14.50
kva cid bhuktvaa yat tad vasanaM api yat tat parihitaH
vasann aatm'aaraamaH kva cana vijane yo 'bhiramate
kRt'aarthaH sa jneyaH shama-sukha-rasa-jnaH kRta-matiH
pareSHaam saMsargam pariharati yaH kaNTakam iva
One who eats anything at any place,
and wears any clothes,
Who dwells in the garden of his own being
and loves to be anywhere without people:
He is to be known as a success;
for he knows the taste of peace and happiness,
and his mind is made up --
He runs away from social involvement,
avoiding it like a thorn.
COMMENT:
I just wanted to let Ashvaghosha make again the point he already made clearly enough yesterday. And what a sharp point it is -- ouch!
VOCABULARY:
kva cid: anywhere
bhuktvaa = from bhuj: eat
yat tad: anything
vasanaM: clothing (accusative)
api: also
yat tat: anything
parihitaH: put on, wear
vasan = from vas: dwell, live in
aatma: one's own
aaraamaH: pleasure-grove, woodland; delight, garden
aatmaaraamaH: [MW] rejoicing in one's self, or in the supreme spirit
kva cana: anywhere
vijane: without people (locative)
yah: [relative pronoun] he who, one who
abhiramate: dwell, repose, delight in
kRta: done
arthaH: purpose, aim
kRt'aarthaH: achievement, success
sa: he
jneyaH: is known, is to be known
shama-sukha-rasa-jnaH: knowing peace-happiness-taste
kRta-matiH: mind made up, heart set, determined, resolute
pareSHaam = from para + i: go away, run away
saMsargam: union, connection, contact, social contact, intercourse
pariharati: leave, quit, desert; shun, avoid; beware of
yaH: [he is] one who
kaNTakam: thorn, fish-bone, social pest
iva: like
EH Johnston:
That man is to be considered successful who rejoices in solitude and avoids contact with others like a thorn, eating in any place whatever there is and wearing any clothes whatsoever, living anywhere sufficient to himself; for his mind is made up and he knows the taste of bliss of tranquillity.
Linda Covill:
A man who eats anything at any place, wears any clothes, lives in self-sufficiency, who is happy to be anywhere without people and avoids the company of others like a thorn -- he is recognized as a determined man of achievement, and knows the taste of the bliss of peace.
Sunday, December 14, 2008
Saturday, December 13, 2008
BUDDHACARITA 5.8-11; Going Back to the Origin of Sitting-Zen
5.8
manasaa ca viviktataam abhiipsuH
suhRdas taan anuyaayino nivaarya
abhitash cala caaru parNavatyaa
vijane muulam upeyivaan sa jambvaaH
And desiring to reach,
by mental means, unclutteredness,
He warded off the friends
who had been following him.
With leaves rustling agreeably all around,
He found a solitary spot
at the foot of a rose-apple tree.
5.9
niSHasaada sa yatra shaucavatyaam
bhuvi vaiDuurya nikaasha shaadvalaayaam
jagataH prabhava vyayau vicinvan
manasash ca sthiti maargam aalalambe
Sitting at that place of purity,
On verdant ground
-- grass shimmering like cat's-eye --
He contemplated the origin and demise of living things,
And hit upon the path of stillness of the mind.
5.10
samavaapta manaH sthitish ca sadyo
vishay'ecch"aadibhir aadhibhish ca muktaH
sa-vitarka-vicaaram aapa shaantaM
prathamaM dhyaanam an-aasrava-prakaaram
As instantly his mind was able to right itself,
So also he was set free from physical liabilities,
such as desire for objects of the senses.
He experienced, alongside intellectual doubt
and hesitation, a state of calm:
This is the first level of Zen,
a freedom of sorts from energetic leaks.
5.11
adhigamya tato viveka-jam tu
parama-priiti-sukhaM manaH-samaadhim
idam eva tataH paraM pradadhyau
manasaa loka-gatim nishaamya samyak
What he realized next, however,
springing out from discrimination,
Was the balanced state of mind,
which is the deepest joy and happiness.
Upon this very state, from that time onward,
his mind was set --
And with this mind he observed
the course of the world, plainly.
COMMENT:
Johnston says he stopped his friends. Olivelle says he got rid of them. I think Olivelle is nearer the mark. Ashvaghosha says he warded his friends off -- as if they were not friends but enemies. It is almost as if Ashvaghosha is hinting that the people you think of as your best friends, the ones you are liable to rely on, the ones you regard as belonging to the same group as you, the ones you think are on your side: they are the ones really to beware of. They are the ones, not your worst enemies, who pose the greatest threat to your independent existence in space and time.
The young Gautama separated himself from other people, even his friends, in order to find a solitary spot to sit and contemplate. And in that solitude he found a deep happiness, the experience of which guided him from that time onwards. That happiness was not conferred on him through belonging to a group; on the contrary, the young Gautama stumbled on that deep happiness as a result of giving himself, as a solitary individual, space and time to think things out for himself. People today who do not give themselves that kind of SPACE and TIME, but instead willingly subscribe to the views of some supposedly enlightened guru, and in adherence to the guru's view consider themselves to belong to some group, such as the Soto Sect worshipping at the altar of Dogen, or AZI idolizing Taisen, or Dogen Sangha accepting Gudo's "true Buddhism," or Soka Gakkai, or the Ordinary Mind School, or the Big Mind whatever it is -- are they following the Buddha's original non-sectarian way, or are they following another kind of way?
Does the true work of Dharma require us to join a group and adhere to a view, or set of views? Or does this work require us to think things out for ourselves, challenging all views?
I think Ashvaghosha, in his usual indirect way, as if he were more interested in telling a great story than in preaching a stern message, is telling us to observe keenly the way things are going, not looking through partisan eyes, not seeing through rose-coloured spectacles, but observing the course of the world plainly.
VOCABULARY:
5.8
manasaa = instrumental of manas: mind
ca: and
vivikta: solitude, lonely place
viviktataam: distinction, isolation, purity, clarity
abhiipsuH: desiring to reach
suhRdaH: friends (accusative)
taan: those (accusative), the [friends]
anuyaayin: following
nivaarya: warding off
abhitash: (with accusative) before and behind, round about, all around
cala: moving, rustling
caaru: agreeable, pleasing, lovely
parNavat: abounding in leaves
vijane: seclusion (locative)
muulam: root, foot (accusative)
upeyivaan: approching
sa: he
jambvaaH: rose-apple tree (genitive)
5.9
niSHasaada: sat, sitting
sa: he
yatra: [relative pronoun] in that/which place
shaucavatyaam: purity, cleanness
bhuvi: ground (locative)
vaiDuurya: cat's eye gem, beryl
nikaasha: sight, appearance ( = like)
shaadvalaayaam: covered with grass, verdant
jagataH: creatures, living things
prabhava: origin, coming into being
vyaya: destruction, demise
vicinvan: reflecting, contemplating
manasah: mind (genitive)
ca: and
sthiti: stillness, standing, staying, upright position, stability
maarga: path
aalalambe: took, embarked on
5.10
samavaapta: obtained, attained
manah: mind
sthiti: stillness, righting, balancing
ca....[ca]: both.... [and]
sadyo: at once, instantly
vishaya: sense object
icchaa: wish, desire
aadi: et cetera, beginning with
aadhibhih = instrumental case of aadhi: pledge, deposit, pawn, mortgage
ca: and
muktaH: (with instrumental case) set free from. released
sa: with, along with
vitarka: intellectual thought, conjecture, supposition, doubt, speculation
vicaaram: intellectual consideration, reflection, hesitation
aapa: reach, obtain
shaantaM: calmness
prathamaM: first
dhyaanam: level of meditation, Zen
an: without
aasrava = from the verb root aasru: flow, spring a leak
prakaaram: kind, sort
5.11
adhigamya: attainable, knowable; to be experienced
tata: thereupon
viveka: discrimination
jan: be born, arise
tu: but, however
parama: paramount, supreme, at the limit; highest, strongest, deepest
priiti: enjoyment, satisfaction
sukha: happiness (opposite of dukha)
manaH: mind
samaadhim: the balanced state (accusative)
idam eva: this very one, this very state
tataH paraM: from then on, thereafter
pradadhre: (with manas) to set the mind upon anything
manasaa: mind (instrumental)
loka-gatim: course of the world (accusative)
nishaamya: observe, perceive
samyak: out & out, no nonsense, straight, straightforward, frank, plain; rightly, properly, well & truly
Johnston:
And desiring to reach perfect clearness with his mind, he stopped his friends who were following him, and proceeded himself to a solitary spot at the root of a jambu-tree, whose beautiful leaves were waving in all directions.
And there he sat down on the clean ground, with grass bright like beryl; and reflecting on the origin and destruction of creation he took the path of mental stillness.
And his mind at once came to a stand and at the same time he was freed from mental troubles such as desire for the objects of sense etc. And he entered into the first trance of calmness which is accompanied by gross and subtle cogitation and which is supermundane in quality.
Then he obtained possession of concentration of mind, which springs from discernment and yields extreme ecstasy and bliss, and thereafter, rightly perceiving in his mind the course of the world, he meditated on this same matter.
Olivelle:
Getting rid of those friends who accompanied him,
wishing to reach some clarity in his own mind,
he reached the foot of a rose apple tree in a
lonely spot with charming leaves rustling all around.
On that pure ground with grass the colour of beryl,
he sat down, and as he began to contemplate
the origin and destruction of all creatures,
he embarked upon the path of mental stillness.
Achieving at once the state of mental stillness,
and freedom from worries, such as sensual desire,
he attained the first trance --
with thought and reflection,
tranquil, uninfluenced by the evil inflows.
Thereupon he attained absorption of the mind,
Born of discernment, with the joy of supreme bliss,
knowing rightly in his mind the course of the world,
thereafter he pondered over this very thing:
manasaa ca viviktataam abhiipsuH
suhRdas taan anuyaayino nivaarya
abhitash cala caaru parNavatyaa
vijane muulam upeyivaan sa jambvaaH
And desiring to reach,
by mental means, unclutteredness,
He warded off the friends
who had been following him.
With leaves rustling agreeably all around,
He found a solitary spot
at the foot of a rose-apple tree.
5.9
niSHasaada sa yatra shaucavatyaam
bhuvi vaiDuurya nikaasha shaadvalaayaam
jagataH prabhava vyayau vicinvan
manasash ca sthiti maargam aalalambe
Sitting at that place of purity,
On verdant ground
-- grass shimmering like cat's-eye --
He contemplated the origin and demise of living things,
And hit upon the path of stillness of the mind.
5.10
samavaapta manaH sthitish ca sadyo
vishay'ecch"aadibhir aadhibhish ca muktaH
sa-vitarka-vicaaram aapa shaantaM
prathamaM dhyaanam an-aasrava-prakaaram
As instantly his mind was able to right itself,
So also he was set free from physical liabilities,
such as desire for objects of the senses.
He experienced, alongside intellectual doubt
and hesitation, a state of calm:
This is the first level of Zen,
a freedom of sorts from energetic leaks.
5.11
adhigamya tato viveka-jam tu
parama-priiti-sukhaM manaH-samaadhim
idam eva tataH paraM pradadhyau
manasaa loka-gatim nishaamya samyak
What he realized next, however,
springing out from discrimination,
Was the balanced state of mind,
which is the deepest joy and happiness.
Upon this very state, from that time onward,
his mind was set --
And with this mind he observed
the course of the world, plainly.
COMMENT:
Johnston says he stopped his friends. Olivelle says he got rid of them. I think Olivelle is nearer the mark. Ashvaghosha says he warded his friends off -- as if they were not friends but enemies. It is almost as if Ashvaghosha is hinting that the people you think of as your best friends, the ones you are liable to rely on, the ones you regard as belonging to the same group as you, the ones you think are on your side: they are the ones really to beware of. They are the ones, not your worst enemies, who pose the greatest threat to your independent existence in space and time.
The young Gautama separated himself from other people, even his friends, in order to find a solitary spot to sit and contemplate. And in that solitude he found a deep happiness, the experience of which guided him from that time onwards. That happiness was not conferred on him through belonging to a group; on the contrary, the young Gautama stumbled on that deep happiness as a result of giving himself, as a solitary individual, space and time to think things out for himself. People today who do not give themselves that kind of SPACE and TIME, but instead willingly subscribe to the views of some supposedly enlightened guru, and in adherence to the guru's view consider themselves to belong to some group, such as the Soto Sect worshipping at the altar of Dogen, or AZI idolizing Taisen, or Dogen Sangha accepting Gudo's "true Buddhism," or Soka Gakkai, or the Ordinary Mind School, or the Big Mind whatever it is -- are they following the Buddha's original non-sectarian way, or are they following another kind of way?
Does the true work of Dharma require us to join a group and adhere to a view, or set of views? Or does this work require us to think things out for ourselves, challenging all views?
I think Ashvaghosha, in his usual indirect way, as if he were more interested in telling a great story than in preaching a stern message, is telling us to observe keenly the way things are going, not looking through partisan eyes, not seeing through rose-coloured spectacles, but observing the course of the world plainly.
VOCABULARY:
5.8
manasaa = instrumental of manas: mind
ca: and
vivikta: solitude, lonely place
viviktataam: distinction, isolation, purity, clarity
abhiipsuH: desiring to reach
suhRdaH: friends (accusative)
taan: those (accusative), the [friends]
anuyaayin: following
nivaarya: warding off
abhitash: (with accusative) before and behind, round about, all around
cala: moving, rustling
caaru: agreeable, pleasing, lovely
parNavat: abounding in leaves
vijane: seclusion (locative)
muulam: root, foot (accusative)
upeyivaan: approching
sa: he
jambvaaH: rose-apple tree (genitive)
5.9
niSHasaada: sat, sitting
sa: he
yatra: [relative pronoun] in that/which place
shaucavatyaam: purity, cleanness
bhuvi: ground (locative)
vaiDuurya: cat's eye gem, beryl
nikaasha: sight, appearance ( = like)
shaadvalaayaam: covered with grass, verdant
jagataH: creatures, living things
prabhava: origin, coming into being
vyaya: destruction, demise
vicinvan: reflecting, contemplating
manasah: mind (genitive)
ca: and
sthiti: stillness, standing, staying, upright position, stability
maarga: path
aalalambe: took, embarked on
5.10
samavaapta: obtained, attained
manah: mind
sthiti: stillness, righting, balancing
ca....[ca]: both.... [and]
sadyo: at once, instantly
vishaya: sense object
icchaa: wish, desire
aadi: et cetera, beginning with
aadhibhih = instrumental case of aadhi: pledge, deposit, pawn, mortgage
ca: and
muktaH: (with instrumental case) set free from. released
sa: with, along with
vitarka: intellectual thought, conjecture, supposition, doubt, speculation
vicaaram: intellectual consideration, reflection, hesitation
aapa: reach, obtain
shaantaM: calmness
prathamaM: first
dhyaanam: level of meditation, Zen
an: without
aasrava = from the verb root aasru: flow, spring a leak
prakaaram: kind, sort
5.11
adhigamya: attainable, knowable; to be experienced
tata: thereupon
viveka: discrimination
jan: be born, arise
tu: but, however
parama: paramount, supreme, at the limit; highest, strongest, deepest
priiti: enjoyment, satisfaction
sukha: happiness (opposite of dukha)
manaH: mind
samaadhim: the balanced state (accusative)
idam eva: this very one, this very state
tataH paraM: from then on, thereafter
pradadhre: (with manas) to set the mind upon anything
manasaa: mind (instrumental)
loka-gatim: course of the world (accusative)
nishaamya: observe, perceive
samyak: out & out, no nonsense, straight, straightforward, frank, plain; rightly, properly, well & truly
Johnston:
And desiring to reach perfect clearness with his mind, he stopped his friends who were following him, and proceeded himself to a solitary spot at the root of a jambu-tree, whose beautiful leaves were waving in all directions.
And there he sat down on the clean ground, with grass bright like beryl; and reflecting on the origin and destruction of creation he took the path of mental stillness.
And his mind at once came to a stand and at the same time he was freed from mental troubles such as desire for the objects of sense etc. And he entered into the first trance of calmness which is accompanied by gross and subtle cogitation and which is supermundane in quality.
Then he obtained possession of concentration of mind, which springs from discernment and yields extreme ecstasy and bliss, and thereafter, rightly perceiving in his mind the course of the world, he meditated on this same matter.
Olivelle:
Getting rid of those friends who accompanied him,
wishing to reach some clarity in his own mind,
he reached the foot of a rose apple tree in a
lonely spot with charming leaves rustling all around.
On that pure ground with grass the colour of beryl,
he sat down, and as he began to contemplate
the origin and destruction of all creatures,
he embarked upon the path of mental stillness.
Achieving at once the state of mental stillness,
and freedom from worries, such as sensual desire,
he attained the first trance --
with thought and reflection,
tranquil, uninfluenced by the evil inflows.
Thereupon he attained absorption of the mind,
Born of discernment, with the joy of supreme bliss,
knowing rightly in his mind the course of the world,
thereafter he pondered over this very thing:
Friday, December 12, 2008
BUDDHACARITA 13.69; Inhibiting the Mara Reflex
13.69
tan maa kRthaaH shokam, upehi shaantiM,
maa bhuun mahimnaa tava Maara maanaH;
vishrambhituM na kSHamam a-dhruvaa shriish,
cale pade vismayam abhyupaiSHi.]]
So be not grieved but come to quiet.
Being great and famous, Mara,
is naught for your pride --
There are no grounds to be confident
in fickle political power.
You are puffed up with startle and bluster
on an unsteady base."
COMMENT:
What does it mean "not to be grieved"? It might mean not to be unduly swayed by the Mara reflex, not to be governed by the Mara reflex, not to react blindly and emotionally, out of touch with one's reason, as a result of an aberrant Mara reflex. The Mara reflex, more conventionally know in scientific circles as the Moro reflex, exists to support us, to prevent us from curling up and dying, at the time of our strongest emotions, such as grief. But if this primitive reflex is not kept in check, if it is not inhibited, then it tends to cause our energy to be continually drawn away from the centre and up to the head, neck, and shoulders -- so that sensory information is not well integrated, and thoughts and feelings are not well grounded.
"To come to quiet," similarly, might have to do with inhibition of undue excitement in the nervous system resulting from unresolved antagonism between fear paralysis and the Moro reflex.
Patrick Olivelle's translation of the fourth line, "you are puffed up as your base is reeling," nicely describes the manner of use of a person suffering from a poorly integrated Moro reflex.
VOCABULARY:
tat: so
maa: [prohibitive particle] do not
kRthaa: made, be done
shoka: grief
upe = approach, come to
shaanti: calm, quiet
maa: do not
bhuu: become, be
mahimnaa = instrumental case of mahiman: greatness
tava = genitive of tvam: you
Maara: Mara
maanaH: pride
vishrambhaH: confidence
na: not
kSHama: patient, suitable
a-dhruvaa: inconstant, fickle
shriiSHu = locative plural case of shrii: splendour; prosperity, fortune, wealth; high position, glory, majesty, royal dignity, sovereignty
cala: moving, trembling, tottering, unsteady, wobbling
pade = locative case of pada: footing, position, base
vismaya: surprise, startle, pride, arrogance
abhyupe: get into a state
Johnston:
Therefore be not grieved, calm yourself, Mara, and be not over-proud of your might. Inconstant fortune should not be relied on; you display arrogance, when your very position is tottering."
Olivelle:
So, do not be sad, calm yourself, Mara,
do not become proud because of your might;
Sovereign power is fickle, don't trust in it;
you are puffed up as your base is reeling."
tan maa kRthaaH shokam, upehi shaantiM,
maa bhuun mahimnaa tava Maara maanaH;
vishrambhituM na kSHamam a-dhruvaa shriish,
cale pade vismayam abhyupaiSHi.]]
So be not grieved but come to quiet.
Being great and famous, Mara,
is naught for your pride --
There are no grounds to be confident
in fickle political power.
You are puffed up with startle and bluster
on an unsteady base."
COMMENT:
What does it mean "not to be grieved"? It might mean not to be unduly swayed by the Mara reflex, not to be governed by the Mara reflex, not to react blindly and emotionally, out of touch with one's reason, as a result of an aberrant Mara reflex. The Mara reflex, more conventionally know in scientific circles as the Moro reflex, exists to support us, to prevent us from curling up and dying, at the time of our strongest emotions, such as grief. But if this primitive reflex is not kept in check, if it is not inhibited, then it tends to cause our energy to be continually drawn away from the centre and up to the head, neck, and shoulders -- so that sensory information is not well integrated, and thoughts and feelings are not well grounded.
"To come to quiet," similarly, might have to do with inhibition of undue excitement in the nervous system resulting from unresolved antagonism between fear paralysis and the Moro reflex.
Patrick Olivelle's translation of the fourth line, "you are puffed up as your base is reeling," nicely describes the manner of use of a person suffering from a poorly integrated Moro reflex.
VOCABULARY:
tat: so
maa: [prohibitive particle] do not
kRthaa: made, be done
shoka: grief
upe = approach, come to
shaanti: calm, quiet
maa: do not
bhuu: become, be
mahimnaa = instrumental case of mahiman: greatness
tava = genitive of tvam: you
Maara: Mara
maanaH: pride
vishrambhaH: confidence
na: not
kSHama: patient, suitable
a-dhruvaa: inconstant, fickle
shriiSHu = locative plural case of shrii: splendour; prosperity, fortune, wealth; high position, glory, majesty, royal dignity, sovereignty
cala: moving, trembling, tottering, unsteady, wobbling
pade = locative case of pada: footing, position, base
vismaya: surprise, startle, pride, arrogance
abhyupe: get into a state
Johnston:
Therefore be not grieved, calm yourself, Mara, and be not over-proud of your might. Inconstant fortune should not be relied on; you display arrogance, when your very position is tottering."
Olivelle:
So, do not be sad, calm yourself, Mara,
do not become proud because of your might;
Sovereign power is fickle, don't trust in it;
you are puffed up as your base is reeling."
Thursday, December 11, 2008
BUDDHACARITA 13.68
13.68
eSHaa hi naabhir vasudhaa-talasya
kRtsnena yuktaa parameNa dhaamnaa;
bhuumer ato 'nyo 'sti hi na pradesho
vegaM samaadher viSHaheta yo 'sya.
For the navel of the earth's surface is right here,
Supplied in full with the most vital of energy.
There is no place on earth,
therefore, apart from here,
That can bear the impact
of the coming together of this person.
COMMENT:
This verse is very pregnant with meaning. My image is of Ashvaghosha's hands being in contact with his belly, and his voice emanating from his belly, and his crossed legs being released out from their deeper muscular connections into his belly, as he sings out this verse. This verse has to do with where the vital centre is, and it poses the difficult challenge of how to translate into English the Sanskrit word samadhi.
EH Johnston says that the idea of the navel of the earth goes back to the very ancient Indian text called the Rigveda, which predated the Buddha by maybe a thousand years. But I think Ashvaghosha is suggesting that the navel of the earth exists right here, and right now, on this sitting-cushion. "This person" might be Gautama, or it might be you or me. Right here -- not necessarily on some remote, cloud-enshrouded Himalayan mountain -- is just the place where the stillness of samadhi can be allowed to thunder into being.
VOCABULARY:
eSHa: this, this here [place]
hi: for
naabhii: navel, umbilical cord
vasudha: yielding wealth, bountiful
vasudhaa: earth, ground
talasya = genitive case of tala: surface, crust
kRtsa: whole, complete, entire, full
yuktaa: [with instrumental] possessed of; furnished or endowed or filled or supplied or provided with
parama: highest, paramount, supreme
dhaamnaa = instrumental case of dhaman: power, majesty; light, splendour.
bhuumeH = genitive case of bhuumi: earth
ataH: hence, from this, apart from here
anya: other
asti: there is
hi: for, therefore
na: not
pradeshaH: place, area
vega: shock; impact; flood, current; impetus, force.
samaadheH = genitive case of samaadhi: union; putting, joining or fixing together; composure; state of stillness [without fixity], settled state; state of physical balance; state of concentrated energy; complete union of all the parts of a person.
viSHah: to bear, withstand
yaH: [relative pronoun]
asya = genitive case of ayam: this one, he
Johnston:
For this is the navel of the earth's surface, entirely possessed of the highest power; for there is no other spot on earth which can bear the force of his concentrated thought.
Olivelle:
For this is the navel of th' earth's surface,
filled with the highest force in its fullness;
There is no other place on earth, therefore,
that can bear the intensity of trance.
eSHaa hi naabhir vasudhaa-talasya
kRtsnena yuktaa parameNa dhaamnaa;
bhuumer ato 'nyo 'sti hi na pradesho
vegaM samaadher viSHaheta yo 'sya.
For the navel of the earth's surface is right here,
Supplied in full with the most vital of energy.
There is no place on earth,
therefore, apart from here,
That can bear the impact
of the coming together of this person.
COMMENT:
This verse is very pregnant with meaning. My image is of Ashvaghosha's hands being in contact with his belly, and his voice emanating from his belly, and his crossed legs being released out from their deeper muscular connections into his belly, as he sings out this verse. This verse has to do with where the vital centre is, and it poses the difficult challenge of how to translate into English the Sanskrit word samadhi.
EH Johnston says that the idea of the navel of the earth goes back to the very ancient Indian text called the Rigveda, which predated the Buddha by maybe a thousand years. But I think Ashvaghosha is suggesting that the navel of the earth exists right here, and right now, on this sitting-cushion. "This person" might be Gautama, or it might be you or me. Right here -- not necessarily on some remote, cloud-enshrouded Himalayan mountain -- is just the place where the stillness of samadhi can be allowed to thunder into being.
VOCABULARY:
eSHa: this, this here [place]
hi: for
naabhii: navel, umbilical cord
vasudha: yielding wealth, bountiful
vasudhaa: earth, ground
talasya = genitive case of tala: surface, crust
kRtsa: whole, complete, entire, full
yuktaa: [with instrumental] possessed of; furnished or endowed or filled or supplied or provided with
parama: highest, paramount, supreme
dhaamnaa = instrumental case of dhaman: power, majesty; light, splendour.
bhuumeH = genitive case of bhuumi: earth
ataH: hence, from this, apart from here
anya: other
asti: there is
hi: for, therefore
na: not
pradeshaH: place, area
vega: shock; impact; flood, current; impetus, force.
samaadheH = genitive case of samaadhi: union; putting, joining or fixing together; composure; state of stillness [without fixity], settled state; state of physical balance; state of concentrated energy; complete union of all the parts of a person.
viSHah: to bear, withstand
yaH: [relative pronoun]
asya = genitive case of ayam: this one, he
Johnston:
For this is the navel of the earth's surface, entirely possessed of the highest power; for there is no other spot on earth which can bear the force of his concentrated thought.
Olivelle:
For this is the navel of th' earth's surface,
filled with the highest force in its fullness;
There is no other place on earth, therefore,
that can bear the intensity of trance.
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
BUDDHACARITA 13.67
13.67
bodhaaya karmaaNi hi yaany anena
KRtaani teSHaaM niyato 'dya kaalaH
sthaane tath'aasmin upaviSHTa eSHa
yath" aiva puurve munayas tath" aiva.
For those deeds that,
for the regaining of consciousness, he
Has done -- their time, assuredly, today has come.
So he is sitting like this, at this place,
Exactly as did the sages of the past.
COMMENT:
The first line, again, relates to consciousness, and the aim of regaining it. The second line suggests the inviolability of the law of cause and effect. The third and fourth lines express just sitting in the present, as has been practised by the sages of the past.
VOCABULARY:
bodhaaya = dative case of bodha: regain consciousness; be awake or wakeful; become aware.
karmaaNi: deeds, actions, acts
hi: for
yaani: those which
anena = instrumental case of ayam: this, he
KRta: done
teSHaaM = genitive, plural of tat: that
niyato: assuredly, certainly
adya: today
kaalaH: time
sthaane: in place
tatha: thus, in this manner
asmin = locative of ayam: this, here, this place
upaviSHTa: seated, sitting
eSHa: this one, [is] he
[lit. "in place, in this manner, at this place seated is he"]
yatha... tatha...: as.... so
eva: [emphatic particle]
puurve: previous, of the past
munayaH: sages
Johnston:
For today is the appointed time for the ripening of those deeds which he has done in the past for the sake of illumination. Thus he is seated in this place exactly like the previous sages.
Olivelle:
For today is the time when the deeds he has done
to obtain Awakening will bear fruit;
At this spot he remains in this manner seated,
in the same way as sages of the past.
bodhaaya karmaaNi hi yaany anena
KRtaani teSHaaM niyato 'dya kaalaH
sthaane tath'aasmin upaviSHTa eSHa
yath" aiva puurve munayas tath" aiva.
For those deeds that,
for the regaining of consciousness, he
Has done -- their time, assuredly, today has come.
So he is sitting like this, at this place,
Exactly as did the sages of the past.
COMMENT:
The first line, again, relates to consciousness, and the aim of regaining it. The second line suggests the inviolability of the law of cause and effect. The third and fourth lines express just sitting in the present, as has been practised by the sages of the past.
VOCABULARY:
bodhaaya = dative case of bodha: regain consciousness; be awake or wakeful; become aware.
karmaaNi: deeds, actions, acts
hi: for
yaani: those which
anena = instrumental case of ayam: this, he
KRta: done
teSHaaM = genitive, plural of tat: that
niyato: assuredly, certainly
adya: today
kaalaH: time
sthaane: in place
tatha: thus, in this manner
asmin = locative of ayam: this, here, this place
upaviSHTa: seated, sitting
eSHa: this one, [is] he
[lit. "in place, in this manner, at this place seated is he"]
yatha... tatha...: as.... so
eva: [emphatic particle]
puurve: previous, of the past
munayaH: sages
Johnston:
For today is the appointed time for the ripening of those deeds which he has done in the past for the sake of illumination. Thus he is seated in this place exactly like the previous sages.
Olivelle:
For today is the time when the deeds he has done
to obtain Awakening will bear fruit;
At this spot he remains in this manner seated,
in the same way as sages of the past.
Tuesday, December 9, 2008
Wishlist
My wishlist:
I wish to allow
(1) my neck to release
(2) to let the head go forward and up
(3) to allow the spine to release into length and the back to widen
(4) letting the limbs release out of the widening back
In other words, I wish to be free of the influence of undue activity of:
(1) The Moro reflex, which, when aberrant, disturbs muscle tone, particularly in the neck
(2) The Tonic Labyrinthine Reflex, which, when aberrant, disturbs the sense of balance, and particulary the poise of the head on the neck
(3) The Asymmetrical Tonic Neck Reflex, which, when aberrant, tends to cause spinal twists and areas of rigidity and collapse in the spiral musculature of the whole torso, centered on the head, neck and back
(4) The Symmetrical Tonic Neck Reflex, which, if it is aberrant, causes undue tension in the hips whenever the neck is extended.
In short, what I really want for Christmas is a nice strong suit of mindfulness-armour, so that I may sit within a protective force-field of mindfulness, being not unduly bothered by the aircraft that fly constantly overhead, like missiles sent from Mara.
I wish to allow
(1) my neck to release
(2) to let the head go forward and up
(3) to allow the spine to release into length and the back to widen
(4) letting the limbs release out of the widening back
In other words, I wish to be free of the influence of undue activity of:
(1) The Moro reflex, which, when aberrant, disturbs muscle tone, particularly in the neck
(2) The Tonic Labyrinthine Reflex, which, when aberrant, disturbs the sense of balance, and particulary the poise of the head on the neck
(3) The Asymmetrical Tonic Neck Reflex, which, when aberrant, tends to cause spinal twists and areas of rigidity and collapse in the spiral musculature of the whole torso, centered on the head, neck and back
(4) The Symmetrical Tonic Neck Reflex, which, if it is aberrant, causes undue tension in the hips whenever the neck is extended.
In short, what I really want for Christmas is a nice strong suit of mindfulness-armour, so that I may sit within a protective force-field of mindfulness, being not unduly bothered by the aircraft that fly constantly overhead, like missiles sent from Mara.
BUDDHACARITA 13.66
13.66
baddhaaM dRDhaish cetasi moha-paashair
yasya prajaaM mokSHayitum maniiSHaa,
tasmin jighaaMsaa tava n'opapannaa
shraante jagad bandhana-mokSHa hetoH.
Bound fast by the fetter of mental delusion
Is that skein of creation
which he desires to disentangle;
It is not for you to try to put an end to him
Who, to undo the ties that bind the living,
is exhausting himself.
COMMENT:
I see these four lines as about (1) mind that is not yet freed from the prison of uninhibited unconscious reaction; (2) the tangled skein of action and reaction, based on faulty sensory appreciation and fanciful notions, which constitutes the world; (3) negation of end-gaining; (4) effort in the direction of undoing.
So, yes, my translation may be denigrated, as my translation work has indeed been most hurtfully denigrated in the past as "based on Alexander theory." But the truth might just be that the above translation, based on 27 years in sitting-zen and 15 years in Alexander's work, expresses exactly what Ashvaghosha was driving at. What Ashvaghosha was driving at, it seems to me, was not straightening of the spine associated with physical rigidity in adherence to the viewpoint of "true Buddhism." What Ashvaghosha was driving at was lengthening of the spine associated with muscular release in dropping off all views.
VOCABULARY:
baddha: bound
dRDhaih = instrumental case of dRDha: fast, tight
cetasi = locative case of cetas: consciousness, mind
moha: delusion, folly, infatuation
paashair = instrumental case of paasha: tether, snare, fetter
yasya = genitive case of yat: that which
prajaa: progeny, procreation, creation, creatures
mokSHaya: untie, undo, disentangle, deliver, emancipate
maniiSHaa: conception, prayer, desire
tasmin = locative case of sah: he
jighaaMsaa: intention to slay
tava: of you
na: not
upapanna: suitable or proper for, befitting, worthy of
shraanta: wearied, tired, exhausted
jagad: living, moving, animate; man, world, mankind
bandhana: binding, tying, fastening, entwining
mokSHa: release, freeing
hetoH = genitive case of hetu: motive, purpose
Johnston
His purpose is to deliver creation which is bound fast in mind by the snares of delusion. It does not befit you to try to kill him who is exerting himself to deliver mankind from their bondage.
Olivelle
His intent is to free creatures, whose minds
are bound tight by the bonds of delusion;
It behooves you not to seek to kill him
who labors to free the world from its bonds.
baddhaaM dRDhaish cetasi moha-paashair
yasya prajaaM mokSHayitum maniiSHaa,
tasmin jighaaMsaa tava n'opapannaa
shraante jagad bandhana-mokSHa hetoH.
Bound fast by the fetter of mental delusion
Is that skein of creation
which he desires to disentangle;
It is not for you to try to put an end to him
Who, to undo the ties that bind the living,
is exhausting himself.
COMMENT:
I see these four lines as about (1) mind that is not yet freed from the prison of uninhibited unconscious reaction; (2) the tangled skein of action and reaction, based on faulty sensory appreciation and fanciful notions, which constitutes the world; (3) negation of end-gaining; (4) effort in the direction of undoing.
So, yes, my translation may be denigrated, as my translation work has indeed been most hurtfully denigrated in the past as "based on Alexander theory." But the truth might just be that the above translation, based on 27 years in sitting-zen and 15 years in Alexander's work, expresses exactly what Ashvaghosha was driving at. What Ashvaghosha was driving at, it seems to me, was not straightening of the spine associated with physical rigidity in adherence to the viewpoint of "true Buddhism." What Ashvaghosha was driving at was lengthening of the spine associated with muscular release in dropping off all views.
VOCABULARY:
baddha: bound
dRDhaih = instrumental case of dRDha: fast, tight
cetasi = locative case of cetas: consciousness, mind
moha: delusion, folly, infatuation
paashair = instrumental case of paasha: tether, snare, fetter
yasya = genitive case of yat: that which
prajaa: progeny, procreation, creation, creatures
mokSHaya: untie, undo, disentangle, deliver, emancipate
maniiSHaa: conception, prayer, desire
tasmin = locative case of sah: he
jighaaMsaa: intention to slay
tava: of you
na: not
upapanna: suitable or proper for, befitting, worthy of
shraanta: wearied, tired, exhausted
jagad: living, moving, animate; man, world, mankind
bandhana: binding, tying, fastening, entwining
mokSHa: release, freeing
hetoH = genitive case of hetu: motive, purpose
Johnston
His purpose is to deliver creation which is bound fast in mind by the snares of delusion. It does not befit you to try to kill him who is exerting himself to deliver mankind from their bondage.
Olivelle
His intent is to free creatures, whose minds
are bound tight by the bonds of delusion;
It behooves you not to seek to kill him
who labors to free the world from its bonds.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)