappointments
so long as their end-gaining goes on;
For even when violent winds blow,
Trees do not shake that never sprouted.
COMMENT:
When we reflect on big disappointments, behind every one of them, if we are honest, was there not a strong and deep expectation of a different outcome?
If not for some end-gaining expectation, deeply buried though the expectation may have been, how could we ever have been disappointed?
Expectation of a desired outcome is the essence of end-gaining, and this is precisely what Ashvaghosha is describing in this verse, as I read it, with the word pravRtti.
Thus, in the Monier-Williams dictionary definition of pravRtti, the term is explained as: “active life, as opposed to contemplative devotion, and defined as consisting of the wish to act, knowledge of the means, and accomplishment of the object.”
What Ashvaghosha meant by pravRtti, which could be translated as “actively striving after ends” or “end-gaining” or simply as “doing,” should become gradually clearer as the term re-appears repeatedly in the verses of this canto.
In this particular verse, as I see it, Ashvaghosha is considering a very mental kind of suffering, which is disappointment. In the following verses, he will progress to psycho-physical suffering (16.11) suffering of body and mind (16.12; 16.13); past, present, and future suffering (16.14;16;15), and existential suffering here and now (16.16).
So, even though a fourfold progression within each verse is not easily discernible in the present section on suffering, a kind of fourfold progression can be observed through this and the next six verses, as follows:
(1) Suffering of MIND and body (16.10-11);
(2) Suffering of BODY and mind (16.12-13);
(3) Suffering in TIME (16.14-15).
(4) Suffering as REAL EXISTENCE itself (16.16)
VOCABULARY:
jara: (from √ 1. jRR) " becoming old"; the act of wearing out , wasting
adayaH = nominative, plural of adi: beginning with, et cetera
naika: not one , more than one , various , manifold , numerous , many
vidhaaH: nominative, plural of vidhaa: form , manner , kind , sort [mani]-fold
prajaanaam = genitive, plural of prajaa: offspring, children, family, race, posterity, descendants, a creature, animal, man, mankind
satyaam (loc. sg. f. present participle as, to be): (locative absolute construction) [as long as it] persists, [insofar as it] continues
pravRttau = loc. sg. of pravRtti: f. moving onwards, advance, progress; coming forth, appearance, manifestation; activity, exertion, efficacy; active life (as opposed to ni-vRtti [q.v.] and to contemplative devotion, and defined as consisting of the wish to act, knowledge of the means, and accomplishment of the object)
nivRtti: ceasing from worldly acts, inactivity, rest, repose (opposed to pra-vRtti)
pravRtti is originally a verbal noun from pra- √ vRt: to roll or go onwards (as a carriage), be set in motion or going.
The root √ vRt literally means to turn.
prabhavanti = 3rd person plural of pra- √ bhU: to come forth, spring up, appear, become visible, happen, occur
an-arthaaH = nominative, plural of an-artha: non-value, a worthless or useless object, disappointing occurrence
pravaata: blown forward, agitated by the wind
ghoreShu = locative, plural of ghora: terrific , frightful , terrible , dreadful , violent , vehement
maaruteShu = locative, plural of mAruta: relating to or derived from the wind, windy; wind
na: not
hi: for
prasuutaaH = nominative, plural of prasUta: procreated, begotten, born, produced, sprung
a-prasuutaaaH: non-existent, not yet sprouted
taravaH = nominative, plural of taru: tree
calanti = 3rd person plural of cal: to be moved , stir , tremble , shake , quiver
EH Johnston:
So long as active being persists among creatures, calamities of many sorts, old age etc., are produced among them ; for trees that have not come into existence cannot be shaken, however fearful the winds that blow.
Linda Covill:
All kinds of troubles, old age for instance, will appear among mankind as long as life continues, for non-existent trees do not shake even when violent gales blow.
Sunday, February 1, 2009
SAUNDARANANDA 17.47: Realisation of the Second Realisation
ath' aa-vitarkam kramasho '-vicaaram
ek'-aagra-bhaavaan manasaH prasannam,
samaadhi-jaM priiti-sukhaM-dvitiiyaM
dhyaanaM tad aadhyaatma-shivaM sa dadhyau
17.47
So gradually dropping thought and deliberation,
Mind calm and clear, because of his unity of purpose,
He realised a second level of joy and ease, born of balance:
He realised that realisation which is inner well-being.
COMMENT:
In Line 1, following on from the previous verse, the thought and deliberation that were advocated before, as an antidote to end-gaining and as a function of the first realisation, have now become something bothersome, synonymous with SUFFERING. Picture a father teaching his son to ride a bicycle: with a firm hold on the saddle, the father initially causes the boy to feel safe and secure, so that he is released from the grip of fear and into free movement; then, as the son starts to pedal, the father gradually withdraws his hands from the saddle so that the boy’s own sense of balance and direction can take over. In this metaphor, reliance on reason, as an antidote to fearful grasping for the security of feeling right (i.e. end-gaining), is represented by the father’s helping hands which, as they start to become a hindrance, are gradually taken away.
Line 2 again relates to causation, indirectly pointing to irresolution, or lack of a clear sense of direction, as a CAUSE OF SUFFERING. In developmental terms, a factor which is vital in determining a person's sense of direction, or lack of it, is integration of the baby fencer/pointing reflex, whose name in neurology is the asymmetrical tonic neck reflex (ATNR). I think that we are now at the point in the progression of Ashvaghosha's description where it may help to understand the importance of reflexes relating to balance and direction. At the beginning of the practice of sitting with the mind, what is vital in the first instance is to discern the difference between sitting based on feeling (end-gaining) and sitting based on thinking (following a means-whereby principle). Associated with this distinction is (a) honest examination of what is going on within oneself, in the way of end-gaining, along with (b) reliance on thought-directions to release oneself from the grip of end-gaining. Those thought-directions may initially take the form of words, for example, as "I wish for an unlocking of the head from deep within the body, so that the spine is released into length, and as the spine lengthens the back is released out in a widening direction, while the legs are released out of the pelvis, and the arms and shoulders are released out, while the wrists remain open, and fingers and thumbs release into length, and the jaw is free, and the muscles of the eyes... et cetera, et cetera." These words are expressing a multiplicity of thoughts, but with persistence, and on a good day, the thoughts can turn a silent function of the thinking mind, like the reflection on calm water, or like the reflection of a moon in a dewdrop. This silent function of the thinking mind can be described as a unified field of awareness (as opposed to the tunnel vision of the fearful), but at the same time it is characterised by unity of purpose (as opposed to the lack of clarity of direction of the irresolute).
In Line 3, the reason I have translated samadhi as balance, instead of, for example, harmony, or integration, is that I am mindful of the a priori developmental hierarchy (a hierarchy preceding even the Buddha’s elucidation of the four noble truths), of four vestibular reflexes. The first of the four, the Mara reflex, or Moro reflex, or infantile panic/grasp reflex, might equally be called “the end-gaining reflex.” This first reflex opposes reason and reason opposes it. So the first realisation described by Ashvaghosha, as I see it, has a lot to do with inhibition of the activity of this most primitive fear reflex. Closely related to the baby panic reflex are two other vestibular reflexes which emerge in the womb a few weeks after the panic reflex. One, the baby pointing reflex, as mentioned above, is the foundation stone of a clear sense of direction. Another is the baby balance reflex, called in neurology “the tonic labyrinthine reflex.” In children and adults who retain this primitive balance reflex in immature form, balance and the many psycho-physical functions which centre upon the sense of balance are compromised. So attainment of balance in all spheres of human functioning is ultimately dependent upon INHIBITION of the baby balance reflex. Success in inhibiting balance and fear reflexes are very interdependent on each other, as is demonstrated by the example of learning to ride a bike -- if the rider freezes in fear and stops pedalling, he will soon topple over; but equally, joyous and energetic pedalling will not remove any rider from the ever-present threat of sickness, aging, and death, if there is no sense of balance and direction.
The use in Line 4 of a verb (dadhyau) and an object (dhyaanam) from the same root is reminiscent of phrases like “a twirling flower is a twirling flower,” “mountains are mountains” and “sitting is sitting.” In writing from the standpoint of A MEANS which, for the purpose of inhibiting suffering, really works, Ashvagohsa described the realisation of a realisation. That is why the practise that I used to call Zazen, using a Japanese word for something that I had not made my own, and then began to call sitting-zen, using a term that is half English and half Japanese, I have now begun to call sitting/realisation. I would like to consign the use of all Japanese terms, beginning with sesshin and extending even to Zazen itself, to the dustbin.
That the well-being expressed by aadhyaatma-shiva is inner, or inherent, again points to the effortless functioning of unconscious mechanisms, including the vestibular reflexes. From the developmental perspective of the four vestibular reflexes, I think it is fair to see: (1) the first realisation in terms of fear and end-gaining centred on the Moro reflex vs joy and ease stemming from that use of reason which constitutes part of a means-whereby fear reactions may be inhibited; and (2) the second realisation in terms of reason and conscious effort gradually giving way to relatively effortless functioning of unconscious, reflex mechanisms -- what FM Alexander called "the right thing doing itself."
VOCABULARY:
atha: so, then
a-vitarka: without thought
kramashas (from kram, to step): gradually, by degrees, in steps
a-vicaara: without deliberation
eka: one
agra: tip, top, foremost point or part, summit
ekaagra: one-pointed, closely attentive, undisturbed, undivided in one's awareness
bhaava: state, state of being; -ness (when added to an abstract noun)
bhaavaat = ablative of bhaava: due to the state, because of being
ek'-aagra-bhaavaan: due to the one-pointedness, because of the being of one point (like an arrow)
manasaH (genitive of manas): of the mind
prasannam: clear, bright, pure, calm, placid, tranquil, serene
samaadhi: balance, coming together, harmony
jan: born
priiti: joy
sukham: ease
dvitiiyam: further, redoubled, the second
dhyaanam (accusative, singular): realisation, level or stage of meditation
tad: that
aadhyaatma: one's own, belonging to self, inner
shiva: auspicious, in good health; well-being, welfare, happiness; prosperity, bliss
sa: he
dadhyau (perfect of dhyai, which is also the verbal root of dhyaana): produced, called to mind, realised
EH Johnston:
Then in due course he produced the second trance in which initial and sustained reflections are absent, which is calm from the intentness of the mind, is born of concentration and has ecstasy, bliss and inward happiness.
Linda Covill:
Then he gradually entered the second level of meditation, which has no initial or sustained application of the mind to its object. Born of concentration and calm due to mental one-pointedness, it is joyfully blissful and endowed with inner delight.
ek'-aagra-bhaavaan manasaH prasannam,
samaadhi-jaM priiti-sukhaM-dvitiiyaM
dhyaanaM tad aadhyaatma-shivaM sa dadhyau
17.47
So gradually dropping thought and deliberation,
Mind calm and clear, because of his unity of purpose,
He realised a second level of joy and ease, born of balance:
He realised that realisation which is inner well-being.
COMMENT:
In Line 1, following on from the previous verse, the thought and deliberation that were advocated before, as an antidote to end-gaining and as a function of the first realisation, have now become something bothersome, synonymous with SUFFERING. Picture a father teaching his son to ride a bicycle: with a firm hold on the saddle, the father initially causes the boy to feel safe and secure, so that he is released from the grip of fear and into free movement; then, as the son starts to pedal, the father gradually withdraws his hands from the saddle so that the boy’s own sense of balance and direction can take over. In this metaphor, reliance on reason, as an antidote to fearful grasping for the security of feeling right (i.e. end-gaining), is represented by the father’s helping hands which, as they start to become a hindrance, are gradually taken away.
Line 2 again relates to causation, indirectly pointing to irresolution, or lack of a clear sense of direction, as a CAUSE OF SUFFERING. In developmental terms, a factor which is vital in determining a person's sense of direction, or lack of it, is integration of the baby fencer/pointing reflex, whose name in neurology is the asymmetrical tonic neck reflex (ATNR). I think that we are now at the point in the progression of Ashvaghosha's description where it may help to understand the importance of reflexes relating to balance and direction. At the beginning of the practice of sitting with the mind, what is vital in the first instance is to discern the difference between sitting based on feeling (end-gaining) and sitting based on thinking (following a means-whereby principle). Associated with this distinction is (a) honest examination of what is going on within oneself, in the way of end-gaining, along with (b) reliance on thought-directions to release oneself from the grip of end-gaining. Those thought-directions may initially take the form of words, for example, as "I wish for an unlocking of the head from deep within the body, so that the spine is released into length, and as the spine lengthens the back is released out in a widening direction, while the legs are released out of the pelvis, and the arms and shoulders are released out, while the wrists remain open, and fingers and thumbs release into length, and the jaw is free, and the muscles of the eyes... et cetera, et cetera." These words are expressing a multiplicity of thoughts, but with persistence, and on a good day, the thoughts can turn a silent function of the thinking mind, like the reflection on calm water, or like the reflection of a moon in a dewdrop. This silent function of the thinking mind can be described as a unified field of awareness (as opposed to the tunnel vision of the fearful), but at the same time it is characterised by unity of purpose (as opposed to the lack of clarity of direction of the irresolute).
In Line 3, the reason I have translated samadhi as balance, instead of, for example, harmony, or integration, is that I am mindful of the a priori developmental hierarchy (a hierarchy preceding even the Buddha’s elucidation of the four noble truths), of four vestibular reflexes. The first of the four, the Mara reflex, or Moro reflex, or infantile panic/grasp reflex, might equally be called “the end-gaining reflex.” This first reflex opposes reason and reason opposes it. So the first realisation described by Ashvaghosha, as I see it, has a lot to do with inhibition of the activity of this most primitive fear reflex. Closely related to the baby panic reflex are two other vestibular reflexes which emerge in the womb a few weeks after the panic reflex. One, the baby pointing reflex, as mentioned above, is the foundation stone of a clear sense of direction. Another is the baby balance reflex, called in neurology “the tonic labyrinthine reflex.” In children and adults who retain this primitive balance reflex in immature form, balance and the many psycho-physical functions which centre upon the sense of balance are compromised. So attainment of balance in all spheres of human functioning is ultimately dependent upon INHIBITION of the baby balance reflex. Success in inhibiting balance and fear reflexes are very interdependent on each other, as is demonstrated by the example of learning to ride a bike -- if the rider freezes in fear and stops pedalling, he will soon topple over; but equally, joyous and energetic pedalling will not remove any rider from the ever-present threat of sickness, aging, and death, if there is no sense of balance and direction.
The use in Line 4 of a verb (dadhyau) and an object (dhyaanam) from the same root is reminiscent of phrases like “a twirling flower is a twirling flower,” “mountains are mountains” and “sitting is sitting.” In writing from the standpoint of A MEANS which, for the purpose of inhibiting suffering, really works, Ashvagohsa described the realisation of a realisation. That is why the practise that I used to call Zazen, using a Japanese word for something that I had not made my own, and then began to call sitting-zen, using a term that is half English and half Japanese, I have now begun to call sitting/realisation. I would like to consign the use of all Japanese terms, beginning with sesshin and extending even to Zazen itself, to the dustbin.
That the well-being expressed by aadhyaatma-shiva is inner, or inherent, again points to the effortless functioning of unconscious mechanisms, including the vestibular reflexes. From the developmental perspective of the four vestibular reflexes, I think it is fair to see: (1) the first realisation in terms of fear and end-gaining centred on the Moro reflex vs joy and ease stemming from that use of reason which constitutes part of a means-whereby fear reactions may be inhibited; and (2) the second realisation in terms of reason and conscious effort gradually giving way to relatively effortless functioning of unconscious, reflex mechanisms -- what FM Alexander called "the right thing doing itself."
VOCABULARY:
atha: so, then
a-vitarka: without thought
kramashas (from kram, to step): gradually, by degrees, in steps
a-vicaara: without deliberation
eka: one
agra: tip, top, foremost point or part, summit
ekaagra: one-pointed, closely attentive, undisturbed, undivided in one's awareness
bhaava: state, state of being; -ness (when added to an abstract noun)
bhaavaat = ablative of bhaava: due to the state, because of being
ek'-aagra-bhaavaan: due to the one-pointedness, because of the being of one point (like an arrow)
manasaH (genitive of manas): of the mind
prasannam: clear, bright, pure, calm, placid, tranquil, serene
samaadhi: balance, coming together, harmony
jan: born
priiti: joy
sukham: ease
dvitiiyam: further, redoubled, the second
dhyaanam (accusative, singular): realisation, level or stage of meditation
tad: that
aadhyaatma: one's own, belonging to self, inner
shiva: auspicious, in good health; well-being, welfare, happiness; prosperity, bliss
sa: he
dadhyau (perfect of dhyai, which is also the verbal root of dhyaana): produced, called to mind, realised
EH Johnston:
Then in due course he produced the second trance in which initial and sustained reflections are absent, which is calm from the intentness of the mind, is born of concentration and has ecstasy, bliss and inward happiness.
Linda Covill:
Then he gradually entered the second level of meditation, which has no initial or sustained application of the mind to its object. Born of concentration and calm due to mental one-pointedness, it is joyfully blissful and endowed with inner delight.
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