−−−−¦⏑−−−¦¦−⏑−−¦⏑−⏑−
saumyatvāc-caiva
dhairyāc-ca kāś-cid-enaṁ prajajñire |
⏑⏑−−¦⏑−−−¦¦−−−−¦⏑−⏑−
avatīrṇo mahīṁ
sākṣād gūdhāṁśuś-candramā iti || 4.5
4.5
Because of his
soma-steeped mildness,
and his constant
gravity,
Some women intuited him
to be,
Alighting on the earth
in person,
A moon whose beam is
contained within.
COMMENT:
In the 4th
pāda, candramā means the moon or the moon-god, and gūdhāṁśuḥ
means with its/his moonbeams veiled/concealed/disguised/kept secret.
Hence EHJ: “the moon with his rays veiled”; and PO: “Moon
himself with his beams concealed.” So the ostensible meaning is to
suggest the prince's devastating attractiveness to women by comparing
him to the moon, or the god thereof, in disguise.
But in translating
today's verse the first question I have asked myself is: Is it
possible to read the 4th pāda as an expression of
sitting-practice?
If the answer is yes,
then the real point of gūdhāṁśuś-candramā (“a moon whose
beam is contained within”) might be to allude to the principle that
in sitting-meditation the light of attention is primarily turned in,
or turned back (nivṛttam).
In that case, gūdha is
pointing not so much to any intention to veil or conceal one's light
from others; it is rather pointing to the fact that
sitting-meditation as the Buddha practised and taught it is something
exceptionally self-contained, whose standard is the samādhi of
accepting and using the self.
The 1st
pāda, then, can be read not only as presaging the metaphor of the
moon in the 4th pāda but also as pointing to just this
samādhi in which something gentle, mild, placid, and yielding
(corresponding to acceptance of the self) coexists with something
firm and constant, filled with gravitas and strong direction
(corresponding to use of the self).
This leads me to think
that today's verse, while ostensibly the portrait of one particular
individual who was especially attractive to women, is really all
about that treasure that Dogen said was available to everybody, to
accept and use as we like. Today's verse, in other words, is really a
celebration of samādhi.
That being so, in the
1st pāda the samādhi of accepting and using the self is
a kind of verbal explanation or a theoretical construct. In the 2nd
pāda, in contrast, such balance is nothing so abstract or
intellectual; it is rather a state of being that some know, or perceive,
intuitively. In the 3rd pāda, in practice, the samādhi
in question is a function of the relation between an individual human
being and mother earth. And the 4th pāda indirectly suggests the
reality of just sitting, using (and accepting) the
metaphor of the moon.
VOCABULARY
saumya-tvāt (abl.
sg.): n. gentleness , mildness
saumya: mfn. relating
or belonging to soma (the juice or the sacrifice or the moon-god) ,
connected or dealing with soma , having his nature or qualities &c
; cool and moist ; " resembling the moon " , placid ,
gentle , mild
soma: n. juice,
extract, (esp.) the juice of the soma plant ; the moon or moon-god
ca: and
eva (emphatic)
dhairyāt (abl. sg.):
n. firmness , constancy , calmness , patience , gravity , fortitude ,
courage
ca: and
kāś-cid (nom. pl.
f.): some
enam (acc. sg. m.):
that, this
prajajñire = 3rd
pers. pl. perf. pra- √ jñā : to know , understand (esp. a way or
mode of action) , discern , distinguish , know about , be acquainted
with (acc.); to find out , discover , perceive , learn
avatīrṇaḥ (nom.
sg. m.): mfn. alighted , descended
mahīm (acc. sg.): f. "
the great world " , the earth
sākṣāt: ind. (abl.
of sākṣa, 'having eyes') with the eyes , with one's own eyes ;
before one's eyes , evidently , clearly , openly , manifestly ; in
person , in bodily form , personally , visibly , really , actually
gūdhāṁśuḥ (nom.
sg. m.): with beams concealed/kept secret
gūdha: mfn covered,
concealed , invisible , secret , private ; disguised ; n. a secret
place or mystery
guh: to cover , conceal
, hide , keep secret
aṁśu: m. a filament
(especially of the soma plant) ; a ray , sunbeam
candramāḥ (nom.
sg.): m. the moon , deity of the moon
iti: “....,” thus
一切皆瞻仰 謂月天子來
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