tasmaad vyaasa-samaasaabhyaaM
tan me vyaakhyaatum arhasi
yac chrutvaa shRNvataaM shreShTha
paramaM praapnuyaam padam
12.17
Therefore, in detail and in summary,
Could you please communicate it to me,
O best of listeners, so that through listening
I might come to the ultimate step.”
COMMENT:
Nanda wishes to know each tree and the whole forest, every detail and all things entered into one picture.
His wish is not simply to be told some words. Like an Alexander student standing before a chair, he is asking for something to be communicated to him. What is communicated? Is it something -- the Truth? A direction? Life itself? Or is it a bit of nothing? Is it a bit of freedom from noise?
This verse is about the desire for communication. More than that, it is about listening. It may be that listening leads us to the backward step of turning light and shining. Or it may be that the backward step of turning light and shining is simply that very rare thing which is listening itself.
I who am never the best of listeners come to the forest here in France mainly to listen. Eight years ago I came here, out of desperation, looking for a quiet place to sit, such as the place where I am now. Previous to that, from training as a neuro-developmental therapist at INNP Chester and then as a provider of The Listening Program and a Johansen Sound Therapist, and from meeting an inspirational protege of Alfred Tomatis named Paul Madaule, I had begun to understand the importance of listening, and to understand how much I was suffering from noise, both external and within my own system. The external noise that bothers me comes especially from incessant traffic of light aircraft. I believe that the internal noise arises mainly from a lack of harmony between four vestibular reflexes.
Fifteen years ago when I began training as an Alexander teacher, I experienced the fact that Alexander work -- especially in the hands of my favourite teacher at the training school, a violinist named Ron Colyer -- dramatically reduced the internal noise in me. So for fifteen years I have been trying to figure out what was going on. FM Alexander would simply say that the right thing was being allowed to do itself. And it is no use us trying to figure out what the right thing is, because the right thing doing itself is totally beyond our capacity to fathom it. But what we can be more clear and definite about is the wrong thing, the noise. The noise in me, I have no doubt, has to do with my congenitally faulty vestibular system, and in particular with immaturity of four vestibular reflexes.
Even though I remain here by the forest in order to be free of noise, to listen, and even though when I am here I give myself hours of opportunity every day just to sit and listen, I begin to understand why Alfred Tomatis used to say that listening is very rare. For me, a moment of true listening is indeed very rare.
Sound of flowing
wind or water
and birdsong
waking the one
who listens
in secret
growing
in Buddha's secret
womb
EH Johnston:
Therefore deign to explain it to me both briefly and at length that listening to Thee, the Best of listeners, I may reach the supreme state."
Linda Covill:
Could you therefore explain it to me both in detail and in summary, O best of hearers, so that in hearing it I may obtain the supreme station."
VOCABULARY:
tasmaat: therefore
vyaasa: extension , diffusion , prolixity , detailed account (instr. ; abl. and -tas ind. in detail , at length , fully)
samaasaabhyaaM = ablative, dual of samaasa: succinctness , conciseness , condensation (ibc. and -tas , " concisely , succinctly , briefly "
tat: it, that
me (dative): to me
vyaakhyaatum = infinitive of vy-aa-√khyaa: to explain in detail , tell in full , discuss ; to relate , communicate
arhasi = 2nd person singular of arh: to deserve , merit , be worthy of , to have a claim to , be entitled to (acc.) , to be allowed to do anything (Inf.); (with an infinitive is often used as a softened form of imperative. ; e.g. shrotum arhasi , " deign to listen ")
yat (‘internal accusative’ of subordinate clause): that, so that
shrutvaa (absolutive of shru): after listening, on listening, by listening, through listening
shRNvataam (genitive, plural): of listeners
shreShTha: most splendid or beautiful , most beautiful of or among (with gen.) ; most excellent , best
parama: supreme, ultimate
praapnuyaam = 1st person singular, present optative of pra-√aap: to attain to, reach, obtain
padam (accusative): step
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
Monday, June 8, 2009
SAUNDARANANDA 12.16: Joy in Believing
atash ca nikhilaM lokaM
viditvaa sa-car'-aacaram
sarva-duHkha-kShaya-kare
tvad-dharme parame rame
12.16
And on the basis of this insight
into the total extent of the world of man,
With its changeability and its fixity,
It is the eradicator of all suffering,
Your most excellent teaching, that I rejoice in.
COMMENT:
What is Nanda expressing here about the world? The viewpoint of a know-all who has understood the whole universe? Or is he saying that he has seen quite enough of the world of man to know that freedom from suffering does not exist out there?
Worldly movements are, for example, broken promises, acts of betrayal. Worldly non-movements are, for example, fixed prejudices, rigid adherence to -isms. Those kinds of faults seem to arise when we are interested, either selfishly or altruistically, more in the gaining of some end than in actually being truthful.
Q. E. D.
In the third line, again, what is Nanda expressing? His own enlightenment? His own confidence? Or belief in the Buddha’s enlightenment? Or confidence in the Buddha himself? Or trust in a process?
When the Buddha begins his long monologue, from 12.19, he will emphasize the importance of shraddhaa, which the dictionary defines as “faith, trust, confidence.”
Religious people usually go on about faith -- especially faith in God. So I am suspicious of the word faith. It seems often to be used in connection with delusory belief in what might not exist at all. Being a lover of BBC Radio 4, I find myself increasingly irritated by a certain kind of bible-bashing that pops up at certain intervals, particularly during the 9.45 daily service. Why should I have £10 a month license fee payment debited from my bank account, for the privilege of having an extremely weird and unscientific Abrahamical doctrine preached to me over the airwaves?
Still, even having booted belief in biblical God into the long grass, I still believe in belief.
In Alexander work, which is nothing if not practical, when faced with an unduly nervous pupil the experienced teacher works in a manner that conduces to the building of confidence (as opposed to traditional methods of schooling which tend to excite students’ fear reflexes). To this end, it is important that the pupil should be able to trust the teacher. This trust in its truest form, as I see it, has neither to do with personality nor professionalism. I trust a teacher who I sense is herself truly given over to the work she is teaching -- so that there is no gap between what she preaches and what she practises. So this trust, in essence, is trusting a process. It is trusting a process which, as one continues with it, tends not always to feel good. Without trust in something other than feeling, how would we be able to continue with a process that made us feel bad?
What Nanda seems to be expressing here, then, to answer my own question, is belief that has nothing to do with whacko faith, but which has to do with confidence and trust. It is belief in the practical teaching of the Buddha to whose real voice, preaching freedom from suffering, Nanda now wishes to listen.
When mutual trust is broken
and confidence is shaken
there is joy in believing
still, in freedom
from faults
digging
deeper
EH Johnston:
And having obtained hence an understanding of the whole world with all it contains, I delight only in Thy supreme Law, the destroyer of all suffering.
Linda Covill:
Comprehending the entire world with its moving and unmoving parts, I find pleasure in your supreme teaching, which puts an end to all suffering.
VOCABULARY:
atas: from this, hence
ca: and
nikhila: complete , all , whole , entire
lokam (accusative): world ; the earth or world of human beings ; people , ordinary life, worldly affairs, common practice
viditvaa = absolutive of vid: to know , understand , perceive , learn , become or be acquainted with , be conscious of , have a correct notion of (with accusative)
sa: with its (possessive prefix)
cara: moving
acaram (accusative): not moving
sarva: all
duHkha: suffering
kShaya: loss, end, destruction
kare = locative of kara: a doer , maker , causer , doing , making , causing, producing (esp. ifc.); promoting, helping
tvad: your
dharme = locative of dharma: teaching, method
parama: best , most excellent
rame = 1st person singular of ram: to be glad or pleased , rejoice at , delight in , be fond of (locative).
viditvaa sa-car'-aacaram
sarva-duHkha-kShaya-kare
tvad-dharme parame rame
12.16
And on the basis of this insight
into the total extent of the world of man,
With its changeability and its fixity,
It is the eradicator of all suffering,
Your most excellent teaching, that I rejoice in.
COMMENT:
What is Nanda expressing here about the world? The viewpoint of a know-all who has understood the whole universe? Or is he saying that he has seen quite enough of the world of man to know that freedom from suffering does not exist out there?
Worldly movements are, for example, broken promises, acts of betrayal. Worldly non-movements are, for example, fixed prejudices, rigid adherence to -isms. Those kinds of faults seem to arise when we are interested, either selfishly or altruistically, more in the gaining of some end than in actually being truthful.
Q. E. D.
In the third line, again, what is Nanda expressing? His own enlightenment? His own confidence? Or belief in the Buddha’s enlightenment? Or confidence in the Buddha himself? Or trust in a process?
When the Buddha begins his long monologue, from 12.19, he will emphasize the importance of shraddhaa, which the dictionary defines as “faith, trust, confidence.”
Religious people usually go on about faith -- especially faith in God. So I am suspicious of the word faith. It seems often to be used in connection with delusory belief in what might not exist at all. Being a lover of BBC Radio 4, I find myself increasingly irritated by a certain kind of bible-bashing that pops up at certain intervals, particularly during the 9.45 daily service. Why should I have £10 a month license fee payment debited from my bank account, for the privilege of having an extremely weird and unscientific Abrahamical doctrine preached to me over the airwaves?
Still, even having booted belief in biblical God into the long grass, I still believe in belief.
In Alexander work, which is nothing if not practical, when faced with an unduly nervous pupil the experienced teacher works in a manner that conduces to the building of confidence (as opposed to traditional methods of schooling which tend to excite students’ fear reflexes). To this end, it is important that the pupil should be able to trust the teacher. This trust in its truest form, as I see it, has neither to do with personality nor professionalism. I trust a teacher who I sense is herself truly given over to the work she is teaching -- so that there is no gap between what she preaches and what she practises. So this trust, in essence, is trusting a process. It is trusting a process which, as one continues with it, tends not always to feel good. Without trust in something other than feeling, how would we be able to continue with a process that made us feel bad?
What Nanda seems to be expressing here, then, to answer my own question, is belief that has nothing to do with whacko faith, but which has to do with confidence and trust. It is belief in the practical teaching of the Buddha to whose real voice, preaching freedom from suffering, Nanda now wishes to listen.
When mutual trust is broken
and confidence is shaken
there is joy in believing
still, in freedom
from faults
digging
deeper
EH Johnston:
And having obtained hence an understanding of the whole world with all it contains, I delight only in Thy supreme Law, the destroyer of all suffering.
Linda Covill:
Comprehending the entire world with its moving and unmoving parts, I find pleasure in your supreme teaching, which puts an end to all suffering.
VOCABULARY:
atas: from this, hence
ca: and
nikhila: complete , all , whole , entire
lokam (accusative): world ; the earth or world of human beings ; people , ordinary life, worldly affairs, common practice
viditvaa = absolutive of vid: to know , understand , perceive , learn , become or be acquainted with , be conscious of , have a correct notion of (with accusative)
sa: with its (possessive prefix)
cara: moving
acaram (accusative): not moving
sarva: all
duHkha: suffering
kShaya: loss, end, destruction
kare = locative of kara: a doer , maker , causer , doing , making , causing, producing (esp. ifc.); promoting, helping
tvad: your
dharme = locative of dharma: teaching, method
parama: best , most excellent
rame = 1st person singular of ram: to be glad or pleased , rejoice at , delight in , be fond of (locative).
Sunday, June 7, 2009
SAUNDARANANDA 12.15: In Praise of Giving Up
yadi praapya divaM yatnaan
niyamena damena ca
a-vitRptaaH patanty ante
svargaaya tyaagine namaH
12.15
If, after struggling to get to heaven,
Through self-restriction and self-restraint,
Men fall at last, unsatisfied,
Then homage to the heaven-bound
who give up on the way.
COMMENT:
At the centre of the teaching of FM Alexander, as FM’s niece Marjory Barlow communicated it to me, is the practice of giving up. Alexander work is a kind of exact, in-depth, scientific study of giving up, and the only laboratory you need to practice this science is yourself.
The first thing to give up is the idea of being right, because the idea of being right is the first thing that puts a person wrong.
This recognition is also implicit in Zen Master Dogen’s rules of sitting-dhyana, where he says: ZEN-AKU OMWAZU, ZE-HI O KANSURU KOTO NAKARE, “Don’t think good, bad; Don’t care right, wrong.”
The difficult thing is to completely give up the idea of being right, without giving up the effort to keep going in the right direction.
In order to go in the right direction, paradoxically, step one is to give up any idea of rightness as a destination.
A further step, another difficulty to be met, is to completely give up the idea of doing something -- a bow, for example -- in order to find the freedom in which actually to do, or not to do, a bow.
In the fourth line of this verse, as I read it, Nanda is paying homage to nobody if not FM Alexander. FM’s secret, as Marjory taught it to me, not as a theory but as a principle subject to exact verification in practice, is to give up an idea without giving up one’s direction.
Losers have stopped trying,
Winners never quit.
FM taught the two in one,
In true pursuit of It.
The Alexander teachers I have met who seem to have really deep understanding of and devotion to Alexander’s teaching, all without exception have reverence also, to the extent that they know it, for the Buddha’s teaching. Buddhist teachers I have met who do not revere Alexander’s teaching, are as they are, as I see it, because they have never seen the true essence of the Buddha’s teaching, even in a dream. The true essence of the Buddha’s teaching and the true essence of Alexander’s teaching is the same true essence. It has to do primarily with stopping wrong doing, and that stopping begins with giving up an idea. How can preachers of Buddhism, realism and the like understand this point, even in a dream?
If this comment confirms me as a non-Buddhist, so be it. I do not give a damn about true Buddhism. Ashvaghosha’s gold has got nothing to do with true Buddhism. Ashvaghosha’s gold is the truth.
EH Johnston:
If, after obtaining heaven through toil, abstinence and self-restraint, men fall again at the end with desires unappeased, what is the use of so fleeting a Paradise?
Linda Covill:
If men must eventually fall unfulfilled from a heaven so effortfully obtained through observance of the rules and through training, then homage to the man relinquishing heaven!
VOCABULARY:
yadi: if, when
praapya = absolultive of pra-√aap: to attain to ; reach , arrive at , meet with , find ; obtain
divam (accusative): heaven
yatnaat = ablative of yatna: effort , exertion , energy , zeal , trouble , pains
niyamena = instrumental of niyama: m. restraining , checking , holding back , preventing , controlling
damena = instrumental of dama: m. self-command , self-restraint , self-control
ca: and
avitRptaaH = nominative, plural of avitRpta: unsatisfied
patanti = 3rd person plural of pat: to fall down or off , alight , descend
ante (locative of anta): in the end, at last
svargaaya (dative of svarga): for heaven, [being bound] for heaven,
NB. The Clay Sanskrit Library version has svargasya (genitive of svarga)
tyaagine = locative of tyaagin: one who has given up
namas: n. bow , obeisance , reverential salutation , adoration
niyamena damena ca
a-vitRptaaH patanty ante
svargaaya tyaagine namaH
12.15
If, after struggling to get to heaven,
Through self-restriction and self-restraint,
Men fall at last, unsatisfied,
Then homage to the heaven-bound
who give up on the way.
COMMENT:
At the centre of the teaching of FM Alexander, as FM’s niece Marjory Barlow communicated it to me, is the practice of giving up. Alexander work is a kind of exact, in-depth, scientific study of giving up, and the only laboratory you need to practice this science is yourself.
The first thing to give up is the idea of being right, because the idea of being right is the first thing that puts a person wrong.
This recognition is also implicit in Zen Master Dogen’s rules of sitting-dhyana, where he says: ZEN-AKU OMWAZU, ZE-HI O KANSURU KOTO NAKARE, “Don’t think good, bad; Don’t care right, wrong.”
The difficult thing is to completely give up the idea of being right, without giving up the effort to keep going in the right direction.
In order to go in the right direction, paradoxically, step one is to give up any idea of rightness as a destination.
A further step, another difficulty to be met, is to completely give up the idea of doing something -- a bow, for example -- in order to find the freedom in which actually to do, or not to do, a bow.
In the fourth line of this verse, as I read it, Nanda is paying homage to nobody if not FM Alexander. FM’s secret, as Marjory taught it to me, not as a theory but as a principle subject to exact verification in practice, is to give up an idea without giving up one’s direction.
Losers have stopped trying,
Winners never quit.
FM taught the two in one,
In true pursuit of It.
The Alexander teachers I have met who seem to have really deep understanding of and devotion to Alexander’s teaching, all without exception have reverence also, to the extent that they know it, for the Buddha’s teaching. Buddhist teachers I have met who do not revere Alexander’s teaching, are as they are, as I see it, because they have never seen the true essence of the Buddha’s teaching, even in a dream. The true essence of the Buddha’s teaching and the true essence of Alexander’s teaching is the same true essence. It has to do primarily with stopping wrong doing, and that stopping begins with giving up an idea. How can preachers of Buddhism, realism and the like understand this point, even in a dream?
If this comment confirms me as a non-Buddhist, so be it. I do not give a damn about true Buddhism. Ashvaghosha’s gold has got nothing to do with true Buddhism. Ashvaghosha’s gold is the truth.
EH Johnston:
If, after obtaining heaven through toil, abstinence and self-restraint, men fall again at the end with desires unappeased, what is the use of so fleeting a Paradise?
Linda Covill:
If men must eventually fall unfulfilled from a heaven so effortfully obtained through observance of the rules and through training, then homage to the man relinquishing heaven!
VOCABULARY:
yadi: if, when
praapya = absolultive of pra-√aap: to attain to ; reach , arrive at , meet with , find ; obtain
divam (accusative): heaven
yatnaat = ablative of yatna: effort , exertion , energy , zeal , trouble , pains
niyamena = instrumental of niyama: m. restraining , checking , holding back , preventing , controlling
damena = instrumental of dama: m. self-command , self-restraint , self-control
ca: and
avitRptaaH = nominative, plural of avitRpta: unsatisfied
patanti = 3rd person plural of pat: to fall down or off , alight , descend
ante (locative of anta): in the end, at last
svargaaya (dative of svarga): for heaven, [being bound] for heaven,
NB. The Clay Sanskrit Library version has svargasya (genitive of svarga)
tyaagine = locative of tyaagin: one who has given up
namas: n. bow , obeisance , reverential salutation , adoration
Saturday, June 6, 2009
SAUNDARANANDA 12.14: A Foothold for the Backward Step
shrutvaa hy aavartakaM svargam
saMsaarasya ca citrataam
na martyeShu na deveShu
pravRttir mama rocate
12.14
For since I have heard what a fleeting whirl is heaven,
And what varieties there are of aimless wandering,
Neither among mortal beings
nor among heavenly beings
Does the onward cycle of doing appeal to me.
COMMENT:
Every verse that contains the word pravRtti, “progressive doing,” or its antonym, nivRtti, “non-doing,” reminds me what I am mainly here to learn: the backward step of turning light and shining.
It is not a question of learning how to do the right thing. The principle of non-doing is to stop doing the wrong thing, so that the right thing can do itself.
The backward step is, in other words, the backward step of letting the neck be free, to let the head go forward and up, to let the back lengthen and widen, while letting the arms and legs out of the back.
Just because sitting like this is opposed to the onward cycle of doing does not mean that it is a condition of laziness. A certain constancy of effort is required to keep at bay the wrong thing. “The wrong thing” means those wrong inner patterns, the doing that must be stopped.
A stimulus that sets off the wrong thing might be something as gross as lifting up a wooden sleeper, or something as subtle as an impulse from a buried optimistic or pessimistic thought. At the point where such a stimulus reaches consciousness, there is a very fleeting window of opportunity to prevent the army of wrong inner patterns from being mobilized. When the moment is missed, the neck grabs the chance to stiffen (or collapse), so that the head, arms and legs get pulled in to the body, and the breath becomes more or less held.
Insofar as a person is a slave to this pattern of reaction, even if he is lucky enough to find himself between the sheets with the heavenly goddess of his dreams, he will be liable to suffer the misfortune of stiffening his neck, pulling his head back, restricting his breathing.... and so the onward cycle of doing will continue. His inability to stop doing the wrong thing might even bring about a certain droopiness which might, in the end, prevent his long longed-for union with the heavenly goddess from being consummated!
To stop doing the wrong thing is not so easy. I, for one, am not very good at it. For most of my waking hours I am unconsciously giving consent to the onward cycle of doing, wherein what tends to happen unconsciously is that the neck stiffens (or collapses), so that the head, arms and legs get pulled in to the body, and the breath becomes more or less held.
Like Nanda, I find that this cycle of doing does not hold any appeal for me; but insofar as I fail to give up all those layers of end-gaining ideas which set the cycle in motion, I continue to be held in the onward cycle. How about right now, for example?
EH Johnston:
For since I have heard of the impermanence of Paradise and of the vicissitudes of the cycle of existence, the continuance of active being either among mortals or among gods has no delights for me.
Linda Covill:
For I have heard of the cyclical nature of heaven and of the variety of rebirths in samsara, and neither among men nor among gods does active existence hold any appeal for me.
VOCABULARY:
shrutvaa = absolutive of shru: to hear
hi: for
aavartakam (accusative): whirlpool ; revolution
svargam (accusative): heaven
saMsaarasya = genitive of saMsaara: m. going or wandering through ; the circuit of mundane existence, the cycle of mass unconscious reaction, samsara
ca: and
citra: conspicuous ,distinguished ; bright-coloured ; variegated , spotted , speckled ; various , different , manifold
-taa: -nature, -ness (abstract noun suffix)
citrataam (accusative): variety, manifold nature
na: not, neither
martyeShu: locative, plural of martya: a mortal, man
na: not, nor
deveShu = locative, plural of deva: a god, heavenly being
pravRttiH = nominative, singular of pravRtti: f. moving onwards , advance , progress ; active life (as opposed to ni-vRtti and to contemplative devotion , and defined as consisting of the wish to act , knowledge of the means , and accomplishment of the object)
mama (genitive): for me
rocate = 3rd person singular of ruc: to shine , be bright or radiant or resplendent ; to be splendid or beautiful or good ; to be agreeable to , please (dat. or gen.)
saMsaarasya ca citrataam
na martyeShu na deveShu
pravRttir mama rocate
12.14
For since I have heard what a fleeting whirl is heaven,
And what varieties there are of aimless wandering,
Neither among mortal beings
nor among heavenly beings
Does the onward cycle of doing appeal to me.
COMMENT:
Every verse that contains the word pravRtti, “progressive doing,” or its antonym, nivRtti, “non-doing,” reminds me what I am mainly here to learn: the backward step of turning light and shining.
It is not a question of learning how to do the right thing. The principle of non-doing is to stop doing the wrong thing, so that the right thing can do itself.
The backward step is, in other words, the backward step of letting the neck be free, to let the head go forward and up, to let the back lengthen and widen, while letting the arms and legs out of the back.
Just because sitting like this is opposed to the onward cycle of doing does not mean that it is a condition of laziness. A certain constancy of effort is required to keep at bay the wrong thing. “The wrong thing” means those wrong inner patterns, the doing that must be stopped.
A stimulus that sets off the wrong thing might be something as gross as lifting up a wooden sleeper, or something as subtle as an impulse from a buried optimistic or pessimistic thought. At the point where such a stimulus reaches consciousness, there is a very fleeting window of opportunity to prevent the army of wrong inner patterns from being mobilized. When the moment is missed, the neck grabs the chance to stiffen (or collapse), so that the head, arms and legs get pulled in to the body, and the breath becomes more or less held.
Insofar as a person is a slave to this pattern of reaction, even if he is lucky enough to find himself between the sheets with the heavenly goddess of his dreams, he will be liable to suffer the misfortune of stiffening his neck, pulling his head back, restricting his breathing.... and so the onward cycle of doing will continue. His inability to stop doing the wrong thing might even bring about a certain droopiness which might, in the end, prevent his long longed-for union with the heavenly goddess from being consummated!
To stop doing the wrong thing is not so easy. I, for one, am not very good at it. For most of my waking hours I am unconsciously giving consent to the onward cycle of doing, wherein what tends to happen unconsciously is that the neck stiffens (or collapses), so that the head, arms and legs get pulled in to the body, and the breath becomes more or less held.
Like Nanda, I find that this cycle of doing does not hold any appeal for me; but insofar as I fail to give up all those layers of end-gaining ideas which set the cycle in motion, I continue to be held in the onward cycle. How about right now, for example?
EH Johnston:
For since I have heard of the impermanence of Paradise and of the vicissitudes of the cycle of existence, the continuance of active being either among mortals or among gods has no delights for me.
Linda Covill:
For I have heard of the cyclical nature of heaven and of the variety of rebirths in samsara, and neither among men nor among gods does active existence hold any appeal for me.
VOCABULARY:
shrutvaa = absolutive of shru: to hear
hi: for
aavartakam (accusative): whirlpool ; revolution
svargam (accusative): heaven
saMsaarasya = genitive of saMsaara: m. going or wandering through ; the circuit of mundane existence, the cycle of mass unconscious reaction, samsara
ca: and
citra: conspicuous ,distinguished ; bright-coloured ; variegated , spotted , speckled ; various , different , manifold
-taa: -nature, -ness (abstract noun suffix)
citrataam (accusative): variety, manifold nature
na: not, neither
martyeShu: locative, plural of martya: a mortal, man
na: not, nor
deveShu = locative, plural of deva: a god, heavenly being
pravRttiH = nominative, singular of pravRtti: f. moving onwards , advance , progress ; active life (as opposed to ni-vRtti and to contemplative devotion , and defined as consisting of the wish to act , knowledge of the means , and accomplishment of the object)
mama (genitive): for me
rocate = 3rd person singular of ruc: to shine , be bright or radiant or resplendent ; to be splendid or beautiful or good ; to be agreeable to , please (dat. or gen.)
Friday, June 5, 2009
SAUNDARANANDA 12.13: Assurance No Longer Needed
apsaraH-praaptaye yan me
bhagavan pratibhuur asi
n' aapsarobhir mam' aartho 'sti
pratibhuutvaM tyajaamy aham
12.13
“For my gaining of the nymphs,
Master, you have stood surety.
The nymphs are no use to me.
I relinquish your guarantee.
COMMENT:
A metaphor that comes to mind for the Buddha’s guarantee is a father teaching his young son to ride a bicycle, keeping his promise to keep hold of the saddle for assurance, until that assurance is no longer needed.
What Nanda is expressing has to do with the metaphor of donkey and carrot, the point of which is readily seen -- and yet there may be nobody who truly sees it.
Nanda, however, has seen a carrot as a carrot. And so Nanda is saying, and really meaning, “This donkey shall no longer be a slave to the carrot!”
When boy meets dream,
And dream thrills boy.
There is no buddha
In that joy.
So wake up monkeys,
Sheep and parrots:
Here a donkey
Gives up carrots.
EH Johnston:
' I have no need of the Apsarases for the gaining of whom Thou standest, Lord, as my surety and I release Thee from the pledge. '
Linda Covill:
"Lord, you stood guarantor for my attainment of the apsarases. But now I have no need of the apsarases, and I relinquish your guarantee.
VOCABULARY:
apsaras: nymphs
praaptaye = dative of pra-√aap): to attain to ; reach , arrive at , meet with , find ; to obtain , receive
yad: [he/you] who
me (genitive of aham): of me
bhagavan = vocative, masculine of bhagavat: possessing fortune , fortunate , prosperous , happy ; glorious , illustrious , divine , adorable , venerable
pratibhuu: m. a surety , security , bail
pratibhuuH (nominal, singular): one who stands surety, guarantor
asi: you are
na: not
apsarobhiH = instrumental, plural of apsaras: nymphs
mama (genitive of aham): to me
arthaH (nominative, singular): purpose, value, use
asti: there is
pratibhuutvam: pledge, guarantee
tyajaami = 1st person singular of tyaj: to give up, relinquish, set aside
aham: I
bhagavan pratibhuur asi
n' aapsarobhir mam' aartho 'sti
pratibhuutvaM tyajaamy aham
12.13
“For my gaining of the nymphs,
Master, you have stood surety.
The nymphs are no use to me.
I relinquish your guarantee.
COMMENT:
A metaphor that comes to mind for the Buddha’s guarantee is a father teaching his young son to ride a bicycle, keeping his promise to keep hold of the saddle for assurance, until that assurance is no longer needed.
What Nanda is expressing has to do with the metaphor of donkey and carrot, the point of which is readily seen -- and yet there may be nobody who truly sees it.
Nanda, however, has seen a carrot as a carrot. And so Nanda is saying, and really meaning, “This donkey shall no longer be a slave to the carrot!”
When boy meets dream,
And dream thrills boy.
There is no buddha
In that joy.
So wake up monkeys,
Sheep and parrots:
Here a donkey
Gives up carrots.
EH Johnston:
' I have no need of the Apsarases for the gaining of whom Thou standest, Lord, as my surety and I release Thee from the pledge. '
Linda Covill:
"Lord, you stood guarantor for my attainment of the apsarases. But now I have no need of the apsarases, and I relinquish your guarantee.
VOCABULARY:
apsaras: nymphs
praaptaye = dative of pra-√aap): to attain to ; reach , arrive at , meet with , find ; to obtain , receive
yad: [he/you] who
me (genitive of aham): of me
bhagavan = vocative, masculine of bhagavat: possessing fortune , fortunate , prosperous , happy ; glorious , illustrious , divine , adorable , venerable
pratibhuu: m. a surety , security , bail
pratibhuuH (nominal, singular): one who stands surety, guarantor
asi: you are
na: not
apsarobhiH = instrumental, plural of apsaras: nymphs
mama (genitive of aham): to me
arthaH (nominative, singular): purpose, value, use
asti: there is
pratibhuutvam: pledge, guarantee
tyajaami = 1st person singular of tyaj: to give up, relinquish, set aside
aham: I
Thursday, June 4, 2009
SAUNDARANANDA 12.12: Shame-Faced Nanda, Conscious of End-gaining
praNamya ca gurau muurdhnaa
baaShpa-vyaakula-locanaH
kRtv" aaNjalim uvaac' edaM
hriyaa kiM cid avaaN-mukhaH
12.12
After bowing his head to the guru,
Eyes filled with tears,
He joined the palms of his hands and spoke as follows,
His face somewhat lowered, in shame:
COMMENT:
Shame is a negative emotion that can have great positive value.
Shame has to do with consciousness of faults, and consciousness of faults is the essence of the progress, through four realisations, that Nanda makes in the final Canto of this poem.
Lack of due attention to the means of practice (because of undue interest in expected rewards such as the love and appreciation of nymphs etc.) is a primary fault in sitting practice. Attachment to the joy that follows from the giving up of an end-gaining idea is also a fault. And the feeling of ease that follows from giving up attachment to joy is also a kind of fault.
Such is the practice that Ashvaghosha is describing: fault follows fault follows fault, beginning with end-gaining.
A face somewhat lowered is the cart; shame is the horse.
In a past life I made such a virtue of putting the cart before the horse that my ears were closed for a long time to the opposite principle; it was a partial, end-gaining view, born of ignorance.
In this verse, as I read it, the horse is before the cart.
EH Johnston:
And bowing his head to the Guru, with his eyes dimmed by tears he folded his hands and spoke as follows, looking somewhat downwards in shame :--
Linda Covill:
He bowed his head to the guru and folded his hands in reverence, and with tears filling his eyes and his face partially lowered in shame, he said:
VOCABULARY:
praNamya = absolutive of praNam: to bend or bow down before (often with muurdhnaa)
ca: and
gurau (locative): to the guru
muurdhnaa = instrumental of muurdha: the head
baaShpa: tear
vyaakula: full of
locanaH = nominative, singular of locana: " organ of sight " , the eye
kRtvaa = absolutive of kR: to do, make
aNjalim = accusative of aNjali: m. the open hands placed side by side and slightly hollowed (as if by a beggar to receive food ; hence when raised to the forehead , a mark of supplication) , reverence , salutation , benediction ; a measure of corn , sufficient to fill both hands when placed side by side
uvaaca = perfect of vac: to speak
idaM: this, the following
hriyaa = instrumental of hrii: f. shame , modesty , shyness , timidity
kiM cid: somewhat
avaaN: turned downwards , being or situated below
mukhaH (nominative, singular): face
baaShpa-vyaakula-locanaH
kRtv" aaNjalim uvaac' edaM
hriyaa kiM cid avaaN-mukhaH
12.12
After bowing his head to the guru,
Eyes filled with tears,
He joined the palms of his hands and spoke as follows,
His face somewhat lowered, in shame:
COMMENT:
Shame is a negative emotion that can have great positive value.
Shame has to do with consciousness of faults, and consciousness of faults is the essence of the progress, through four realisations, that Nanda makes in the final Canto of this poem.
Lack of due attention to the means of practice (because of undue interest in expected rewards such as the love and appreciation of nymphs etc.) is a primary fault in sitting practice. Attachment to the joy that follows from the giving up of an end-gaining idea is also a fault. And the feeling of ease that follows from giving up attachment to joy is also a kind of fault.
Such is the practice that Ashvaghosha is describing: fault follows fault follows fault, beginning with end-gaining.
A face somewhat lowered is the cart; shame is the horse.
In a past life I made such a virtue of putting the cart before the horse that my ears were closed for a long time to the opposite principle; it was a partial, end-gaining view, born of ignorance.
In this verse, as I read it, the horse is before the cart.
EH Johnston:
And bowing his head to the Guru, with his eyes dimmed by tears he folded his hands and spoke as follows, looking somewhat downwards in shame :--
Linda Covill:
He bowed his head to the guru and folded his hands in reverence, and with tears filling his eyes and his face partially lowered in shame, he said:
VOCABULARY:
praNamya = absolutive of praNam: to bend or bow down before (often with muurdhnaa)
ca: and
gurau (locative): to the guru
muurdhnaa = instrumental of muurdha: the head
baaShpa: tear
vyaakula: full of
locanaH = nominative, singular of locana: " organ of sight " , the eye
kRtvaa = absolutive of kR: to do, make
aNjalim = accusative of aNjali: m. the open hands placed side by side and slightly hollowed (as if by a beggar to receive food ; hence when raised to the forehead , a mark of supplication) , reverence , salutation , benediction ; a measure of corn , sufficient to fill both hands when placed side by side
uvaaca = perfect of vac: to speak
idaM: this, the following
hriyaa = instrumental of hrii: f. shame , modesty , shyness , timidity
kiM cid: somewhat
avaaN: turned downwards , being or situated below
mukhaH (nominative, singular): face
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
SAUNDARANANDA 12.11: Intending to Listen
khela-gaamii mahaa-baahur
gaj'-endra iva nir-madaH
so 'bhyagacchad guruM kaale
vivakShur bhaavam aatmanaH
12.11
Trembling went he of mighty arm,
Like a top bull elephant, through with rut:
At a suitable moment, he approached the guru,
Wishing to communicate his intention.
COMMENT:
What Nanda wishes to communicate he communicates exactly in 12.16 and 12.17. What he communicates in those verses is his desire to listen. His desire to listen is not the desire to listen to any old rubbish, like somebody’s opinionated viewpoints on true Buddhism, realism, humanism, optimism, and the like. His desire is the desire to listen to the Best of Voices, belonging to the Best of Listeners.
A human being has a listening body. When I sit my skin, bones, nerves, and muscles are all an extension of my listening ear. Sadly, Nature endowed me with a particularly defective one. On the other hand, she compensated by giving me a top two inches that was relatively well adapted for thinking about my ear-centric problem. So year by year I am increasingly attentive to avoiding the stimulus of noise that I struggle to filter out. As I write, I am once more surveying greenery by the forest in France.
Because the human ear is intimately connected with human skin, flesh, bones and marrow, when a male of the species is in rut (or “in love” as we conventionally call it), the voice of a female of a species can churn our stomach and make our knees go weak -- at which time we are more or less deaf to the voice of Buddha.
It has taken Nanda the first eleven Cantos of this poem to get to the point where he is truly through with rutting. Rutting takes a lot of energy. A rutting stag, for example, loses a huge proportion of its body weight during the rutting season. A stag at the end of the rutting season is not conspicuously full of beans. Nanda, similarly, though a big strong bloke by nature, does not now approach the Buddha all full of himself. This verse, as I read it, does not describe a swaying or stately gait. The point may rather be that Nanda goes trembling, eyes filled with tears, mind filled with shame. But he is finally ready to listen to the voice of Buddha. Not only is he ready to listen; he intends to listen.
To listen to the Best of Listeners
Nanda intends.
His wrong inner patterns are the doing
that Buddha intends him to stop.
Negation of intention is not it.
EH Johnston:
Mighty in the arms and freed from conceit, with swaying gait like an elephant with mighty trunk and freed from rut, he went to the Guru at the proper time to explain his feelings.
Linda Covill:
With stately gait and strong in arm, like a princely elephant out of rut, he came to the guru at an appropriate time to tell him of his disposition.
VOCABULARY:
khela: moving , shaking , trembling
gaamii = nominative, singular of gaamin: going ; going or moving on or in or towards or in any peculiar manner
mahaa: great, large
baahuH (nominative, singular): the arm , (esp.) the fore-arm
gaja: an elephant
indra: ifc. best , excellent , the first , the chief (of any class of objects
iva: like
nirmada: mfn. unintoxicated , sober , quiet , humble , modest
nirmadaH (nominative, singular): [an elephant] not in rut
saH (nominative, singular): he
abhyagacchad = imperfect of abhi-√gam: to go near to , approach (with acc.)
gurum (accusative): to the guru
kaale (locative): at an appropriate time
vivakShuH (nominative, singular): mfn. wishing to speak to (acc.)
bhaavam = accusative of bhaava: being, state, condition; true condition or state , truth , reality; manner of being , nature , temperament , character ; any state of mind or body , way of thinking or feeling , sentiment , opinion , disposition , intention
aatmanaH (genitive): of himself
gaj'-endra iva nir-madaH
so 'bhyagacchad guruM kaale
vivakShur bhaavam aatmanaH
12.11
Trembling went he of mighty arm,
Like a top bull elephant, through with rut:
At a suitable moment, he approached the guru,
Wishing to communicate his intention.
COMMENT:
What Nanda wishes to communicate he communicates exactly in 12.16 and 12.17. What he communicates in those verses is his desire to listen. His desire to listen is not the desire to listen to any old rubbish, like somebody’s opinionated viewpoints on true Buddhism, realism, humanism, optimism, and the like. His desire is the desire to listen to the Best of Voices, belonging to the Best of Listeners.
A human being has a listening body. When I sit my skin, bones, nerves, and muscles are all an extension of my listening ear. Sadly, Nature endowed me with a particularly defective one. On the other hand, she compensated by giving me a top two inches that was relatively well adapted for thinking about my ear-centric problem. So year by year I am increasingly attentive to avoiding the stimulus of noise that I struggle to filter out. As I write, I am once more surveying greenery by the forest in France.
Because the human ear is intimately connected with human skin, flesh, bones and marrow, when a male of the species is in rut (or “in love” as we conventionally call it), the voice of a female of a species can churn our stomach and make our knees go weak -- at which time we are more or less deaf to the voice of Buddha.
It has taken Nanda the first eleven Cantos of this poem to get to the point where he is truly through with rutting. Rutting takes a lot of energy. A rutting stag, for example, loses a huge proportion of its body weight during the rutting season. A stag at the end of the rutting season is not conspicuously full of beans. Nanda, similarly, though a big strong bloke by nature, does not now approach the Buddha all full of himself. This verse, as I read it, does not describe a swaying or stately gait. The point may rather be that Nanda goes trembling, eyes filled with tears, mind filled with shame. But he is finally ready to listen to the voice of Buddha. Not only is he ready to listen; he intends to listen.
To listen to the Best of Listeners
Nanda intends.
His wrong inner patterns are the doing
that Buddha intends him to stop.
Negation of intention is not it.
EH Johnston:
Mighty in the arms and freed from conceit, with swaying gait like an elephant with mighty trunk and freed from rut, he went to the Guru at the proper time to explain his feelings.
Linda Covill:
With stately gait and strong in arm, like a princely elephant out of rut, he came to the guru at an appropriate time to tell him of his disposition.
VOCABULARY:
khela: moving , shaking , trembling
gaamii = nominative, singular of gaamin: going ; going or moving on or in or towards or in any peculiar manner
mahaa: great, large
baahuH (nominative, singular): the arm , (esp.) the fore-arm
gaja: an elephant
indra: ifc. best , excellent , the first , the chief (of any class of objects
iva: like
nirmada: mfn. unintoxicated , sober , quiet , humble , modest
nirmadaH (nominative, singular): [an elephant] not in rut
saH (nominative, singular): he
abhyagacchad = imperfect of abhi-√gam: to go near to , approach (with acc.)
gurum (accusative): to the guru
kaale (locative): at an appropriate time
vivakShuH (nominative, singular): mfn. wishing to speak to (acc.)
bhaavam = accusative of bhaava: being, state, condition; true condition or state , truth , reality; manner of being , nature , temperament , character ; any state of mind or body , way of thinking or feeling , sentiment , opinion , disposition , intention
aatmanaH (genitive): of himself
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