⏑−⏑−¦−⏑⏑¦−⏑−−¦¦⏑−⏑−¦−⏑⏑¦−⏑−− Upajāti
(Mālā)
mahībhto
dharma-parāś ca nāgā mahā-muner
vighnam amṣyamāṇāḥ |
−−⏑−¦−⏑⏑¦−⏑−−¦¦−−⏑−¦−⏑⏑¦−⏑−−
māraṁ
prati krodha-vivtta-netrā niḥśaśvasuś caiva jajṁbhire
ca || 13.30
13.30
The nāgas,
as bearers of the Earth and committed supporters of dharma,
as bearers of the Earth and committed supporters of dharma,
Not looking kindly on the hindrance to
the great sage,
Their eyes rolling angrily in Māra's
direction,
Hissed and snorted, and came unwound.
COMMENT:
The Earth-bearing nāgas who are
mad keen on dharma...
I would like to have translated
dharma-parāḥ in the 1st pāda of today's verse like
this, as “mad keen on dharma.” But since the dictionary states
that mad keen is an informal British expression, I have gone
instead with “committed supporters of dharma.”
The point, either way, is that the
nāgas, though easily given to anger, are on the side of dharma. And
the dharma in question – whether done blindly with the body,
whether mindfully not done, or whether realized with Mother Nature in
the driving seat as the dropping off of body and mind – is sitting
in lotus.
Sitting in full lotus is what FM
Alexander called a position of mechanical advantage. The position
itself is advantageous. When we sit in this position, even if we are
in the grip of some stupid mental misconception around “right posture”
or “keeping the spine straight vertically,” the whole Universe is still in some sense on our side, keeping us veering, in spite of our stupid
selves, more or less in the right direction.
The nāgas in today's verse are
described as angry. And as the general rule, anger is of course very
bad. From the idealistic standpoint everybody should be going around
the whole time just mindfully NOT being angry.
But from the standpoint which is
antithetically opposed to the idealistic standpoint, anger is a
colourful fact. Thus the Dalai Lama in his autobiography gives a humorous account from his youth about a monk-mechanic at the royal palace
in Lhasa who was forever banging his head and cursing as he struggled
to keep a rickety old car on the road.
In the middle way between idealism and
the standpoint opposed to idealism, there is practice, the essence of
which is to allow.
If we are talking anger, then anger
might be a signal that something is not being allowed, something is
stuck. Again, anger might be a kind of energy waiting to be allowed,
or channelled, in the right direction.
In
the 4th pāda of today's verse, it hardly needs me to point out,
niḥśaśvasuś caiva is onomatopoeic
(and yes, I did have to look up that spelling in the dictionary). Which is to say that niḥśaśvasuś caiva sounds like hissing and snorting.
But the really interesting word is
jajṛṁbhire, which in a number of ways
seems to suggest
allowing. First it has connotations of gaping open, or opening up, as
opposed to keeping things buttoned down. Second, as a description of
nāgas, who are generally depicted as being coiled, it suggests
coming unwound, or coming undone.
This direction, the direction of coming unwound or coming undone, I venture to submit, is
just the right direction. What FM Alexander called “doing” blocks this direction.
If I realized anything in 2014, I realized the identity of what FM Alexander called "doing" and what is recorded as the second link in the Buddha's twelvefold chain of causation, i.e. saṁskārāḥ, "doings."
I was aided in this by Nāgārjuna's excellent expression
I was aided in this by Nāgārjuna's excellent expression
saṁsāra-mūlaṁ saṁskārān avidvān saṁskaroty ataḥ
The doings which are the root of saṁsāra thus does the ignorant one do.
"Doings," Nāgārjuna's words suggest, is activity that emerges out of
ignorance. And "doing," FM Alexander taught, similarly, is wrong patterns of activity which are rooted in a misconception.
A prime example of such a misconception is the misconception that I need to do something in order to come undone.
What is allowed to emerge when such ignorance is inhibited is called “non-doing.”
Non-doing is, in other words, the right thing doing itself. And the description in today's verse of nāgas coming unwound out of their coils, as I read it, is a suggestion of the right thing doing itself.
A prime example of such a misconception is the misconception that I need to do something in order to come undone.
What is allowed to emerge when such ignorance is inhibited is called “non-doing.”
Non-doing is, in other words, the right thing doing itself. And the description in today's verse of nāgas coming unwound out of their coils, as I read it, is a suggestion of the right thing doing itself.
Today's verse, as
I read it, then, as well as being colourful and full of humorous
undercurrents, is yet another verse that relates to the dharma (do
not call it a doctrine!) of pratītya-samutpāda. The coming unwound
might be a synonym for samutpāda, complete springing up.
Reflecting on today's verse, and
reflecting on the buddha-nature that shines through the descriptions
of beings whom Māra supposed to belong to his army, who is left on
Māra's side as the true enemy of the dharma of liberation?
If even angry beings are on the
Buddha's side, and if beings who seem at first glance to be unlovely
turn out to be bodhisattvas in waiting, then who is not on the
Buddha's side?
I think the answer, ironically, might
turn out to be goody-two-shoes types of the kind described in
tomorrow's verse.
The really bad guys are ever liable to
be those who – while twisting the truth around, confusing up with
down, talking the talk of liberation while failing to walk it –
would like to manifest themselves as the good guys.
VOCABULARY
mahībhṛtaḥ
(nom. pl. m.): mfn. bearing the great earth
dharma-parāḥ
(nom. pl. m.): mfn. intent on virtue , pious , righteous
parā:
f. any chief matter or paramount object (ifc. [f(ā).] having as the
chief object , given up to , occupied with , engrossed in , intent
upon , resting on , consisting of , serving for , synonymous with
&c)
ca:
and
nāgāḥ
(nom. pl.): m. a snake ; a nāga or serpent-demon
mahā-muneḥ
(gen. sg.): the great sage
vighnam
(acc. sg.): m. a breaker , destroyer ; (also n.) an obstacle ,
impediment , hindrance , opposition , prevention , interruption , any
difficulty or trouble
a-:
(negative prefix)
mṛṣyamāṇāḥ
= nom. pl. m. pres. part [middle voice or passive] to forget ,
neglect ; to disregard , not heed or mind , mind , bear patiently ,
put up with (acc.) ; to pardon , forgive , excuse , bear with (gen.)
māram
(acc. sg.): m. Māra
prati:
ind. towards
krodha-vivṛtta-netrāḥ
(nom. pl. m.): their eyes rolling with anger
vivṛtta:
mfn. turned or twisted round &c; whirling round , flying in
different directions (as a thunderbolt)
niḥśaśvasuḥ
= 3rd pers. pl. perf. niḥ- √ śvas: to hiss, snort
ca:
and
eva:
jajṛṁbhire
= 3rd pers. pl. perf. jṛṁbh: to open the mouth , yawn
; to gape open , open (as a flower) ; to fly back or recoil (as a bow
when unstrung) ; to unfold , spread (as a flood &c ) , expand
, occupy a larger circuit ; to feel at ease
ca:
and
愛法諸天人 及諸龍鬼等
悉皆忿魔衆 瞋恚血涙流
悉皆忿魔衆 瞋恚血涙流
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