Tuesday, November 5, 2013

BUDDHACARITA 8.17: Neighing the Truth of Suffering


⏑−⏑−¦−⏑⏑¦−⏑−⏑−¦¦⏑−⏑−¦−⏑⏑¦−⏑−⏑−   Vaṁśastha
vigāhamānaś-ca narendra-mandiraṁ vilokayann-aśru-vahena cakṣuṣā |
⏑−⏑−¦−⏑⏑¦−⏑−⏑−¦¦⏑−⏑−¦−⏑⏑¦−⏑−⏑−
svareṇa puṣṭena rurāva kanthako janāya duḥkhaṁ prativedayann-iva || 8.17

8.17
Also entering the royal stable
[Or immersing himself in the place of stillness of the best of men],

Looking, with an eye containing tears,

Kanthaka roared in a full-sounding voice,

As if making his suffering known to the people
[Or as if causing the people to know suffering]
[Or as if, for the benefit of humanity, causing suffering to be known].

COMMENT:
The hidden meaning, or a hidden meaning, of today's verse as I read it is that when instinct and the thinking mind are harnessed well together, then the four noble truths can be roared in a full and resonant voice. 

An eye containing tears can be understood as representing real experience of suffering and looking can be read as representing the reflective or meditative function. 

So the suggestion is, as Chandaka and Kanthaka enter the stable together, of thinking and instinct, the reflective function and raw feeling, being integrated. 

The voice of a horse or a human being abiding in that state is naturally "well-fed" (puṣṭena-- a turn of phrase that would not have been lost on Alfred Tomatis, the grandfather of sound therapy and of work that utilizes what Tomatis's protege Paul Madaule called "the ear-voice connection."  In this work the ear and voice are nourished especially by high frequency sounds listened to by the owner of the voice, in the first instance via bone conduction, and very shortly thereafter via sound waves bouncing through the air. 

This morning I am not on home turf and, at time of writing, not in the audio-vocal loop. So I shall keep this comment short. 


VOCABULARY
vigāhamānaḥ = nom. sg. m. pres. part. vi- √ gāh: to plunge or dive into , bathe in , enter , penetrate , pervade , betake one's self into (acc. or loc.)
ca: and
narendra-mandiram (acc. sg. n.): the royal stable ; [EHJ: the royal dwelling] ; the abiding-place of an Indra among men
indra: ifc. best , excellent , the first , the chief (of any class of objects)
mandira: n. any waiting or abiding-place , habitation , dwelling , house , palace , temple , town , camp &c ; a stable for horses ;
mand 2: to tarry , stand still , pause

vilokayan = nom. sg. m. pres. part. vi- √ lok: to look at or upon , regard , examine , test , study
aśru-vahena (inst. sg. n.): bearing / causing tears
vaha: ifc. carrying , bearing , conveying , bringing , causing , producing , effecting
cakṣuṣā (inst. sg.): n. sight; a look ; the eye

svareṇa (inst. sg.): m. sound, voice
puṣṭena (inst. sg. m.): mfn. nourished , cherished , well-fed , thriving , strong , fat , full , complete , perfect , abundant , rich , great , ample ; full-sounding, loud
rurāva = 3rd pers. sg. perf. ru: to roar , bellow , howl , yelp , cry aloud
kanthakaḥ (nom. sg.): m. Kanthaka

janāya (dat. sg.): m. the people
duḥkham (acc. sg.): n. suffering, pain
prativedayan = nom. sg. m. pres. part. causative prati- √ vid: to make known , report , announce
iva: like, as if

入門涙雨下 滿目無所見
仰天大啼哭 白馬亦悲鳴



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