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
Showing posts with label nervous swimmers. Show all posts
Showing posts with label nervous swimmers. Show all posts
Saturday, May 2, 2009
Sunday, March 29, 2009
SAUNDARANANDA 16.45: Dropping Off a Duality
tayosh ca nandii-rajasoH kShayeNa
samyag vimuktam pravadaami cetaH
samyag vimuktir manasash ca taabhyaaM
na c' aasya bhuuyaH karaNiiyam asti
16.45
By the ending of the duality
which is optimism and pessimism,
I submit, his mind is fully set free.
And when his mind is fully liberated from that duality,
There is nothing further for him to do.
COMMENT:
I am fairly confident that previous translations, much as I appreciate them, missed the opposition which is at the centre of this verse.
The duality in question, as I see it, is the opposition between bright red optimism and black pessimism, between over-exuberance and gloom.
From the standpoint of mind, or psychology, the ending of this duality is the ultimate. But without being underpinned by matter, i.e. the flow of energy, the ultimate aim of psychology is only so much hot air.
FM Alexander understood this point clearly, as Cesar Millan (The Dog Whisperer), together with his pack of dogs, also clearly understands it, as also a child with vestibular dysfunction clearly understands it, and a nervous swimmer who can't put her face in the water also understands it. It is no use showing an aggressive bulldog or an autistic child or an aqua-phobic your Ph. D. in psychology. But those guys are all interested in how your energy is and what direction it is flowing in.
So the mental understanding, awakening, insight, and freedom from duality that Buddha/Ashvaghosha have been describing in the last four verses are but one side of the story. When the mind is fully liberated from duality, we are told, there is nothing further for us to do. But no mind has ever been fully liberated from optimism, pessimism, and every other -ism, only through the means of reading psychology or any other -ology.
The great thing, the thing that we want to build, or re-build, is real confidence -- the kind of confidence that a very experienced Alexander teacher has in her teaching room, the kind of confidence that the Dog Whisperer has when introducing a troubled dog into his own balanced pack, the kind of confidence that my wife and brother have in the swimming pool when liberating a nervous swimmer from her fear of the water.
Real confidence in no way impedes humility, as humility in no way impedes real confidence. People who are really confident, when we observe their behaviour, are both humble and open-minded.
What seemed to be confidence, on the contrary, when examined closely over a long period of time in the mirrors of self and others, sometimes turns out to have been a kind of insecure optimism, leading inevitably to its opposite.
So it seems to me, on the basis of many failures, that dropping off optimism and pessimism is never such an easy thing.
Beware people of of scant experience and unreal understanding who write Buddhist books, blogs, et cetera expressing optimism. Beware especially those who market their peculiar brand of optimism as "realism."
VOCABULARY:
tayoH (genitive, dual of saH): of those two, of that duality
ca: and, moreover
nandii = joy, delight, happiness
rajasoH = genitive, dual of rajas: vapour , mist , clouds , gloom , dimness , darkness; the " darkening " quality , passion , emotion , affection
kShayeNa = instrumental of kShaya: ending
samyak: fully, truly
vimuktam (acc. sg. n.): unloosed , unharnessed; set free , liberated
pravadaami = 1st person singular of pra-√ vac: to proclaim , announce , praise , commend , mention , teach , impart , explain
cetaH = acc. sg. cetas: n. consciousness , intelligence , thinking soul , heart , mind
samyak: fully
vimuktiH = nominative, singular of vimukti: f. disjunction; release , deliverance , liberation
manasaH = gen. sg. manas: mind
ca: and
taabhyaam (ablative, dual of saH): from them, from those two, from that duality
na: not
ca: and
asya = genitive, singular of ayam: this, this one (sometimes used enclitically in place of the third personal pronoun)
bhuuyas: further, more, again
karaNiiyam = acc. sg. karaNi: doing, making
asti: there is
EH Johnston:
I lay down that by the destruction of complaisance and passion his mind is rightly liberated, and, if his mind is rightly liberated from these, he has nothing further to accomplish.
Linda Covill:
I declare that the mind is completely liberated by the ending of these two things -- passion, and pleasure in worldly objects. When the mind is perfectly free of these two things, there is nothing further that one must do.
samyag vimuktam pravadaami cetaH
samyag vimuktir manasash ca taabhyaaM
na c' aasya bhuuyaH karaNiiyam asti
16.45
By the ending of the duality
which is optimism and pessimism,
I submit, his mind is fully set free.
And when his mind is fully liberated from that duality,
There is nothing further for him to do.
COMMENT:
I am fairly confident that previous translations, much as I appreciate them, missed the opposition which is at the centre of this verse.
The duality in question, as I see it, is the opposition between bright red optimism and black pessimism, between over-exuberance and gloom.
From the standpoint of mind, or psychology, the ending of this duality is the ultimate. But without being underpinned by matter, i.e. the flow of energy, the ultimate aim of psychology is only so much hot air.
FM Alexander understood this point clearly, as Cesar Millan (The Dog Whisperer), together with his pack of dogs, also clearly understands it, as also a child with vestibular dysfunction clearly understands it, and a nervous swimmer who can't put her face in the water also understands it. It is no use showing an aggressive bulldog or an autistic child or an aqua-phobic your Ph. D. in psychology. But those guys are all interested in how your energy is and what direction it is flowing in.
So the mental understanding, awakening, insight, and freedom from duality that Buddha/Ashvaghosha have been describing in the last four verses are but one side of the story. When the mind is fully liberated from duality, we are told, there is nothing further for us to do. But no mind has ever been fully liberated from optimism, pessimism, and every other -ism, only through the means of reading psychology or any other -ology.
The great thing, the thing that we want to build, or re-build, is real confidence -- the kind of confidence that a very experienced Alexander teacher has in her teaching room, the kind of confidence that the Dog Whisperer has when introducing a troubled dog into his own balanced pack, the kind of confidence that my wife and brother have in the swimming pool when liberating a nervous swimmer from her fear of the water.
Real confidence in no way impedes humility, as humility in no way impedes real confidence. People who are really confident, when we observe their behaviour, are both humble and open-minded.
What seemed to be confidence, on the contrary, when examined closely over a long period of time in the mirrors of self and others, sometimes turns out to have been a kind of insecure optimism, leading inevitably to its opposite.
So it seems to me, on the basis of many failures, that dropping off optimism and pessimism is never such an easy thing.
Beware people of of scant experience and unreal understanding who write Buddhist books, blogs, et cetera expressing optimism. Beware especially those who market their peculiar brand of optimism as "realism."
VOCABULARY:
tayoH (genitive, dual of saH): of those two, of that duality
ca: and, moreover
nandii = joy, delight, happiness
rajasoH = genitive, dual of rajas: vapour , mist , clouds , gloom , dimness , darkness; the " darkening " quality , passion , emotion , affection
kShayeNa = instrumental of kShaya: ending
samyak: fully, truly
vimuktam (acc. sg. n.): unloosed , unharnessed; set free , liberated
pravadaami = 1st person singular of pra-√ vac: to proclaim , announce , praise , commend , mention , teach , impart , explain
cetaH = acc. sg. cetas: n. consciousness , intelligence , thinking soul , heart , mind
samyak: fully
vimuktiH = nominative, singular of vimukti: f. disjunction; release , deliverance , liberation
manasaH = gen. sg. manas: mind
ca: and
taabhyaam (ablative, dual of saH): from them, from those two, from that duality
na: not
ca: and
asya = genitive, singular of ayam: this, this one (sometimes used enclitically in place of the third personal pronoun)
bhuuyas: further, more, again
karaNiiyam = acc. sg. karaNi: doing, making
asti: there is
EH Johnston:
I lay down that by the destruction of complaisance and passion his mind is rightly liberated, and, if his mind is rightly liberated from these, he has nothing further to accomplish.
Linda Covill:
I declare that the mind is completely liberated by the ending of these two things -- passion, and pleasure in worldly objects. When the mind is perfectly free of these two things, there is nothing further that one must do.
Sunday, March 22, 2009
SAUNDARANANDA 16.38: Ten Attendant Virtues
asy' opacaare dhRtir aarjavaM ca
hriir apramaadaH praviviktataa ca
alp'ecchataa tuShTir asaMgataa ca
loka-pravRttaav aratiH kShamaa ca
16.38
Attendant on it are constancy and straightness;
Modesty, caution, and reclusiveness;
Wanting little, contentment,
and freedom from forming attachments;
No fondness for worldly activity, and forbearance.
COMMENT
Looking backwards for the broader context of the progression of this Canto, after the climax of reaching the Ultimate Step on the Noble Eightfold Path, this verse can be taken as a reminder that the ultimate step is not necessarily attended by a fanfare of trumpets, and much less by an imitation of a lion's roar. It is maybe more conducive to enjoyment of the ultimate step to be less like a scary lion in a big circus, and more like a shy wren -- perching incognito in a quiet place, where nobody is around. That is how I read this enumeration of ten very unassuming virtues -- in the spirit of Tendo Nyojo's admonition not to get carried away by the twirling of a flower.
Looking forwards, it may be significant that the word upacaara which appears in the first line also appears in forthcoming verses of this Canto (e.g. 16.40d), where it describes the medical use of remedies in Aryuvedic treatments. So here also asy'opacaare, "attendant on it," seems to point to a medical connotation, as if Ashvaghosha wished gently to introduce the medical theme.
The sense I get is of these ten unassuming virtues, personified, waiting attentively on a patient who is being nursed towards the ultimate well-being described in 16.37.
For that reason, I think Linda Covill's translation "ancillary to it" is a nice one. "Ancillary" derives from the Latin ancilla, which means a female servant, and brings to mind the relatively humble work of a nurse or midwife -- as opposed, say, to a pompous alpha-male of a consultant obstetrician.
Not all consultants are pompous, I suppose, nor all nurses humble. In the end it might be down to the individual, more than down to the job. But there again, some jobs are more conducive to humility than others.
Translation work is inherently humbling, if one is conscientious about it -- it is a constant process of finding that, no, that wasn't it. I missed the point there. I didn't understand what the Master really meant.
Writing a commentary, in contrast, is not always conducive to humility! Quite the opposite is true.
Marjory Barlow used to emphasize that teaching the FM Alexander Technique is very modest work. "You have got to be very humble about it." That doesn't mean that a good Alexander teacher lacks confidence; she has the confidence that comes from knowing what really works -- the kind of confidence that Cesar Millan (aka The Dog Whisperer) shows in rehabilitating dogs and training their owners, or the kind of confidence that my wife and brother have in being able to help nervous swimmers overcome their fear of the water.
This verse raises the question for me of what it means to work in a modest way.
I think it means constantly going back and attending to the integrity (or lack of it) in the use of one's ear/voice/body. Before balance and before wisdom, there is that simple, practical, most basic matter to be attended to of how one is using oneself. So I think modesty has to do with attending first to this most basic matter.
Above all, I think modesty means remaining open, not committing the sin of certainty -- which I, for one, still too often tend to do.
VOCABULARY:
asya = genitive of ayam: this
upacaare = locative of upacaara: service , attendance; treatment; attendance on a patient , medical practice , physicking
dhRtiH (nom. sg.): f. firmness, constancy
aarjava (nom. sg.): n. straightness , straight direction; rectitude , propriety of act or observance; n. honesty , frankness , sincerity
hriiH (nom. sg.): f. shame , modesty , shyness , timidity
apramaadaH (nom. sg.): m. care, vigilance
pramaada: m. intoxication ; madness , insanity; negligence , carelessness
pra: (as a prefix to substantive) forth , away; (as a prefix to adjective) excessively , very , much
vivikta (past participle of vi-√vic, to sift): separated , kept apart , distinguished , discriminated ; isolated , alone , solitary; clear, distinct; discriminative, judicious; n. separation , solitude , a lonely place
pravivikta [Apte dictionary]: 1.very solitary; 2.separated;
- taa: (suffix used to create a substantive) - ness, -tion, etc.
viviktataa [MW]: f. separation , isolation ; clearness , purity; an empty or free place , loneliness; distinction, discrimination
ca: and
alpa: small, little
icchaa: wish, desire
alpeccha: having little or moderate wishes
-taa: (abstract noun suffix)
alpecchataa: f. wanting little [first of the eight great human truths]
tuShTiH (nominative, singular): f. satisfaction , contentment
asaMgataa (nom. sg.): f. not being attached
a: (negative prefix) not
saMga: m. sticking , clinging to , touch , contact with (loc. or comp.) ; relation to , association or intercourse with ; addiction or devotion to , propensity for , (esp.) worldly or selfish attachment or affection
-taa: f.(abstract noun suffix)
ca: and
loka: world, human society
pravRttau = locative pravRtti: rolling on, progressive activity, continual doing
aratiH (nominative, singular): dissatisfaction, discontent
a: (negative prefix) no
rati: pleasure , enjoyment , delight in , fondness for (locative)
kShamaa (nom. sg.): f. patience, forbearance
ca: and
EH Johnston:
In following it are required steadfastness, simple-mindedness, self-respect, heedfulness and discrimination, desire for little, contentment and lack of attachment, patience and dislike of mundane activity.
Linda Covill:
Ancillary to it are firmness, sincerity, modesty, heedfulness and solitude, minimal wishfulness, contentment, freedom from forming attachments, patience, and no fondness for active life in the world.
hriir apramaadaH praviviktataa ca
alp'ecchataa tuShTir asaMgataa ca
loka-pravRttaav aratiH kShamaa ca
16.38
Attendant on it are constancy and straightness;
Modesty, caution, and reclusiveness;
Wanting little, contentment,
and freedom from forming attachments;
No fondness for worldly activity, and forbearance.
COMMENT
Looking backwards for the broader context of the progression of this Canto, after the climax of reaching the Ultimate Step on the Noble Eightfold Path, this verse can be taken as a reminder that the ultimate step is not necessarily attended by a fanfare of trumpets, and much less by an imitation of a lion's roar. It is maybe more conducive to enjoyment of the ultimate step to be less like a scary lion in a big circus, and more like a shy wren -- perching incognito in a quiet place, where nobody is around. That is how I read this enumeration of ten very unassuming virtues -- in the spirit of Tendo Nyojo's admonition not to get carried away by the twirling of a flower.
Looking forwards, it may be significant that the word upacaara which appears in the first line also appears in forthcoming verses of this Canto (e.g. 16.40d), where it describes the medical use of remedies in Aryuvedic treatments. So here also asy'opacaare, "attendant on it," seems to point to a medical connotation, as if Ashvaghosha wished gently to introduce the medical theme.
The sense I get is of these ten unassuming virtues, personified, waiting attentively on a patient who is being nursed towards the ultimate well-being described in 16.37.
For that reason, I think Linda Covill's translation "ancillary to it" is a nice one. "Ancillary" derives from the Latin ancilla, which means a female servant, and brings to mind the relatively humble work of a nurse or midwife -- as opposed, say, to a pompous alpha-male of a consultant obstetrician.
Not all consultants are pompous, I suppose, nor all nurses humble. In the end it might be down to the individual, more than down to the job. But there again, some jobs are more conducive to humility than others.
Translation work is inherently humbling, if one is conscientious about it -- it is a constant process of finding that, no, that wasn't it. I missed the point there. I didn't understand what the Master really meant.
Writing a commentary, in contrast, is not always conducive to humility! Quite the opposite is true.
Marjory Barlow used to emphasize that teaching the FM Alexander Technique is very modest work. "You have got to be very humble about it." That doesn't mean that a good Alexander teacher lacks confidence; she has the confidence that comes from knowing what really works -- the kind of confidence that Cesar Millan (aka The Dog Whisperer) shows in rehabilitating dogs and training their owners, or the kind of confidence that my wife and brother have in being able to help nervous swimmers overcome their fear of the water.
This verse raises the question for me of what it means to work in a modest way.
I think it means constantly going back and attending to the integrity (or lack of it) in the use of one's ear/voice/body. Before balance and before wisdom, there is that simple, practical, most basic matter to be attended to of how one is using oneself. So I think modesty has to do with attending first to this most basic matter.
Above all, I think modesty means remaining open, not committing the sin of certainty -- which I, for one, still too often tend to do.
VOCABULARY:
asya = genitive of ayam: this
upacaare = locative of upacaara: service , attendance; treatment; attendance on a patient , medical practice , physicking
dhRtiH (nom. sg.): f. firmness, constancy
aarjava (nom. sg.): n. straightness , straight direction; rectitude , propriety of act or observance; n. honesty , frankness , sincerity
hriiH (nom. sg.): f. shame , modesty , shyness , timidity
apramaadaH (nom. sg.): m. care, vigilance
pramaada: m. intoxication ; madness , insanity; negligence , carelessness
pra: (as a prefix to substantive) forth , away; (as a prefix to adjective) excessively , very , much
vivikta (past participle of vi-√vic, to sift): separated , kept apart , distinguished , discriminated ; isolated , alone , solitary; clear, distinct; discriminative, judicious; n. separation , solitude , a lonely place
pravivikta [Apte dictionary]: 1.very solitary; 2.separated;
- taa: (suffix used to create a substantive) - ness, -tion, etc.
viviktataa [MW]: f. separation , isolation ; clearness , purity; an empty or free place , loneliness; distinction, discrimination
ca: and
alpa: small, little
icchaa: wish, desire
alpeccha: having little or moderate wishes
-taa: (abstract noun suffix)
alpecchataa: f. wanting little [first of the eight great human truths]
tuShTiH (nominative, singular): f. satisfaction , contentment
asaMgataa (nom. sg.): f. not being attached
a: (negative prefix) not
saMga: m. sticking , clinging to , touch , contact with (loc. or comp.) ; relation to , association or intercourse with ; addiction or devotion to , propensity for , (esp.) worldly or selfish attachment or affection
-taa: f.(abstract noun suffix)
ca: and
loka: world, human society
pravRttau = locative pravRtti: rolling on, progressive activity, continual doing
aratiH (nominative, singular): dissatisfaction, discontent
a: (negative prefix) no
rati: pleasure , enjoyment , delight in , fondness for (locative)
kShamaa (nom. sg.): f. patience, forbearance
ca: and
EH Johnston:
In following it are required steadfastness, simple-mindedness, self-respect, heedfulness and discrimination, desire for little, contentment and lack of attachment, patience and dislike of mundane activity.
Linda Covill:
Ancillary to it are firmness, sincerity, modesty, heedfulness and solitude, minimal wishfulness, contentment, freedom from forming attachments, patience, and no fondness for active life in the world.
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