shleSham tyaagaM priyaM ruukShaM
kathaaM ca dhyaanam eva ca
mantu-kaale cikits'-aarthaM
cakre n' aatm'-aanuvRttaye
= = = = - = = =
- = = = - = - -
= - = = - = = =
= = = = - = - =
13.7
Joining and leaving, love and toughness,
Talking, as well as actual realisation,
He used during instruction for the purpose of healing,
Not to win a following for himself.
COMMENT:
I changed the translation of the 3rd line of the previous verse to:
"Because of complete and stainless integrity".
The point of this and the previous verse, it seems to me as I read this one now, is that in the matter of a teacher's primary motivation for teaching, nothing else but complete and stainless integrity will do.
In holding up the positive mirror of the Buddha's complete integrity, I suppose, Ashvaghosha is not asking us to have faith in a state of exalted perfection that might ultimately be beyond us: he is rather describing an integrity which has been and which continues to be essential to our own lowly practice.
It might not be reasonable to expect complete absence of faults in ourselves as teachers or in others as teachers: a teacher who lapses into imbalanced states like anger, depression, or pride is not automatically disqualified by those states from being a teacher. Turning to help from alcohol, as seemed to be Chogyam Trungpa's case, or being addicted as certain French teachers apparently are to strong black coffee and cigarettes, might harm a teacher's liver and lungs and stain his teeth, but those vices do not necessarily stain the integrity that I think is being described here.
What stains the integrity that I think is being described here is purporting to tell the truth not for the sake of the truth itself, but for the sake of one's own fame and profit. Master Dogen wrote that his greatest fear was losing the will to the truth, the bodhi-citta. This fear was fully reflected in the negative mirror of Shobogenzo chapter 73, Sanju-shichi-bon-bodai-bunbo, The 37 Elements of Bodhi. In this chapter, Master Dogen tears into charlatans in China who twisted the traditional teaching of the importance of leaving home, so as to win a following for themselves among lay people. Dogen compared those so-called monks to dogs eager to feast on the shit and piss of lay people.
Based on personal experience, I feel a similar negativity toward the kind of dentist who is primarily in it for the money. And the dentist analogy may be apt here, as the 3rd line of this verse returns to the medical metaphor: In administering the good medicine which is the Dharma, Ashvaghosha is telling us, the Buddha's aim was to heal; and at times of working towards this aim, just this aim and not personal gain was his aim.
This attitude is not a remote ideal that I might realise one day if I were to become as perfect as the sage Gautama (pigs might fly): it is how I must be, here and now, notwithstanding myriad faults, in this very task of translation. It is how I must be, at 11.00 am, when my friend arrives for an Alexander lesson.
The closing words of the verse n' aatm'-aanuvRttaye "not-self-[for obedience/compliance], are without doubt pointing away from selfishness. What kind of selfishness they are pointing away from is somewhat open to interpretation: alternative translations that might be valid are "not to suit himself," as in EHJ's interepretation; and "not to win a following for himself," as in LC's.
In the end, I have provisionally decided on the latter interpretation and translation, because I think that doing things to suit oneself, at one's own whim, like smoking or drinking or driving fast cars or chasing fast women is a much less serious sin than twisting the true Dharma in order to win a following as a teacher. The Buddha may have been totally unstained by the former kind of sin. I don't know if he was or not. Is it necessary for me to take a leap of faith and believe that the Buddha was perfect in every way? Again, I don't know. But it seems to me that any question that introduces a conflict of doubting vs believing, tends to be confidence sapping.
Where confidence lies, in contrast, is in the certain knowledge that all the true teachers I have known in my life, and I have been fortunate to know quite a few, were motivated primarily by love of what they were teaching, and not by the desire for self-promotion. Marjory Barlow, to name one such teacher, was not spotlessly free of sin. But in administering the good medicine of the teaching of her uncle, FM Alexander, Marjory demonstrated complete and stainless integrity.
EH Johnston:
At the time of giving counsel He made use of now joining, now separation, now pleasant methods, now harsh ones, now fables and now mystic meditation, for the sake of healing, not at His own whim.
Linda Covill:
During times of counselling he stayed close or kept away, was kind or severe, and used stories or meditation not to win obedience to himself, but to promote healing.
VOCABULARY:
shleSham (accusative): connection , junction , union ; embracing , an embrace
tyaagam (accusative): leaving , abandoning , forsaking
priyam (accusative): n. love , kindness , favour
ruukSha (accusative): m. hardness , harshness
kathaam (accusative): conversation , speech , talking together ; story , tale , fable
ca: and
dhyaanam (accusative): realisation, [sitting-]dhyana
eva: emphatic
ca: and
mantu: m. an adviser , manager , disposer , ruler , arbiter RV ; (also as f.) advice , counsel
kaale (locative): in time
cikitsa: f. medical attendance , practice or science of medicine (esp. therapeutics , one of the six sections of med.)
artham (accusative): purpose (ifc. " for the sake of , on account of , in behalf of , for ")
cakre (perfect of kR): to do , make , perform , accomplish , cause , effect
na: not
aatma = aatman: self
anuvRttaye = dative of anuvRtta: mfn. following , obeying , complying; n. obedience , conformity , compliance
Monday, July 13, 2009
Sunday, July 12, 2009
SAUNDARANANDA 13.6: Untaintedness of the Sage
tadval loke munir jaato
lokasy' aanugrahaM caran
kRtitvaan nirmalatvaac ca
loka-dharmair na lipyate
= = = = - = = =
= = = = - = - -
- = = = - = = -
= - = = - = - =
13.6
So the sage, born in the world,
And acting for the benefit of the world,
Because of complete and stainless integrity,
Is not tainted by worldly things.
COMMENT:
Here in south-east England, men of the world like to fly light aircraft around for fun, when the weather permits. They tend to avoid built-up areas, opting to skirt around a town like Aylesbury and fly instead over the surrounding villages, where yours truly is vainly seeking peace and quiet.
The tendency of gold not to be tarnished, and the tendency of lotus leaves not to be sullied by the water of a muddy pond, are inherent in the chemistry of gold and in the biology of the lotus, and gold and lotus never go against their inherent nature.
When we observe the world of men, however, in self and in others there is often a tendency for a person to be tainted by his emotional reactions to worldly things.
To witness the birth of a healthy baby makes us wonder how nature managed to produce such flawless perfection. But as a human being grows up and makes his way in the world, the choices we make and the education we receive, seem too often to cause us to lose the quality of child mind. Some of us, sensing this loss, look for ways to let our original child mind shine through again. We take up some form of non-worldly practice of the backward step, like playing the Japanese bamboo flute, not to become anything, but for the sheer enjoyment of the beauty of the sound; or like just sitting.
Still, true learning of the backward step, at least as I struggle with it, is not such an easy matter. When what I perceive to be a worldly intrusion is buzzing overhead, my practice is tainted by an emotional reaction. This reaction has a psychological aspect but more fundamentally, as I have come to understand this reaction, it is a symptom of a lack of inhibitory circuits at a deep level of functioning of the inner ear.
Now I am discussing what I understand to be the root cause of my own tainted reactions to worldly things, but what this verse is describing is the cause of the Buddha's not being tainted by emotional reaction to worldly things.
The cause of the sage Gautama not being tainted, Ashvaghosha tells us here, by his use of the ablative case to indicate a causal relation, was the sage's kRtitva and nirmalatva. So understanding of the verse seems to me to hinge on understanding of these two words.
At time of writing, I am not sure how to understand these two words. Are they expressing a momentary state of balance in action, which allows a person to be there in a moment of listening to a new-born baby's first cry, or a moment of looking at a potato flower in bloom, or a moment of lopping off a thick branch with one well-aimed swing of a sharp axe? Or are they are expressing untaintedness as an irreversible state like a cracked mirror or a fallen leaf?
For the present, I have translated kRtitva as "perfected integrity" without knowing what "perfected integrity" really means -- which may be why the buzz of the aircraft continues to bother me.
In the process of translating Shobogenzo, I was bothered by the same sense of lack of integrity, for example in translating words like anuttara-samyak-saMbodhi whose meaning I had not experienced for myself. In that situation, I thought that I was lending the translation authenticity and integrity by deferring to a senior "co-translator" whose integrity I saw, with a certain degree of optimism, as beyond question. Gudo Nishijima claimed in his own words to be "strong to noise," and he truly was strong to noise. But him being strong to noise was of no use to me who was and is weak to noise. There is no integrity in a student who is weak to noise imitating a teacher who is strong to noise. My optimistic attempt to outsource integrity to another is one mistake I will never make again, one mirror that was well and truly cracked.
EH Johnston:
So the Sage, though born in the world and acting for its benefit, is not stained by the conditions of the world because of His purity and stainlessness.
Linda Covill:
likewise the sage is born in the world and operates as a favour to the world, but because of his perfectedness and spotlessness he is not soiled by any worldly thing.
VOCABULARY:
tadvat (correlative of yathaa): so, also, likewise
loke (locative): in the world
muniH (nominative): sage
jaataH (nominative): born
lokasya (genitive): of the world
anugraham = accusative of anugraha: m. favour , kindness , showing favour , conferring benefits , promoting or furthering a good object
caran nominative singular m. of present participle of car: to undertake , practise , do or act, effect
kRtin: mfn. one who acts , active ; expert , clever , skilful , knowing , learned
kRti: f. the act of doing , making , performing , manufacturing , composing ; action , activity ; creation , work
-tvaM: (abstract noun suffix) the state of being...
kRtitvaat = ablative of kRtitva: n. the state of one who has attained any object
nirmalatvaat = ablative of nirmalatva: n. stainlessness , cleanness , purity
ca: and
loka: world
dharmair (instrumental, plural of dharma): things, practices
na: not
lipyate: is tainted
lokasy' aanugrahaM caran
kRtitvaan nirmalatvaac ca
loka-dharmair na lipyate
= = = = - = = =
= = = = - = - -
- = = = - = = -
= - = = - = - =
13.6
So the sage, born in the world,
And acting for the benefit of the world,
Because of complete and stainless integrity,
Is not tainted by worldly things.
COMMENT:
Here in south-east England, men of the world like to fly light aircraft around for fun, when the weather permits. They tend to avoid built-up areas, opting to skirt around a town like Aylesbury and fly instead over the surrounding villages, where yours truly is vainly seeking peace and quiet.
The tendency of gold not to be tarnished, and the tendency of lotus leaves not to be sullied by the water of a muddy pond, are inherent in the chemistry of gold and in the biology of the lotus, and gold and lotus never go against their inherent nature.
When we observe the world of men, however, in self and in others there is often a tendency for a person to be tainted by his emotional reactions to worldly things.
To witness the birth of a healthy baby makes us wonder how nature managed to produce such flawless perfection. But as a human being grows up and makes his way in the world, the choices we make and the education we receive, seem too often to cause us to lose the quality of child mind. Some of us, sensing this loss, look for ways to let our original child mind shine through again. We take up some form of non-worldly practice of the backward step, like playing the Japanese bamboo flute, not to become anything, but for the sheer enjoyment of the beauty of the sound; or like just sitting.
Still, true learning of the backward step, at least as I struggle with it, is not such an easy matter. When what I perceive to be a worldly intrusion is buzzing overhead, my practice is tainted by an emotional reaction. This reaction has a psychological aspect but more fundamentally, as I have come to understand this reaction, it is a symptom of a lack of inhibitory circuits at a deep level of functioning of the inner ear.
Now I am discussing what I understand to be the root cause of my own tainted reactions to worldly things, but what this verse is describing is the cause of the Buddha's not being tainted by emotional reaction to worldly things.
The cause of the sage Gautama not being tainted, Ashvaghosha tells us here, by his use of the ablative case to indicate a causal relation, was the sage's kRtitva and nirmalatva. So understanding of the verse seems to me to hinge on understanding of these two words.
At time of writing, I am not sure how to understand these two words. Are they expressing a momentary state of balance in action, which allows a person to be there in a moment of listening to a new-born baby's first cry, or a moment of looking at a potato flower in bloom, or a moment of lopping off a thick branch with one well-aimed swing of a sharp axe? Or are they are expressing untaintedness as an irreversible state like a cracked mirror or a fallen leaf?
For the present, I have translated kRtitva as "perfected integrity" without knowing what "perfected integrity" really means -- which may be why the buzz of the aircraft continues to bother me.
In the process of translating Shobogenzo, I was bothered by the same sense of lack of integrity, for example in translating words like anuttara-samyak-saMbodhi whose meaning I had not experienced for myself. In that situation, I thought that I was lending the translation authenticity and integrity by deferring to a senior "co-translator" whose integrity I saw, with a certain degree of optimism, as beyond question. Gudo Nishijima claimed in his own words to be "strong to noise," and he truly was strong to noise. But him being strong to noise was of no use to me who was and is weak to noise. There is no integrity in a student who is weak to noise imitating a teacher who is strong to noise. My optimistic attempt to outsource integrity to another is one mistake I will never make again, one mirror that was well and truly cracked.
EH Johnston:
So the Sage, though born in the world and acting for its benefit, is not stained by the conditions of the world because of His purity and stainlessness.
Linda Covill:
likewise the sage is born in the world and operates as a favour to the world, but because of his perfectedness and spotlessness he is not soiled by any worldly thing.
VOCABULARY:
tadvat (correlative of yathaa): so, also, likewise
loke (locative): in the world
muniH (nominative): sage
jaataH (nominative): born
lokasya (genitive): of the world
anugraham = accusative of anugraha: m. favour , kindness , showing favour , conferring benefits , promoting or furthering a good object
caran nominative singular m. of present participle of car: to undertake , practise , do or act, effect
kRtin: mfn. one who acts , active ; expert , clever , skilful , knowing , learned
kRti: f. the act of doing , making , performing , manufacturing , composing ; action , activity ; creation , work
-tvaM: (abstract noun suffix) the state of being...
kRtitvaat = ablative of kRtitva: n. the state of one who has attained any object
nirmalatvaat = ablative of nirmalatva: n. stainlessness , cleanness , purity
ca: and
loka: world
dharmair (instrumental, plural of dharma): things, practices
na: not
lipyate: is tainted
Saturday, July 11, 2009
SAUNDARANANDA 13.5: Untaintedness of a Lotus-Leaf
padma-parNaM yathaa c'aaiva
jale jaataM jale sthitaM
upariShTaad adhastaad vaa
na jalen' opalipyate
= - = = - = = -
- = = = - = - =
- - = = - = = =
- - = = - = - =
13.5
And just as a lotus-leaf
Is born in water and remains in water,
But neither above nor below
Is sullied by the water,
COMMENT:
Once again, as in 12.33-35, a certain order is observable in the progression of the metaphors used.
In the previous verse, the glimmering of gold is a purely physical phenomena in the sense that reflection of light does not involve any chemical reaction; whereas the tendency of gold not to be tarnished or tainted through contact with oxygen or with acids that might be present in dirt, is a chemical phenomenon.
In this verse, the waterproof attributes of a lotus leaf, like the ones growing in the pond that I can see from my desk here in the front room of this house in Aylesbury, are a bio-chemical phenomena.
EH Johnston:
And just as the leaf of a lotus, though originating in the water and growing in it, yet is not stained by the water either above or below;
Linda Covill:
and just as a lotus-leaf originates in water and remains in water, but neither from above nor from below is it stained by water,
VOCABULARY:
padma: lotus
parNam (accusative): leaf
yathaa: just as
ca: and
eva: (emphatic)
jale (locative): in water
jaata: produced, arisen, originated
jale (locative): in water
sthita: remaining
upariShTaat : ind. (as an adverb) above , from above
adhastaat: from below
vaa: or
na: not
jalena (instrumental): by water
upalipyate = 3rd person singlular, passive of upa-√ lip: to defile , besmear (esp. with cow-dung) , smear , anoint
jale jaataM jale sthitaM
upariShTaad adhastaad vaa
na jalen' opalipyate
= - = = - = = -
- = = = - = - =
- - = = - = = =
- - = = - = - =
13.5
And just as a lotus-leaf
Is born in water and remains in water,
But neither above nor below
Is sullied by the water,
COMMENT:
Once again, as in 12.33-35, a certain order is observable in the progression of the metaphors used.
In the previous verse, the glimmering of gold is a purely physical phenomena in the sense that reflection of light does not involve any chemical reaction; whereas the tendency of gold not to be tarnished or tainted through contact with oxygen or with acids that might be present in dirt, is a chemical phenomenon.
In this verse, the waterproof attributes of a lotus leaf, like the ones growing in the pond that I can see from my desk here in the front room of this house in Aylesbury, are a bio-chemical phenomena.
EH Johnston:
And just as the leaf of a lotus, though originating in the water and growing in it, yet is not stained by the water either above or below;
Linda Covill:
and just as a lotus-leaf originates in water and remains in water, but neither from above nor from below is it stained by water,
VOCABULARY:
padma: lotus
parNam (accusative): leaf
yathaa: just as
ca: and
eva: (emphatic)
jale (locative): in water
jaata: produced, arisen, originated
jale (locative): in water
sthita: remaining
upariShTaat : ind. (as an adverb) above , from above
adhastaat: from below
vaa: or
na: not
jalena (instrumental): by water
upalipyate = 3rd person singlular, passive of upa-√ lip: to defile , besmear (esp. with cow-dung) , smear , anoint
Friday, July 10, 2009
SAUNDARANANDA 13.4: Twenty-Four Carat Untaintedness
paaMsubhyaH kaaJcanaM jaatam
vishuddhaM nir-malaM shuci
sthitaM paaMsusv api yathaa
paaMsu-doShair na lipyate
= = = = - = = =
- = = = - = - -
- = = = - - - =
= - = = - = - =
13.4
Just as gold born from dirt
Is pure, spotless, gleaming,
And while lying in the dirt
Is not tarnished by the dirt's impurities,
COMMENT:
What is special about gold that Ashvaghosha uses it so often in his metaphors?
The first thing to note, as reflected in the first line of this verse and in the title of this blog, might be that gold is got from dirt, by an effort of mining, which consists of digging out earth and sifting through it so as to eliminate the dirt and get the gold.
The motivation for this effort, I think, is not so much the rarity of gold (for rarity, in 12.38, a jewel is the symbol); but rather gold's innate qualities of beauty and lack of reactivity.
According to chemistryexplained.com: At one time, gold was found in chunks or nuggets large enough to see. People mined gold by picking it out of streams and rivers. In fact, gold was once very common in some parts of the world. People valued it not because it was rare, but because it was so beautiful.
This beauty owes something to the reflectivity which is one of the salient physical properties of gold: both heat and light are said to reflect off gold very well.
That being so, when gold is shovelled up from a river bed and panned (as for example in this youtube clip),in sharp contrast to the black sand from which gold is born, beautiful flecks of gold stand out conspicuously -- pure, spotless, and gleaming.
Another quality of gold, which helps it to stay beautiful, is that (unlike yours truly) gold is not very reactive.
Generally speaking, gold is not very reactive. It does not combine with oxygen or dissolve in most acids. It does not react with halogens, such as chlorine or bromine, very easily. These chemical properties also account for some important uses of gold. Gold coins, for example, do not corrode (rust) or tarnish very easily. Neither does jewelry or artwork made of gold.
So the reason gold tends not to be tainted by contact with any of the chemical impurities contained in dirt, is gold's lack of reactivity. Gold is a real substance: it positively exists, but with a conspicuous negative attribute. Its inherent beauty and value has to do with its tendency NOT to react.
EH Johnston:
Just as gold, though produced from dirt, is pure, free from speck and clean, and, though mixed up with dirt, is not stained by the defects of dirt;
Linda Covill:
Just as gold originates in dirt, but is pure flawless and clean, and though it remains in the dirt it is not soiled by dust-spots,
VOCABULARY:
paaMsubhyaH = ablative, plural of paaMsu: m. crumbling soil , dust , sand (mostly pl.); dung , manure
kaaJcanam (accusative): gold
jaata: born ; grown , produced , arisen , caused , appeared
vishuddha: completely cleansed or purified (also in a ritual sense) , clean , clear , pure
nir-mala: spotless , unsullied , clean , pure , shining , resplendent, bright
shuci: shining , glowing , gleaming , radiant , bright ; brilliantly white , white ; clear , clean , pure
sthita: standing , staying , situated , resting or abiding or remaining in (loc.)
paaMsusu = ;ocative, plural of paaMsu: dirt
api: though
yathaa: just as
paaMsu: dirt
doShair = instrumental, plural of doSha: fault , vice , deficiency ; badness; damage , harm ;
na: not
lipyate = 3rd person singular, passive of lip: to be smear, stain , soil , taint , pollute , defile
vishuddhaM nir-malaM shuci
sthitaM paaMsusv api yathaa
paaMsu-doShair na lipyate
= = = = - = = =
- = = = - = - -
- = = = - - - =
= - = = - = - =
13.4
Just as gold born from dirt
Is pure, spotless, gleaming,
And while lying in the dirt
Is not tarnished by the dirt's impurities,
COMMENT:
What is special about gold that Ashvaghosha uses it so often in his metaphors?
The first thing to note, as reflected in the first line of this verse and in the title of this blog, might be that gold is got from dirt, by an effort of mining, which consists of digging out earth and sifting through it so as to eliminate the dirt and get the gold.
The motivation for this effort, I think, is not so much the rarity of gold (for rarity, in 12.38, a jewel is the symbol); but rather gold's innate qualities of beauty and lack of reactivity.
According to chemistryexplained.com: At one time, gold was found in chunks or nuggets large enough to see. People mined gold by picking it out of streams and rivers. In fact, gold was once very common in some parts of the world. People valued it not because it was rare, but because it was so beautiful.
This beauty owes something to the reflectivity which is one of the salient physical properties of gold: both heat and light are said to reflect off gold very well.
That being so, when gold is shovelled up from a river bed and panned (as for example in this youtube clip),in sharp contrast to the black sand from which gold is born, beautiful flecks of gold stand out conspicuously -- pure, spotless, and gleaming.
Another quality of gold, which helps it to stay beautiful, is that (unlike yours truly) gold is not very reactive.
Generally speaking, gold is not very reactive. It does not combine with oxygen or dissolve in most acids. It does not react with halogens, such as chlorine or bromine, very easily. These chemical properties also account for some important uses of gold. Gold coins, for example, do not corrode (rust) or tarnish very easily. Neither does jewelry or artwork made of gold.
So the reason gold tends not to be tainted by contact with any of the chemical impurities contained in dirt, is gold's lack of reactivity. Gold is a real substance: it positively exists, but with a conspicuous negative attribute. Its inherent beauty and value has to do with its tendency NOT to react.
EH Johnston:
Just as gold, though produced from dirt, is pure, free from speck and clean, and, though mixed up with dirt, is not stained by the defects of dirt;
Linda Covill:
Just as gold originates in dirt, but is pure flawless and clean, and though it remains in the dirt it is not soiled by dust-spots,
VOCABULARY:
paaMsubhyaH = ablative, plural of paaMsu: m. crumbling soil , dust , sand (mostly pl.); dung , manure
kaaJcanam (accusative): gold
jaata: born ; grown , produced , arisen , caused , appeared
vishuddha: completely cleansed or purified (also in a ritual sense) , clean , clear , pure
nir-mala: spotless , unsullied , clean , pure , shining , resplendent, bright
shuci: shining , glowing , gleaming , radiant , bright ; brilliantly white , white ; clear , clean , pure
sthita: standing , staying , situated , resting or abiding or remaining in (loc.)
paaMsusu = ;ocative, plural of paaMsu: dirt
api: though
yathaa: just as
paaMsu: dirt
doShair = instrumental, plural of doSha: fault , vice , deficiency ; badness; damage , harm ;
na: not
lipyate = 3rd person singular, passive of lip: to be smear, stain , soil , taint , pollute , defile
Thursday, July 9, 2009
SAUNDARANANDA 13.3: He The Trainer Trained
shlakShNena vacasaa kaaMsh cit
kaaMsh cit paruShayaa giraa
kaaMsh cid aabhyaam upaayaabhyaam
sa vininye vinaayakaH
= = - - - = = =
= = - - - = - =
= = = = - = = =
- - = = - = - =
13.3
Some in soothing tones,
Some with tough talk,
Some by both these means,
He the trainer trained.
COMMENT:
In temple or brothel,
Beyond love and hate,
A bell is a bell,
A gate is a gate.
If you wish to commit it,
Or wash away sin,
You don't need a ticket:
Just ring and walk in.
As a gate is a gate
And a bell is a bell,
Translators translate.
And businessmen sell.
There are climbers up mountains
And surfers on beaches.
He's a trainer who trains,
And a teacher who teaches.
No, I don't twitter,
Though I can be a twit.
But I have been a sitter.
As a sitter, you sit.
EH Johnston:
The Teacher converted some by soft words, some by harsh speech and some by both methods.
Linda Covill:
The trainer trained some with gentle words, some with robust speech, and some with both these methods.
VOCABULARY:
shlakShNena = instrumental of shlakShNa: slippery , smooth , polished , even , soft , tender , gentle
vacasaa = instrumental of vacas: speech , voice , word ; singing , song (of birds) ; advice , direction
kaan = accusative, plural of kaH: (interrogative pronoun)
kaaMsh cit (accusative, plural): some
kaaMsh cit: some
paruShayaa = instrumental, f. of paruSha: hard , stiff , rugged , rough , uneven , shaggy ; piercing , keen , sharp , violent , harsh , severe , unkind ; n. harsh and contumelious speech , abuse
giraa = instrumental of gir: f. speech , speaking , language , voice , words
kaaMsh cit: some
aabhyaam = instrumental dual of ayam: this
upaayaabhyaam = instrumental dual of upaaya: m. coming near , approach , arrival ; that by which one reaches one's aim , a means or expedient
saH (nominative, singular): he
vininye = 3rd person perfect of vi- √ nii: to lead or take away , remove ; to train , tame , guide (horses) ; to educate , instruct , direct
vinaayakaH (nominative, singluar): taking away, removing ; m. " Remover (of obstacles) " ; m. a leader , guide ; m. a Guru or spiritual preceptor
kaaMsh cit paruShayaa giraa
kaaMsh cid aabhyaam upaayaabhyaam
sa vininye vinaayakaH
= = - - - = = =
= = - - - = - =
= = = = - = = =
- - = = - = - =
13.3
Some in soothing tones,
Some with tough talk,
Some by both these means,
He the trainer trained.
COMMENT:
In temple or brothel,
Beyond love and hate,
A bell is a bell,
A gate is a gate.
If you wish to commit it,
Or wash away sin,
You don't need a ticket:
Just ring and walk in.
As a gate is a gate
And a bell is a bell,
Translators translate.
And businessmen sell.
There are climbers up mountains
And surfers on beaches.
He's a trainer who trains,
And a teacher who teaches.
No, I don't twitter,
Though I can be a twit.
But I have been a sitter.
As a sitter, you sit.
EH Johnston:
The Teacher converted some by soft words, some by harsh speech and some by both methods.
Linda Covill:
The trainer trained some with gentle words, some with robust speech, and some with both these methods.
VOCABULARY:
shlakShNena = instrumental of shlakShNa: slippery , smooth , polished , even , soft , tender , gentle
vacasaa = instrumental of vacas: speech , voice , word ; singing , song (of birds) ; advice , direction
kaan = accusative, plural of kaH: (interrogative pronoun)
kaaMsh cit (accusative, plural): some
kaaMsh cit: some
paruShayaa = instrumental, f. of paruSha: hard , stiff , rugged , rough , uneven , shaggy ; piercing , keen , sharp , violent , harsh , severe , unkind ; n. harsh and contumelious speech , abuse
giraa = instrumental of gir: f. speech , speaking , language , voice , words
kaaMsh cit: some
aabhyaam = instrumental dual of ayam: this
upaayaabhyaam = instrumental dual of upaaya: m. coming near , approach , arrival ; that by which one reaches one's aim , a means or expedient
saH (nominative, singular): he
vininye = 3rd person perfect of vi- √ nii: to lead or take away , remove ; to train , tame , guide (horses) ; to educate , instruct , direct
vinaayakaH (nominative, singluar): taking away, removing ; m. " Remover (of obstacles) " ; m. a leader , guide ; m. a Guru or spiritual preceptor
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
SAUNDARANANDA 13.2: Outer & Inner Impressions of Non-Doing
kRt'-aartham iva taM mene
sambuddhaH shraddhayaa tayaa
mene praaptam iva shreyaH
sa ca buddhena saMskRtaH
- = - - - = = =
= = = = - = - =
= = = - - = = =
- - = = - = - =
13.2
As if the finished article he seemed
To the Fully Awakened One,
by virtue of that confidence;
And as if a gainer of higher good he seemed
To himself, one moulded by Buddha.
COMMENT:
As Ted reminded us in his apt comment of a couple of days ago, real happiness is to be had from simply listening to a four-line verse of true Dharma. The phrase I use to remind myself of the same is "The gold is in the bold."
Today's verse truly strikes me, in its original Sanskrit, as a golden one.
Simply listening to it is not the same as writing a comment on it on the basis of "the Buddhist viewpoint." Last night I wrote a long comment around today's verse, but there was too much of me in it; too much "Buddhist viewpoint" -- or, to be precise, too much of me reacting to the pretence of others in marketing their own "Buddhist viewpoint." It was another nasty case of the mirror principle at work, and has been consigned to the dustbin where it belongs. This morning I shall try again, with a more listening attitude.
The first half of this verse tells us how Nanda seemed to the Buddha, from the outside. The second half of the verse relates how Nanda felt from the inside.
For the Buddha, Ashvaghosha tells us again, what was of primary importance was confidence -- confidence in that higher good associated with non-doing. Looking at that confidence now growing in Nanda, the Buddha felt that his work was practically done. The phrase kRt'-aartham, which I have translated as "the finished article" means in other words "job done." So in this verse, as I read it, Ashvaghosha is reminding his descendants of future generations that their primary job, as teachers, is to inspire confidence in that higher good which is associated with the practice of non-doing.
From the inside, Nanda felt as if he had already reached that level of higher good. That level, as I understand it, is the level that FM Alexander called "the plane of conscious control," the level that top sportsmen sometimes call "the zone," and the level that Master Dogen called "body and mind spontaneously dropping off and one's original face emerging." Nanda felt he had reached that level not as a result of his own doing, and still less as a result of his own "Buddhist viewpoint," but as a result of being worked on, sculpted, moulded, fashioned, and finished (saMskRta) by Buddha.
Is this a real possibility for those of us, here and now, who all these years after the event are listening to this record of the Buddha's Dharma?
The human teacher who taught Nanda died about 2,500 years ago and his body was cremated. For us today to be moulded by the hands and voice of Gautama the Buddha is totally impossible. What is still possible, but ineffably difficult, for a person who is prepared to drop off his own view, is to be moulded by sitting-Buddha.
Alexander's principle of non-doing, applied by a follower of the Buddha's teaching to sitting practice, ultimately means just that: neither sitting with one's own body nor sitting with one's own mind, but allowing oneself to be moulded by sitting-Buddha.
EH Johnston:
The Enlightened One deemed that Nanda had, as it were, attained his goal through that faith and he, too, deemed that by the Buddha's initiation he had, as it were, already reached the highest good.
Linda Covill:
The perfectly enlightened one considered him to have virtually reached the goal by means of faith, while Nanda himself, brought to readiness by the Buddha, felt as though Excellence had already been attained.
VOCABULARY:
kRta: mfn. done , made , accomplished , performed
artham (accusative): aim, purpose, goal ; thing, substance
iva: like, as if
tam: him
mene = past of man: to regard or consider any one or anything (acc.) as (acc. with or without iva); to think one's self or be thought to be , appear as , pass for (nom. ; also with iva)
sambuddhaH = nominative of sambuddha: mfn. wide awake , clever , wise , prudent ; well perceived , perfectly known or understood
shraddhayaa = instrumental of shraddhaa: f. confidence, trust, belief
tayaa = instrumental of saa: f. that
mene: he thought himself to be
praaptam = accusative of praapta: mfn. mfn. attained to , reached , arrived at , met with , found , incurred , got , acquired , gained ; one who has attained to or reached &c (acc. or comp.)
iva: like, as if
shreyas: the better or best state, higher or highest good,
saH (nominative, singular, masculine): he
ca: and
buddhena (instrumental): by the Buddha
saMskRtaH (nominative, singular, masculine): a man who has been put together , constructed , well or completely formed , perfected ; made ready , prepared , completed , finished ; purified , consecrated , sanctified , hallowed , initiated
sambuddhaH shraddhayaa tayaa
mene praaptam iva shreyaH
sa ca buddhena saMskRtaH
- = - - - = = =
= = = = - = - =
= = = - - = = =
- - = = - = - =
13.2
As if the finished article he seemed
To the Fully Awakened One,
by virtue of that confidence;
And as if a gainer of higher good he seemed
To himself, one moulded by Buddha.
COMMENT:
As Ted reminded us in his apt comment of a couple of days ago, real happiness is to be had from simply listening to a four-line verse of true Dharma. The phrase I use to remind myself of the same is "The gold is in the bold."
Today's verse truly strikes me, in its original Sanskrit, as a golden one.
Simply listening to it is not the same as writing a comment on it on the basis of "the Buddhist viewpoint." Last night I wrote a long comment around today's verse, but there was too much of me in it; too much "Buddhist viewpoint" -- or, to be precise, too much of me reacting to the pretence of others in marketing their own "Buddhist viewpoint." It was another nasty case of the mirror principle at work, and has been consigned to the dustbin where it belongs. This morning I shall try again, with a more listening attitude.
The first half of this verse tells us how Nanda seemed to the Buddha, from the outside. The second half of the verse relates how Nanda felt from the inside.
For the Buddha, Ashvaghosha tells us again, what was of primary importance was confidence -- confidence in that higher good associated with non-doing. Looking at that confidence now growing in Nanda, the Buddha felt that his work was practically done. The phrase kRt'-aartham, which I have translated as "the finished article" means in other words "job done." So in this verse, as I read it, Ashvaghosha is reminding his descendants of future generations that their primary job, as teachers, is to inspire confidence in that higher good which is associated with the practice of non-doing.
From the inside, Nanda felt as if he had already reached that level of higher good. That level, as I understand it, is the level that FM Alexander called "the plane of conscious control," the level that top sportsmen sometimes call "the zone," and the level that Master Dogen called "body and mind spontaneously dropping off and one's original face emerging." Nanda felt he had reached that level not as a result of his own doing, and still less as a result of his own "Buddhist viewpoint," but as a result of being worked on, sculpted, moulded, fashioned, and finished (saMskRta) by Buddha.
Is this a real possibility for those of us, here and now, who all these years after the event are listening to this record of the Buddha's Dharma?
The human teacher who taught Nanda died about 2,500 years ago and his body was cremated. For us today to be moulded by the hands and voice of Gautama the Buddha is totally impossible. What is still possible, but ineffably difficult, for a person who is prepared to drop off his own view, is to be moulded by sitting-Buddha.
Alexander's principle of non-doing, applied by a follower of the Buddha's teaching to sitting practice, ultimately means just that: neither sitting with one's own body nor sitting with one's own mind, but allowing oneself to be moulded by sitting-Buddha.
EH Johnston:
The Enlightened One deemed that Nanda had, as it were, attained his goal through that faith and he, too, deemed that by the Buddha's initiation he had, as it were, already reached the highest good.
Linda Covill:
The perfectly enlightened one considered him to have virtually reached the goal by means of faith, while Nanda himself, brought to readiness by the Buddha, felt as though Excellence had already been attained.
VOCABULARY:
kRta: mfn. done , made , accomplished , performed
artham (accusative): aim, purpose, goal ; thing, substance
iva: like, as if
tam: him
mene = past of man: to regard or consider any one or anything (acc.) as (acc. with or without iva); to think one's self or be thought to be , appear as , pass for (nom. ; also with iva)
sambuddhaH = nominative of sambuddha: mfn. wide awake , clever , wise , prudent ; well perceived , perfectly known or understood
shraddhayaa = instrumental of shraddhaa: f. confidence, trust, belief
tayaa = instrumental of saa: f. that
mene: he thought himself to be
praaptam = accusative of praapta: mfn. mfn. attained to , reached , arrived at , met with , found , incurred , got , acquired , gained ; one who has attained to or reached &c (acc. or comp.)
iva: like, as if
shreyas: the better or best state, higher or highest good,
saH (nominative, singular, masculine): he
ca: and
buddhena (instrumental): by the Buddha
saMskRtaH (nominative, singular, masculine): a man who has been put together , constructed , well or completely formed , perfected ; made ready , prepared , completed , finished ; purified , consecrated , sanctified , hallowed , initiated
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
SAUNDARANANDA 13.1: Confidence Affirmed
atha saMraadhito nandaH
shraddhaaM prati maha"-rShiNaa
pariShikto 'mRten" eva
yuyuje parayaa mudaa
= - = = - = = =
= = - - - = - =
- - = = - = = -
- - = - - = - =
13.1
And so Nanda was affirmed
By the great seer, in the matter of confidence;
He felt as if sprinkled with the nectar of immortality --
Filled with the deepest joy.
COMMENT:
At the beginning of translating the previous Canto, I was not sure whether shraddhaa might be best translated as belief, or trust, or confidence. As the Canto progressed, it became clear to me that the Buddha was referring specifically to confidence in the existence of higher good, associated with non-doing. Hence in 12.14 Nanda expresses his disillusionment with pravRtti, the onward cycle of doing. And in 12.22 the Buddha discusses the rarity of its antonym, nivRtti, non-doing.
A few years ago I had a memorable telephone conversation with the late Tony Spawforth, a veteran Alexander teacher, trained by Alexander himself. I put Tony on the spot by asking him to sum up what the Alexander work was for him. Tony's reply, at least as I remember it, was that many people are leading lives that might be called good, or nice, or beautiful; they have lovely families, satisfying jobs, nice houses with pleasant gardens; they eat good food; they enjoy healthy sports, relaxing holidays, et cetera; they may even worship in religious communities of like-minded people. Still, the substance of those lives is more or less blind reaction to what is being experienced through the senses. Whereas non-doing Alexander work introduces the possibility of a higher good, associated with more conscious direction of one's life energy.
Sadly, as first generation teachers like Tony die out and the shadow of FM Alexander himself lengthens, the true principle of non-doing is apt to get lost. Second and third generation teachers who, as Patrick Macdonald put it, "don't know the score," teach a kind of doing, a kind of bodywork or advanced physiotherapy; or they teach Yoga or Pilates or Tai Chi with bits of Alexander jargon thrown in but no real attention paid to the real mental work of giving up those root misconceptions where trouble starts.
This is what is happening in Alexander work after one or two generations. In the transmission of the Buddha-Dharma we are talking 12 generations as far as Ashvaghosha, and 90-odd generations to the present. If Ashvaghosha wrote any word or phrase that deserves to be translated as "Buddhism," I have yet to come across it. Why do people use that word "Buddhism" so thoughtlessly, as if the Dharma of Gautama the Buddha was some kind of -ism? Why did I used to use the term "Buddhism" myself? Because I was a baaing sheep without eyeballs of my own.
Sometimes, as last night, I make the mistake of looking around the internet to see what is going on, and it saddens me. People seem to be attracted in large numbers to skilful marketers of the shadow, to those who paint bright pictures of Buddhism and of body alignment. As long as I am directing my attention to digging for the substance, for the true gold, I am not bothered by PR people who are selling fool's gold. But sometimes I do feel very bothered by it. I suppose the fact that I am bothered must reflect, via the mirror principle, some fame-and-profit-seeking tendency in me to want to become a big seller of my own fool's gold. At the same time, there are some good PR men who are mixing up the true gold of Master Dogen's Shobogenzo with their own brands of Buddhism. The situation is a bloody mess, of which, led by my errant senses, I am all too liable to become part.
The Monier-Williams dictionary defines shiila thus: habit , custom , usage , natural or acquired way of living or acting , practice , conduct , disposition , tendency , character , nature ; good disposition or character , moral conduct , integrity , morality , piety , virtue ; (with Buddhists " moral conduct " is one of the 6 or 10 perfections or pAramitAs) ; a moral precept.
Just as the way to translate shraddhaa seemed to become clear as the previous Canto progressed, I hope the same thing will happen in this Canto with the translation of shiila. The previous Canto describes that even after a shoot of confidence in higher good had taken root in Nanda, his senses were still set against it (12.18). In this Canto the Buddha will describe how Nanda is to get round this problem of an unfavourable sensory constitution, relying on the inhibitory practice of discipline, or training, or integrity which is shiila.
EH Johnston:
So on being confirmed in the direction of faith by the Great Seer, Nanda was filled with the highest joy, as if bathed in ambrosia.
Linda Covill:
Sustained by the great seer's talk on faith, Nanda was filled with utter joy, as though he had been sprinkled with the elixir of deathlessness.
VOCABULARY:
atha: (inceptive particle) and so, then, now
saMraadhita = past participle of saM-√ raadh: to agree together , agree about or upon (loc.) ; to conciliate , appease , satisfy
nandaH (nominative): Nanda
shraddhaam (accusative): confidence, belief
prati: towards, near to; or as a prep. with usually preceding acc. , in the sense of towards , against , to , upon , in the direction of ; on account of , with regard to , concerning
mahaa-rShiNaa = instrumental of mahaa-rShi: great seer
pariShikta: mfn. poured out , sprinkled about , diffused
amRtena = instrumental of amRta: deathlessness, immortality; n. the nectar (conferring immortality , produced at the churning of the ocean) , ambrosia
iva: like
yuyuje = 3rd person singular, perfect of yuj: to bring into possession of , furnish or endow with (instr.)
parayaa = instrumental, f of para: best or worst , highest , supreme
mudaa = instrumental of mud: f. joy , delight , gladness , happiness
shraddhaaM prati maha"-rShiNaa
pariShikto 'mRten" eva
yuyuje parayaa mudaa
= - = = - = = =
= = - - - = - =
- - = = - = = -
- - = - - = - =
13.1
And so Nanda was affirmed
By the great seer, in the matter of confidence;
He felt as if sprinkled with the nectar of immortality --
Filled with the deepest joy.
COMMENT:
At the beginning of translating the previous Canto, I was not sure whether shraddhaa might be best translated as belief, or trust, or confidence. As the Canto progressed, it became clear to me that the Buddha was referring specifically to confidence in the existence of higher good, associated with non-doing. Hence in 12.14 Nanda expresses his disillusionment with pravRtti, the onward cycle of doing. And in 12.22 the Buddha discusses the rarity of its antonym, nivRtti, non-doing.
A few years ago I had a memorable telephone conversation with the late Tony Spawforth, a veteran Alexander teacher, trained by Alexander himself. I put Tony on the spot by asking him to sum up what the Alexander work was for him. Tony's reply, at least as I remember it, was that many people are leading lives that might be called good, or nice, or beautiful; they have lovely families, satisfying jobs, nice houses with pleasant gardens; they eat good food; they enjoy healthy sports, relaxing holidays, et cetera; they may even worship in religious communities of like-minded people. Still, the substance of those lives is more or less blind reaction to what is being experienced through the senses. Whereas non-doing Alexander work introduces the possibility of a higher good, associated with more conscious direction of one's life energy.
Sadly, as first generation teachers like Tony die out and the shadow of FM Alexander himself lengthens, the true principle of non-doing is apt to get lost. Second and third generation teachers who, as Patrick Macdonald put it, "don't know the score," teach a kind of doing, a kind of bodywork or advanced physiotherapy; or they teach Yoga or Pilates or Tai Chi with bits of Alexander jargon thrown in but no real attention paid to the real mental work of giving up those root misconceptions where trouble starts.
This is what is happening in Alexander work after one or two generations. In the transmission of the Buddha-Dharma we are talking 12 generations as far as Ashvaghosha, and 90-odd generations to the present. If Ashvaghosha wrote any word or phrase that deserves to be translated as "Buddhism," I have yet to come across it. Why do people use that word "Buddhism" so thoughtlessly, as if the Dharma of Gautama the Buddha was some kind of -ism? Why did I used to use the term "Buddhism" myself? Because I was a baaing sheep without eyeballs of my own.
Sometimes, as last night, I make the mistake of looking around the internet to see what is going on, and it saddens me. People seem to be attracted in large numbers to skilful marketers of the shadow, to those who paint bright pictures of Buddhism and of body alignment. As long as I am directing my attention to digging for the substance, for the true gold, I am not bothered by PR people who are selling fool's gold. But sometimes I do feel very bothered by it. I suppose the fact that I am bothered must reflect, via the mirror principle, some fame-and-profit-seeking tendency in me to want to become a big seller of my own fool's gold. At the same time, there are some good PR men who are mixing up the true gold of Master Dogen's Shobogenzo with their own brands of Buddhism. The situation is a bloody mess, of which, led by my errant senses, I am all too liable to become part.
The Monier-Williams dictionary defines shiila thus: habit , custom , usage , natural or acquired way of living or acting , practice , conduct , disposition , tendency , character , nature ; good disposition or character , moral conduct , integrity , morality , piety , virtue ; (with Buddhists " moral conduct " is one of the 6 or 10 perfections or pAramitAs) ; a moral precept.
Just as the way to translate shraddhaa seemed to become clear as the previous Canto progressed, I hope the same thing will happen in this Canto with the translation of shiila. The previous Canto describes that even after a shoot of confidence in higher good had taken root in Nanda, his senses were still set against it (12.18). In this Canto the Buddha will describe how Nanda is to get round this problem of an unfavourable sensory constitution, relying on the inhibitory practice of discipline, or training, or integrity which is shiila.
EH Johnston:
So on being confirmed in the direction of faith by the Great Seer, Nanda was filled with the highest joy, as if bathed in ambrosia.
Linda Covill:
Sustained by the great seer's talk on faith, Nanda was filled with utter joy, as though he had been sprinkled with the elixir of deathlessness.
VOCABULARY:
atha: (inceptive particle) and so, then, now
saMraadhita = past participle of saM-√ raadh: to agree together , agree about or upon (loc.) ; to conciliate , appease , satisfy
nandaH (nominative): Nanda
shraddhaam (accusative): confidence, belief
prati: towards, near to; or as a prep. with usually preceding acc. , in the sense of towards , against , to , upon , in the direction of ; on account of , with regard to , concerning
mahaa-rShiNaa = instrumental of mahaa-rShi: great seer
pariShikta: mfn. poured out , sprinkled about , diffused
amRtena = instrumental of amRta: deathlessness, immortality; n. the nectar (conferring immortality , produced at the churning of the ocean) , ambrosia
iva: like
yuyuje = 3rd person singular, perfect of yuj: to bring into possession of , furnish or endow with (instr.)
parayaa = instrumental, f of para: best or worst , highest , supreme
mudaa = instrumental of mud: f. joy , delight , gladness , happiness
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)