SAUNDARANANDA 17.55: Just Sitting

yasmaat tu tasmin na sukhaM na duHkhaM
jNaanaM ca tatr’ aasti tad-artha-caari
tasmaad upekSHaa-smRti-paarishuddhir
nirucyate dhyaana-vidhau caturthe

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17.55
Since in this there is neither ease nor suffering,

And the act of knowing abides here, being its own object,

Therefore utter lucidity
through indifference and awareness

Is specified in the protocol
for the fourth stage of meditation.

COMMENT:
In this verse, as I read it, the act of knowing (jNaana) means sitting. The act of knowing being its own object (tad-artha-caarin) means just sitting.

Just sitting means not end-gaining. If we conceive 'utter lucidity through indifference and awareness' (upekSHaa-smRti-paarishuddhi) as an end to be gained, and go for it directly, guided by faulty sensory appreciation, that is akin to trying to make pond-water clear by stirring up sediment.

The difficulty with end-gaining like that is that we generally do not recognise that we are doing it -- until, for example, ashamedly surveying the wreckage of a battered laptop, one is forced to recognise another failure of inhibition, another descent into end-gaining.

This was Nanda's experience as described in Canto 12, Gaining Hold. His real starting point, the point at which he began to get a grip on himself, was shameful recognition of end-gaining.

So yes, utter lucidity through indifference and awareness (upekSHaa-smRti-paarishuddhi) must be what Dogen meant by water being clear right down to the bottom, and fish swimming like fish.

But if we want to make the words of Dogen and Ashvaghosha real in our own experience, it might be necessary not to end-gain, but rather to go back to square one, and not only once. At least this is my experience, not as one who has conclusively realised the worthy state, arhathood, but as one who has conclusively realised, again and again, the mistake of shi-zen-biku, the beggar of the fourth dhyana.


EH Johnston:
And since in it there is neither bliss nor suffering and knowledge there fulfils its aim, therefore in the process of the fourth trance there is explained to be purification through indifference and attentiveness.

Linda Covill:
Since there is no bliss or sorrow at this level, knowledge lives here at one with its object; therefore in the description of the fourth level of meditation it is said that there is purification of equanimity and mindfulness.

VOCABULARY:
yasmaat: since
tu: but (or just for emphasis)
tasmin (loc. sg.): in it
na: not, neither
sukham (nom. sg.): n. ease, happiness
na: nor
duHkham (nom. sg.): n. suffering

jNaanam (nom. sg.): n. knowing, the act of knowing
ca: and
tatra: there
asti: exists
tad: its
artha: aim, meaning, object, thing, wealth, treasure, substance
caari = nom. sg. caarin: mfn. (ifc.) moving, walking or wandering about, living, being; acting, proceeding

tasmaat: ind. therefore
upekSHaa: f. overlooking , disregard , negligence , indifference , contempt , abandonment
smRti: f. remembrance, mindfulness, attentiveness, awareness
parishuddhiH (nom. sg.): f. complete purification; absolution, rightness
pari: ind. round , around ; fully , abundantly , richly (esp. ibc)
shuddhi: f. cleansing , purification , purity (lit. and fig.) , holiness , freedom from defilement; verification , correction , making true , correctness , accuracy , genuineness , truth ; clearness , certainty , accurate knowledge regarding
nirucyate = 3rd pers. sg. passive of nir + vac: to speak out, express clearly or distinctly, declare, interpret, explain
dhyaana: n. (stage of) realisation, meditation
vidhau = loc. sg. vidhi: direction, rule, formula, outline; any prescribed act
caturthe = loc. sg. caturtha: the fourth

SAUNDARANANDA 17.54: The Fourth Stage of Sitting-Meditation

atha prahaaNaat sukha-duHkhayosh ca
mano-vikaarasya ca puurvam eva
dadhyaav upekSHaa-smRtimad vishuddhaM
dhyaanaM tath” aa-duHkha-sukhaM caturtham

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17.54
Then, because he had let go of ease and suffering,

And of working on the mind, already,

He realised the lucidity
in which there is indifference and full awareness:

Thus, beyond suffering and ease,
is the fourth stage of meditation.

COMMENT:
Dhyaana in this verse means sitting-dhyana.

Indifference, or emotional worrying, is a condition of neck, head, shoulders, torso, arms and legs.

Full awareness, or almost complete ignorance, is a function of the pelvis.

Lucidity might be seeing indifference as it is, as a function of the pelvis, and seeing full awareness as it is, as a condition of neck, head, shoulders, torso, arms and legs.


EH Johnston:
Then previously abandoning bliss and suffering and all alteration of the mind he entered the fourth trance, which is pure and possesses the qualities of indifference and attentiveness and is devoid of bliss and suffering.

Linda Covill:
Then, because he had just given up bliss and suffering as well as alteration of the mind, he attained the fourth level of meditation, which is pure, free from happiness and sorrow, and endowed with equanimity and mindfulness.


VOCABULARY:
atha: ind. then
prahaaNaat = abl. prahaaNa: relinquishing, abandoning, giving up
sukha-duHkhayoH (gen. dual): of ease and difficulty; of happiness and suffering
ca: and

mano = manas: mind
vikaarasya = gen. vikaara: m. (from vi- √ kR) change of form or nature; alteration from any natural state; change, modification (esp. for the worse)
vi- √ kR: to make different , transform , change the shape (or the mind) , cause to alter or change (esp. for the worse) , deprave , pervert , spoil , impair; to develop , produce (esp. variously) ; to embellish , decorate (in various manners)
ca: and
puurvam: ind. formerly, previously, already, had just
eva: [emphatic] already

dadhyau = 3rd pers. perfect dhyai: to think of , imagine , contemplate , meditate on , call to mind; to realise
upekSHaa: f. overlooking, disregard, negligence, indifference, contempt;
abandonment; endurance, patience; equanimity
smRti: f. recollection, remembrance, mindfulness, attentiveness
-mat: possessive suffix
smRtimat (acc. sg. n.): mfn. having recollection or full consciousness
vishuddham (acc. sg. n.): completely cleansed or purified, clean, clear, pure; free from vice; honest; cleared, exhausted, empty

dhyaanam (acc. sg.): n. [stage of] realisation, meditation
tathaa: ind. thus, likewise
a-duHkha-sukham (acc. sg. n.): without suffering and happiness, beyond difficulty or ease
caturtham (acc. sg. n.): the fourth

SAUNDARANANDA 17.53: Giving Up a Movement & Moving On

yatr’ eNjitaM spanditam asti tatra
yatr’ aasti ca spanditam asti duHkhaM
yasmaad atas tat sukham iNjakatvaat
prashaanti-kaamaa yatayas tyajanti

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17.53
In moving there is interference,

And where there is interference there is suffering,

Which is why, insofar as it is movement,

Strivers desirous of quiet give up that ease.

COMMENT:
I could spend all morning chewing on the meaning of iNjitam and spanditam, and as a matter of fact I already spent a chunk of time doing just that -- reading on Wikipedia about wave propagation and interference, and looking up in the dictionary terms like motion, agitation, vibration, reverberation, repercussion, and so on.

On one level, this verse stands with the previous verse for stillness or non-movement. But really this whole series of verses might be about moving on, not getting stuck in perfectionist striving for rightness, but moving on in the direction of the fourth dhyana, which for Nanda is not the end of anything but a kind of new beginning.

Verse 17.42 describes the first dhyana as kaamair viviktam, free of desires, separated from desires. But realisation of the fourth dhyana, evidently, requires a striver to be prashaanti-kaama, desirous of quiet.

Should we pause at length to ponder and discuss this contradiction, desiring a definitive understanding?

No, it might be better to move on.....

EH Johnston:
Seeing that where there is alteration there is motion and where there is motion there is suffering, ascetics who long for tranquillity give up that bliss because it brings about alteration.

Linda Covill:
Where there is fluctuation, there is motion, and where there is motion, there is suffering. Because of this fluctuation, ascetics who strive for peace give up that bliss.

VOCABULARY:
yatra: ind. in which, where, wherever
iNjitam = nom. sg. iNgita: n. (from iNg, to go, move, agitate) palpitation; change of the voice, internal motion, motion of various parts of the body as indicating the intentions; hint, sign, gesture; aim, intention, real but covert purpose
spanditam (nom. sg.): mfn. (from spand, to quiver) quivering , trembling; n. pulsation, throb; movement or activity (of the mind)
spand: to quiver , throb , twitch , tremble , vibrate , quake , palpitate , throb with life , quicken (as a child in the womb) ; to kick (as an animal); to make any quick movement , move , be active ; to flash into life , come suddenly to life
asti: there is
tatra: ind. there, in that

yatra: ind. where
asti: there is
ca: and
spanditam (nom. sg.):n. quivering, pulsation, [mental] commotion
asti: there is
duHkham (nom. sg.): n. suffering

yasmaat (ablative of ya): because of which
ataH: ind. for this reason, from this, which is why
tat: that
sukham (acc. sg.): n. ease, happiness
iNjakatvaat = (?) iNgakatvaat: ‘because it brings about alteration’ (EHJ)
inGa: moveable, locomotive
ka: (?)
tvaat (ablative of abstract noun suffix -tvam): because of X-ness, because of X-tion, because of being X

prashaanti: f. sinking to rest, rest, tranquillity (esp. of mind), calm, quiet, pacification, abatement, extinction, destruction
kaamaaH (nom. pl. m): mfn. wishing , desiring
yatayaH = nom. pl. yati: m. (from yam) "a striver ," an ascetic, devotee, one who has restrained his passions and abandoned the world
yam: to stretch out, give oneself up to, exert oneself
tyajanti = 3rd pers. pl. tyaj: to leave , abandon , quit; to let go, give up

SAUNDARANANDA 17.52: More Fault Finding

dhyaane 'pi tatr' aatha dadarsha doShaM
mene paraM shaantam an-iNjam eva
aabhogato 'p' iiNjayati sma tasya
cittaM pravRttaM sukham ity ajasraM

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17.52
Then, even in that stage of meditation, he found a fault:

He saw it as better to be quiet, without movement,

Whereas his mind was fluctuating tirelessly

Because of ease circulating.

COMMENT:
The fault Ashvaghosha is describing now, at the highest level of ease, might be too subtle and fine for the likes of me to discuss.

Sukha, ease, is thought to be derived from su+kha, 'having a good axle hole,' running smoothly, as opposed to duH-kha, 'not having a good axle hole,' suffering, having to endure hard going.

Whether or not I can pin the blame on congenitally dodgy wheel bearings, I do not know, but if I have ever experienced the higher ease described here as belonging untiringly to the third dhyana, at time of writing the memory of it completely escapes me.

In common with my father and brother, I am prone to a frustration that sometimes boils over with tragi-comic effect. It is a frustration that, for me at least, Alexander work has not yet been applied sufficiently deeply to solve. As I joked to my mother when I spoke to her on the phone on Sunday night, there may be a certain wisdom in the stoic attitude of my father, who staunchly refuses to be drawn into any discussion of "hang-ups," and is thus at least immune from the Buddhist or Alexandrian frustration of not being able to solve the problem of frustration. My long-suffering mother said it was the first laugh she had had all day. Yesterday again I caused my son to laugh when I phoned him for advice on getting a new computer, and told him of the "firm decision" I took yesterday morning not ever to be frustated again by the reluctance to start up of my under-powered Dell laptop.

On further reflection, I do remember that sometimes Marjory Barlow would say to me, by way of encouragement, as I took my leave of her after a lesson, "You are going well." For Marjory it was never a question of having arrived at rightness, never a question of good, but of better, or, as she sometimes used to say, "not quite so awful!" The form of Marjory's encouragement befitted her uncle's teaching that there is no such thing as a right position, but there is a right direction... and maybe the best we can hope for is to keep going in it -- whether the going be easy or hard.

And so, for how much longer I do not know, I carry on, a work in progress and in regress. But for the not-so-trusty old laptop, it is game over.






EH Johnston:
Then he saw a defect in that trance and deemed that the highest stage is tranquil and not subject to alteration, but his mind kept altering continuously through inflections because of the activity of bliss.

Linda Covill:
But since he considered the highest to be peaceful and without fluctuation, he detected a flaw even in meditation at this level -- that his mind fluctuated continuously due to modulations in the working of bliss.


VOCABULARY:
dhyaane (loc.): in that realisation, in the stage of meditation
api: also, again
tatra: ind. there, in that one
atha: then (connecting particle)
dadarsha = 3rd pers. perfect dRsh: to see
doSHam (acc. sg.): m. flaw, fault

mene = 3rd pers. perfect man: to think, believe, imagine, suppose, consider
param (acc. sg. n.): mfn. better, best, highest; n. remotest distance
shaantam (acc. sg. m./n): mfn. appeased, pacified, tranquil, inhibited, abated; m./n. tranquility
an-iNjam = an-iNgam (acc. sg. m.n.): mfn. not divisible (said of words)
iNg: to go , go to or towards ; to move or agitate
iNga: mfn. movable , locomotive
eva (emphatic): at all

aabhogataH: cyclically
aabhoga: m. winding , curving , curve , crease ; circuit , circumference ,
taH = ablative/adverbial suffix
api: and, also, moreover, verily
iNjayati = iNgayati, 3rd person causative iNg: to move , agitate , shake
sma: (emphatic particle) certainly, indeed, actually
tasya (gen. sg. m.): of him, of it

cittam (nom.sg.): n. mind, thinking mind
pravRttam (nom. sg. n.): rotund; circulated (as a book); acting, proceeding, going round; causing a continuation [(with karman) of mundane existence]; set in motion, under way, in operation, current; flowing; activity, working
sukham (nom./acc. sg.): n. happiness, ease; running swiftly or easily (only applied to cars or chariots)
iti: thus, because of [the preceding]
ajasram (from jas = exhaust): ind. perpetually, inexhaustibly, for ever; continuously, continually, untiringly

SAUNDARANANDA 17.51: A Superior Class of Ease

yasmaat paraM tatra sukhaM sukhebhyas
tataH paraM n'aasti sukha-pravRttiH
tasmaad babhaaShe shubha-kRtsna-bhuumiM
par'-aapara-jNaH param" eti maitryaa

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17.51
Since the ease here is beyond any ease,

And there is no progression of ease beyond it,

Therefore, as a knower of higher and lower,
he realised it as a condition of resplendent wholeness

Which, with loving kindness, he deemed superlative.

COMMENT:
This and the previous verse relate to nobility vs ignobility, higher and lower, superiority and inferiority.

Since the previous verse describes Nanda as experiencing and knowing the ease enjoyed by the noble ones, I have decided to interpret "the knower of higher and lower" in this verse as Nanda himself.

In that case, this verse describes Nanda recognizing that the ease of non-attachment to joy is a superior class of ease, a nobler kind of ease -- this recognition being arrived at not in an arrogant or haughty way but on the contrary maitryaa, with loving kindness, in a friendly way.

EH Johnston:
Since the bliss reached at that point is the highest of all blisses, there is no continuance of bliss beyond it; therefore the Knower of the higher and lower stages called it the ShubhakRtsena stage as being supreme through benevolence.

Linda Covill:
Bliss does not operate beyond this level, since the bliss here is greater than any other bliss. Therefore the knower of the lower and the higher called it the stage of the entirely lovely, supreme through loving-kindness.


VOCABULARY:
yasmaat: ind. from which cause, since
param: ind. beyond, greater than
tatra: ind. there, in that stage
sukham (acc. sg.): n. ease, effortlessness, happiness
sukhebhyaH (gen./abl. pl.): all kinds of ease

tataH: ind. from there, from that, thereupon
param: ind. beyond
na: not
aasti: there is
sukha: ease
pravRttiH (nom. sg.): f. moving onwards, advance, progress, continuing

tasmaad (correlative of yasmaat): ind. from that, therefore
babhaaSHe = 3rd pers. perfect of bhaas: to shine , be bright ; to appear (" as " or " like " nom. or instr. of an abstract noun) , occur to the mind , be conceived or imagined, become clear or evident
shubha-kRtsna-bhuumim (acc. sg.): condition of resplendent wholeness
shubha: lovely, splendid, pleasant
kRtsna: all, whole, entire; the belly
bhuumi: ground, place, position, stage, situation; (ifc.) a matter , subject , object , receptacle i.e. fit object or person for

para: mfn. superior, higher
a-para: mfn. inferior , lower (opposed to para)
jNaH (nom. sg. m.): knower, wise and learned man
paramaa (nom. sg. f.): mfn. (superlative of para): best, highest
iti: "...," thus
maitryaa (inst. sg. maitrii): because of friendliness, through loving-kindness, with love, with affability, in an easy-going manner
maitrii: f. friendship , friendliness , benevolence , good will (one of the 4 perfect states with Buddhists)

SAUNDARANANDA 17.50: The Third Stage of Sitting-Meditation

17.50
priiter viraagaat sukham aarya-juSHTaM
kaayena vindann atha samprajaanan
upekSHakaH sa smRtimaan vyahaarSHiid
dhyaanaM tRtiiyam pratilabhya dhiiraH

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17.50
And so experiencing the ease enjoyed by the noble ones,
from non-attachment to joy,

Knowing it totally, with his body,

He remained indifferent, fully aware,

And, having realised the third stage of meditation, steady.

COMMENT:
Non-attachment to joy might be a child at a funfair.

Attachment to joy might be a humourless person mortifying himself.

This verse, if we understood it intellectually, instead of through a psycho-physical effort to direct the whole body up, would be an invitation to attach to non-attachment and to care about indifference.

Never mind about stage number 3. It feels to me like I have been couped up for far too long through the winter, getting intensely annoyed at this temperamental lap-top, which seems to let me down at times of maximum inconvience. When was the last time I felt the joy and ease born of the solitude of the forest? ....

14.46
To a place suited for practice, free of people and free of noise,

To a place for lying down and sitting, my friend, repair in this manner;

For by first achieving solitude of the body

It is easy to obtain solitude of the mind.

14.47
The man of redness, the tranquillity of his mind unrealized,

Who does not take to a playground of solitude,

Is injured as though, unable to regain a track,

He is walking on very thorny ground.

14.48
For a seeker who is not seeing reality,

Standing in the tawdry playground of objects,

It is no easier to rein in his mind,

Than to drive a foraging bull away from corn.

14.49
But just as, when not fanned by the wind,

A bright fire dies down,

In solitary places, similarly, with little effort

An unstirred mind comes to quiet.

14.50
One who eats anything at any place,
and wears any clothes,

Who dwells in enjoyment of his own being
and loves to be anywhere without people:

He is to be known as a success,
a knower of the taste of peace and ease,
whose mind is made up --

He avoids involvement with others like a thorn.

EH Johnston:
Then experiencing with his body through freedom from ecstasy that bliss which the Saints feel, and fully aware of all things, he remained indifferent and attentive and gained the third trance.

Linda Covill:
Through his non-attachment to joy he then discovered the physical bliss enjoyed by the noble ones, and with full comprehension he passed the time in equanimity, attentive and steady; and he attained the third level of meditation.

VOCABULARY:
priiteH (gen. sg): f. joy
viraagaat = abl. viraaga: m. loss of colour; dispassion; non-attachment
sukham (acc. sg.): n. ease, happiness
aarya-juSHTam (acc. sg. n.): enjoyed by noble ones
aarya: a respectable or honourable or faithful man, an inhabitant of Aryavarta; name of the race which immigrated from Central Asia into Aaryaavarta; (with Buddhists) a man who has thought on the four chief truths of Buddhism and lives accordingly; behaving like an Aryan, honourable, respectable, noble
juSHTa: pleased, loved, agreeable, usual, practised, possessed of (in compounds)

kaayena (inst. sg. kaaya): with/through the body
vindan = nom. sg. m. present participle vid: to know , understand , perceive , learn , become or be acquainted with , be conscious of , have a correct notion of
atha: ind. then, and so
samprajaanan = nom. sg. m. present participle sam + pra + jNa: distinguish, discern, know accurately or perfectly

upekSHakaH (nom. sg. m.): mfn. overlooking, indifferent, disregarding
saH (nom. sg. m.): he
smRtimaan = nom. sg. m. smRtimat: mfn. having recollection or full consciousness ; having a good memory ; remembering a former life ; prudent , discreet ; versed in tradition or law
smRti: remembering, mindfulness, awareness, attention
-mant: possessive suffix
vyahaarShiit = 3rd pers. aorist vi + hR: to fare or fare well, rove or walk, spend or pass time, roam, wander; walk or roam for pleasure

dhyaanam (acc. sg.): n. meditation; stage of meditation, reflection, realisation
tRtiiyam (acc. sg. n.): the third
pratilabhya = abs. prati-√labh: obtain, get back; (with accusative) partake of
dhiiraH (nom. sg. m.): steady, constant, firm, resolute, brave, energetic, courageous, self-possessed, composed, calm

SAUNDARANANDA 17.49: Going On Up

priitiH paraa vastuni yatra yasya
viparyayaat tasya hi tatra duHkhaM
priitaav ataH prekSHya sa tatra doSHaan
priiti-kSHaye yogam upaaruroha


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17.49
For when a man finds intense joy in anything,

Paradoxically, suffering for him is right there.

So seeing the faults there in joy,

He kept going up, into practice that goes beyond joy.

COMMENT:
The 4th line, as I read it, conveys a sense of direction and dynamism, with priiti-kShaya, "waning of joy," being in the locative case, and with the final word of the verse being from the root upaaruh, to go up...

In Alexander work we say, "Let the neck be free to let the head go forward and UP, to let the back lengthen and widen, while sending the knees forwards and away."

FM Alexander's niece Marjory Barlow, knowing that my direction in life has mainly to do with endeavoring to clarify the Buddha's teaching for self and others, said to me: "Those directions will take you where you want to go."

And the central one of those directions is up -- as in the final word of this verse, upaaruroha, he went up, he kept going up.

Even at the level of the second dhyana, wherein thought directions are not affirmed, and ideas of "forward" and "up" are not affirmed, up is still up.

Up in the tree is a bird.
Down here I sit on the flat.
Down is a four-letter word.
Up is most surely not that.


EH Johnston:
For by the law of opposites suffering is present in any matter in which the highest ecstasy is experienced by man; therefore seeing the defects ensuing at this stage from ecstasy, he entered on Yoga for its abolition.

Linda Covill:
For he who takes profound joy in anything will also find unsatisfactoriness in it, because of the possibility of its alteration; so noticing the flaws in joy, he undertook yogic practice to destroy joy.


VOCABULARY:
priitiH (nom. sg.): f. joy
paraa (nom. sg. f.): profound, extreme, superlative
vastuni = loc. sg. vastu: n. any really existing or abiding substance or essence , thing , object
yatra (used to express locative of ya): in which [thing]
yasya (gen. sg.): of whom
viparyayaat: ind. (= abl. viparyaya, from viparii) in the opposite case , other wise
viparyaya: mfn. reversed , inverted , perverse , contrary to (gen.); m. turning round, reversal, turning into its opposite; transposition , change , alteration , inverted order or succession , opposite of
vi-pari-√i: to turn round or back , return ; to turn out badly or wrongly , fail
tasya (gen; correlative of yasya): to/of/for him
hi: for
tatra: ind. in that, therein
duHkham (nom. sg.): n. suffering, unsatisfactoriness

pritau (loc. sg.): in joy
ataH: ind. therefore, from this, hence
prekSHya (absolutive of prekSH): on seeing; having seen, noticed, discerned, observed
saH (nom. sg. m.): he
tatra: ind. in that, therein
doSHaan (acc. pl.): m. faults, defects, drawbacks, pitfalls

priiti: joy
kShaye = loc. sg. kShaya: m. loss, waste, wane, diminution, destruction, decay, wasting or wearing away; abatement; end, termination
yogam (acc. sg.): m. the act of yoking [body and mind]; practice, yogic practice; means, expedient, method
upaaruroha = 3rd pers. perfect upaa + ruh: to ascend or go up to, mount, arrive at, reach