−−⏑−¦−⏑⏑¦−⏑−−¦¦−−⏑−¦−⏑⏑¦−⏑−− Upajāti
(Bālā)
tan-niścayād-vā
vasudhādhipās-te rājyāni muktvā śamam-āptavantaḥ
|
−−⏑−¦−⏑⏑¦−⏑−−¦¦⏑−⏑−¦−⏑⏑¦−⏑−−
rājyād-mitā
vā nibhtendriyatvād-anaiṣṭhike mokṣa-ktābhidhānāḥ
|| 9.50
9.50
Resolutely, therefore,
those rulers of the wealth-giving earth
Abandoned their
kingdoms and obtained peace;
Or else, firmly
anchored, on the grounds of sovereign power,
on the grounds of
subdued senses,
They affixed the name
'liberation' to what was not the ultimate.
COMMENT:
EHJ could not make good
sense of the old Nepalese manuscript's rājyād-mitāḥ ("firmly anchored, on the grounds of sovereign power"), and so he amended his text to rājyāṅgitā, based on his own
conjecture, translating “stained by kingship.” I have understood
the bodhisattva to be describing with mitāḥ (lit. “fastened in
the earth” or “strong”) the kind of gravitas that heads of
state, with their mighty ballast of sovereign power, are supposed to be good at demonstrating – especially on momentous occasions
like when they are crowned, or sworn in, or when they address the
nation. This kind of gravitas, it could be argued, is a kind of
samādhi. There is a certain balanced stillness about it. It is very
different, for example, from the state of a child with so-called ADHD
(attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder) whose senses are such that
he cannot sit still for two minutes. It is the kind of regal gravitas that poor old King George VI of England, "the stuttering sovereign," so badly wished to project. But, the bodhisattva as I hear
him has perceived, this kind of regal gravitas, which seems to exude
the sense of somebody in control, firmly in the driving seat, is not
the ultimate.
The
bodhisattva, by his own admission (in BC9.75; adṛṣṭa-tattvasya
sato 'pi kiṁ tu me), has not yet realized the ultimate truth in his
own experience. But his bodhi-mind is such that he can at least
intuit what is NOT the ultimate – unlike, for example, the beggar
of the fourth dhyāna who mistook that stage of sitting-meditation
for the ultimate, and whose salutary tale Dogen tells in Shobogenzo
chap. 90, Shizen-biku.
For
those of us who have yet to realize the ultimate in our own
experience, it may be futile to speculate what the ultimate is. I am
tempted again to express the view that the ultimate in Dogen's
teaching is sitting as the King of Samādhis. At the same time, the
ultimate verse of Nāgārjuna's Mūla-madhyamaka-kārikā continues
hanging in the air like a giant wrecking ball, reminding us that when
the Buddha taught sitting as the King of Samādhis, he did so in the direction of abandonment of all views.
Finally,
then, today's verse can be read as giving another clue as to the
meaning of the canto title kumārānveṣaṇa, “The Seeking of a
Prince” – the point being that what the prince was seeking was
nothing less, and nothing more, than the right
direction
ultimate.
VOCABULARY
tad:
ind. therefore
niścayāt
(abl. sg.): m. inquiry , ascertainment , fixed opinion , conviction ,
certainty , positiveness ; resolution, resolve
vā:
or
vasudhādhipāḥ
(nom. pl.): m. lord of the earth , a king
vasudhā:
f. 'producing wealth', the earth
adhipa:
m. a ruler , commander , regent , king
te
(nom. pl. m.): those
rājyāni
(acc. pl.): n. kingship; kingdom
muktvā
= abs. muc: to let go, give up, abandon,
śamam
(acc. sg.): m. peace
āptavantaḥ
= nom. pl. m. past. part. āp: to reach , overtake , meet with ; to
obtain , gain , take possession of
rājyāt (abl. sg.):
n. kingship, kingdom
mitāḥ
(nom. pl. m.): mfn. fixed , set up , founded , established; firm,
strong; cast , thrown , scattered ; measured , meted out , measured
or limited by i.e. equal to (instr. or comp.)
√1.
mi: to fix or fasten in the earth , set up , found , build ,
construct ; to mete out , measure; to judge, know ; to cast , throw ,
scatter
√3.
mā: to measure , mete out , mark off ;
rājyāṅgitāḥ
(nom. pl. m.): “stained by kingship” [EHJ]
rājyāṅga:
n. " limb of royalty " , a requisite of regal
administration (variously enumerated as 7 , 8 , or 9 , viz. the
monarch , the prime minister , a friend or ally , treasure ,
territory , a stronghold , an army , the companies of citizens , and
the puro-hita or spiritual adviser)
vā:
or else
nibhṛtendriyatvāt
(abl. sg.): because of the calmness of their senses
nibhṛta:
mfn. borne or placed down , hidden , secret ; still , silent ; quiet
, humble , modest , mild , gentle ; free from passions , undisturbed
(= śānta)
indriya:
n. bodily power , power of the senses
-tva:
(neuter abstract noun suffix)
nibhṛtācāra:
mfn. of resolute conduct , firm
nibhṛtātman: mfn.
resolute-minded , resolute
nibhṛtordhvakarṇa:
mfn. having the ears fixed and erect (said of horses)
nibhṛtī-
√ kṛ: to keep quiet or unmoved
a-naiṣṭhike
(loc. sg.): not ultimate , imperfect
naiṣṭhika:
mfn. forming the end , final , last ; definitive , fixed , firm ;
highest , perfect , complete
mokṣa-kṛtābhidhānāḥ
(nom. pl. m.): called “liberation”
mokṣa:
m. emancipation , liberation , release ; release from worldly
existence or transmigration , final or eternal emancipation
kṛta:
mfn. done, made
abhidhāna:
n. telling , naming , speaking , speech , manifesting; a name , title
, appellation , expression , word
mokṣa-kṛtābhimānāḥ
[EHJ] (nom. pl. m.): “they claimed to have attained liberation”
[EHJ]
abhimāna:
m. high opinion of one's self , self-conceit , pride , haughtiness;
conception (especially an erroneous one regarding one's self)
決定修解脱 亦不居王位
若言居王位 兼修解脱者
此則非決定 決定解亦然
若言居王位 兼修解脱者
此則非決定 決定解亦然
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