The Eight Thoughts of a Great Person
[Sanskrit] mahā-puruṣa-vitarkāḥ
[Chinese] 八大人覚
Eight Thoughts of a Great Person
appiccha
alpecchu
少欲
wanting little
santuṭṭha
saṁtuṣṭi
知足
resting content
pavivitta
praviveka
樂寂靜
enjoying seclusion
viriya
vīrya
勤精進
persevering
sati
smṛti
不忘念
thinking [in activity]
remembering
samādhi
samādhi
修禪定
putting together
balancing
composure
stillness
pañña
prajñā
修智慧
wisdom
understanding
nippapañca
niṣprapañca
不戲論
not spinning anything into self-existence
not othering
not objectifying anything that's happening
Here is a creative rendering of the eight, based on the metaphors the Buddha is recorded as having used to illustrate the meaning. The Buddha's metaphors are highlighted in bold font. And indirect references to the four spiritual recreation grounds (mettam, karunam, muditam, uppekham) are indicated in blue.
alpecchu-saṁtuṣṭi
On a path to know relenting fire
Every step is small desire.
Wanting little, we'll travel far,
Seeing first how low we can set the bar --
Seeing what happens, in a friendly way,
Just sending the knees forwards and away.
With space and time, not hell bent,
On hard ground we'll rest content.
praviveka
Where twittering flocks make branches crack
We'll choose seclusion, stepping back.
Old elephant still stuck in mud,
In your own back, let flow life blood.
Cleave not even to what is good.
In stepping back, that's understood.
vīrya-smṛti
His persevering deserves no praise
Who twirls a stick but starts no blaze.
Heroes worthy of nobody's blame,
Having reached nirvana, could transmit a flame.
The direct approach is not true training.
So don the armour of non-endgaining.
Don the armour of thoughtful training.
And keep saying No to blind endgaining.
Remembering to think ahead,
Like a doorman on the door,
Don't direct the body up,
Till thinking's stationed to the fore.
To cut a course through tough terrain,
Rain flows away, then comes again.
samādhi
Where aggression could channel fear,
Let kind thinking be channelled here.
Divine remembering, bring stillness near.
Like something holding water still,
Rejoicingly, be caught thy will.
For whatever contains it -- be that earth, stone, or skill --
A lot else is happening, so that water stays still.
prajñā
Then like a ferry means a way to go,
May pain have meaning. May wisdom grow.
Like an axe, like a light, like a potent brew,
May it mean an end to being right
And the ailments that accrue.
niṣprapañca
Instead of clinging to a confected thing,
May we choose to love what's happening.
Let's leave behind conditioning,
And love to allow what's happening.
Enough of clingy quibbling,
For here's transcendence happening.
Let's turn back from othering
And let happiness be what's happening.
Here again are the eight, in a mantra of knees forwards and away:
Let's see what happens,
in a friendly way,
just sending the knees
forwards and away.
Knees forwards and away...
Like asking one's best friend, not much.
Knees forwards and away...
A sense of being content to stay back in one's own back,
letting a separation happen.
Knees forwards and away...
Knees forwards and away...
Thinking. But not as people understand thinking.
Non-thinking. Kind thinking, as a letting happen.
Remembering, what we want to happen.
Knees forwards and away...
Towards enjoying the sovereignty of golden sitting in samadhi.
Knees forwards and away...
Knees forwards and away...
Again, in English and Sanskrit:
Knees forwards and away...
Like asking one's best friend, alpecchu.
Knees forwards and away...
A sense of saṁtuṣṭi to stay back in one's own back,
letting praviveka happen.
Knees forwards and away...
Knees forwards and away...
Smṛti. But not as people understand smṛti.
Knees forwards and away...
Kind remembering, towards rejoicing in samādhi.
Knees forwards and away...
Knees forwards and away...
These are some supplementary verses that, when I have more time, I like to recite as I'm going through the eight thoughts.
For appreciation of the various metres, please visit here.
mahā-puruṣa-vitarkāḥ
−−−−¦⏑−−⏑¦¦−−−−¦⏑−⏑− pathyā−−−−¦⏑−−−¦¦⏑−⏑⏑¦⏑−⏑−
tasmāt sarveṣu bhūteṣu maitrīṁ kāruṇyameva ca
na vyāpādaṁ vihiṁsāṁ vā vikalpayitum arhasi
[Saundarananda 15.17]
On this basis, towards all beings/happenings, it is friendliness and compassion, / Not hatred or cruelty, that you should opt for.//
yad-yad eva prasaktaṁ hi vitarkayati mānavaḥ
abhyāsāt tena-tenāsya natir bhavati cetasaḥ
[Saundarananda 15.18]
For whatever a man constantly thinks, / In that direction, through habit, his mind veers [lit. a bend of his mind happens]. //
“Netaṁ mama, nesoham asmi, na meso attā” ti,
“It does not belong to a me. This doesn't mean I am. A self of mine, this is not.”
evam etaṁ yathā-bhūtaṁ sammappaññāya daṭṭhabban”-ti.
It should be seen like this, with true wisdom, as happening."
Mettaṁ Rāhula bhāvanaṁ bhāvehi,
Let happen, Rāhula, the friendly practice of letting happen,
mettaṁ hi te Rāhula bhāvanaṁ bhāvayato
for from letting happen, Rāhula, the letting happen of a friend,
yo vyāpādo so pahīyissati.
any unfriendliness will be let go.[MN 62]
alpecchu-saṁtuṣṭi
sabba-pāpassa akaraṇaṁ, kusalassa upasampadā /
sacitta-pariyodapanaṁ etaṁ buddhāna’ sāsanaṁ //
sarva-pāpasyākaraṇaṁ kuśalasyopasaṁpadaḥ
svacitta-paryavadanam etad buddhasya śāsanam
The not doing of any evil, letting happen what is good,
Cleansing one’s own mind – this is the teaching of buddhas.
√dā, dai = to purify, cleanse
ātma-saṁyamakaṁ cetaḥ parānugrāhakaṁ ca yat
maitraṁ sa dharmas tad bījaṁ phalasya pretya ceha ca
[MMK17.1]
Whatever mind of a friend there is to restrain oneself and favour the other, that is dharma. That is the seed of fruit here and hereafter.
yady aśūnyam idaṃ sarvam udayo nāsti na vyayaḥ
prahāṇād vā nirodhād vā kasya nirvāṇam iṣyate
[MMK25.2]
If all this is not empty there is neither origination nor passing./ Through the letting go or through the stopping of what is nirvāṇa pursued? //
ya ājavaṃjavī-bhāva upādāya pratītya vā
so ’pratītyānupādāya nirvāṇam upadiśyate
[MMK25.9]
Whatever is going on, due to clinging or due to conditioning, that, without the clinging and conditioning, is taught as nirvāṇa.
[Sāla]
⏑−⏑−¦−⏑⏑¦−⏑−− ¦¦ −−⏑−¦−⏑⏑¦−⏑−−
mahac ca dagdhuṁ bhava-kakṣa-jālaṁ
saṁdhukṣayālpāgnim ivātma-tejaḥ
[Saundarananda 5.30]
To burn up the great tangled skein of existence, make like a small fire of your own energy.
−−⏑−¦−⏑⏑¦−⏑−−¦¦−−⏑−¦−⏑⏑¦−⏑−− Rāmā
⏑−⏑−¦−⏑⏑¦−⏑−−¦¦⏑−⏑−¦−⏑⏑¦−⏑−−
kleśāṅkurān na pratanoti śīlaṁ bījāṅkurān kāla ivātivṛttaḥ
śucau hi śīle puruṣasya doṣā manaḥ sa-lajjā iva dharṣayanti [Saundarananda 16.34]
Good conduct no more propagates the shoots of affliction than a bygone spring propagates shoots from seeds. / The harms, as long as a man’s good conduct is untainted, venture only timidly to attack his mind. //
−−⏑−¦−⏑⏑¦−⏑−−¦¦−−⏑−¦−⏑⏑¦−⏑−− Sāla
⏑−⏑−¦−⏑⏑¦−⏑−⏑¦¦−−⏑−¦−⏑⏑¦−⏑−−
kleśāṁs tu viṣkambhayate samādhir
vegān ivādrir mahato nadīnām
sthitaṁ samādhau hi na dharṣayanti
doṣā bhujaṁgā iva mantra-baddhāḥ
[Saundarananda 16.35]
But balance casts off the afflictions like a mountain casts off the mighty torrents of rivers. / The harms do not attack a man who is standing firm in balanced stillness: like charmed snakes, they are spellbound. //
⏑−⏑−¦−⏑⏑¦−⏑− −¦¦−−⏑−¦−⏑⏑¦−⏑−− Kīrti
−−⏑−¦−⏑⏑¦−⏑−−¦¦−−⏑−¦−⏑⏑¦−⏑−−
prajñā tv aśeṣeṇa nihanti doṣāṁs tīra-drumān prāvṛṣi nimnageva dagdhā yayā na prabhavanti doṣā vajrāgninevānusṛtena vṛkṣāḥ
[Saundarananda 16.36]
But wisdom destroys the harms without trace, as a mountain stream in the monsoon destroys the trees on its banks. / Harms consumed by it do not stand a chance, like trees in the fiery wake of a thunderbolt. //
−−⏑−¦−⏑⏑¦−⏑−−¦¦−−⏑−¦−⏑⏑¦−⏑−− Indravajrā
−−⏑−¦−⏑⏑¦−⏑−−¦¦−−⏑−¦−⏑⏑¦−⏑−−
triskandham etaṁ pravigāhya mārgaṁ
praspaṣṭam aṣṭāṅgam ahāryam āryam
duḥkhasya hetūn prajahāti doṣān
prāpnoti cātyanta-śivaṁ padaṁ tat
[Saundarananda 16.37]
Giving oneself to this path with its three divisions and eight branches – this straightforward, irremovable, noble path – / One lets go of the harms, which are the causes of suffering, and comes to that step which is total well-being. //
−−⏑−¦−⏑⏑¦−⏑−−¦¦−−⏑−¦−⏑⏑¦−⏑−− Indravajrā
−−⏑−¦−⏑⏑¦−⏑−−¦¦−−⏑−¦−⏑⏑¦−⏑−−
asyopacāre dhṛtir ārjavaṁ ca hrīr apramādaḥ praviviktatā ca
alpecchatā tuṣṭir asaṁgatā ca loka-pravṛttāv aratiḥ kṣamā ca
[Saundarananda 16.38]
Attendant on it are constancy and straightness; humility, attentiveness, and separateness; / Wanting little, contentment, and freedom from forming attachments; no fondness for going out into the world, and tolerance.//
tiṣṭhaty anuśayas teṣāṁ channo ‘gnir iva bhasmanā
sa te bhāvanayā saumya praśāmyo ‘gnir ivāmbunā
[Saundarananda 15.5]
Underlying those desires a tendency persists, like a fire covered over with ashes; / You are to extinguish it, my friend, by the practice of letting happen, as if quenching a fire with water. //
⏑⏑−⏑−⏑⏑⏑−−¦¦⏑⏑⏑⏑⏑−⏑−⏑− [Addhasamavutta]
−⏑⏑⏑⏑⏑⏑−⏑⏑− ⏑⏑−⏑−⏑⏑⏑−⏑−⏑−
sa hi doṣa-sāgaram agādham upadhi-jalam ādhi-jantukaṁ
krodha-mada-bhaya-taraṅga-calaṁ pratatāra lokam api ca vyatārayat [Saundarananda 3.14]
For the unfordable sea of harm, whose water is falsity, where fish are anxious thoughts, / And which is disturbed by waves of anger, lust, and fear; he had crossed, and he ferried the world across too. //
saṁtuṣṭi-praviveka
−−⏑−¦−⏑⏑¦−⏑−−¦¦−−⏑−¦−⏑⏑¦−⏑−− Sāla
⏑−⏑−¦−⏑⏑¦−⏑−−¦¦−−⏑−¦−⏑⏑¦−⏑−−
śraddhā-dhanaṁ śreṣṭhatamaṁ dhanebhyaḥ
prajñā-rasas tṛpti-karo rasebhyaḥ
pradhānam adhyātma-sukhaṁ sukhebhyo
‘vidyā-ratir duḥkhatamā ratibhyaḥ /
[Saundarananda 5.24 ]
Most excellent among gifts is the gift of confidence.
Most satisfying of tastes is the taste of wisdom. /
Foremost among comforts is ease in oneself.
The bliss of ignorance is the sorriest bliss. //
kāmair viviktaṁ malinaiś ca dharmair
vitarkavac cāpi vicāravac ca
viveka-jaṁ prīti-sukhopapannaṁ
dhyānaṁ tataḥ sa prathamaṁ prapede
[Saundarananda 17.42]
Secluded from desires and tainted happenings, containing ideas and containing thoughts, / Born of seclusion and possessed of joy and ease, is the first stage of meditation, which he then entered. //
yogānulomaṁ vijanaṁ viśabdaṁ
śayyāsanaṁ saumya tathā bhajasva
kāyasya kṛtvā hi vivekam ādau
sukho ‘dhigantuṁ manaso vivekaḥ
[Saundarananda 14.46]
In this manner, my friend, repair to a place suited for practice, free of people and free of noise, a place for lying down and sitting; / For by first achieving seclusion of the body it is easy to obtain seclusion of the mind. //
alabdha-cetaḥ-praśamaḥ sa-rāgo / yo na pracāraṁ bhajate viviktam / sa kṣaṇyate hy apratilabdha-mārgaś / carann ivorvyāṁ bahu-kaṇṭakāyām // 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. //
adṛṣṭa-tattvena parīkṣakeṇa sthitena citre viṣaya-pracāre / cittaṁ niṣeddhuṁ na sukhena śakyaṁ kṛṣṭādako gaur iva sasya-madhyāt // 14.48 //
For a seeker who fails to see reality but stands in the tawdry playground of objects, / It is no easier to rein in the mind than to drive a foraging bull away from corn. //
anīryamāṇas tu yathānilena praśāntim āgacchati citra-bhānuḥ / alpena yatnena tathā vivikteṣv aghaṭṭitaṁ śāntim upaiti cetaḥ // 14.49 //
But just as a bright fire dies down when not fanned by the wind, / So too, in secluded places, does an unstirred mind easily come to quiet. //
vasann ātmārāmaḥ kva-cana vijane yo ‘bhiramate
kṛtārthaḥ sa jñeyaḥ śama-sukha-rasa-jñaḥ kṛta-matiḥ
pareṣāṁ saṁsargaṁ pariharati yaḥ kaṇṭakam iva [Saundarananda 14.50]
Enjoying whatever, wherever, and wearing whatever as well, / Dwelling in enjoyment of his own self, one who loves to be anywhere without people: / He is to be known as a success, a knower of the nectar of peace and ease, whose mind is made up – / He avoids involvement with others like a thorn. //
yadi dvandvārāme jagati viṣaya-vyagra-hṛdaye
vivikte nirdvandvo viharati kṛtī śānta-hṛdayaḥ
tataḥ pītvā prajñā-rasam amṛtavat tṛpta-hṛdayo
viviktaḥ saṁsaktaṁ viṣaya-kṛpaṇaṁ śocati jagat
[Saundarananda 14.51]
If, in a world that delights in duality and is at heart distracted by objects, / He roves in seclusion, free of duality, a man of action, his heart softened, / Then he drinks the essence of wisdom as if it were the deathless nectar and his heart is filled. / Separately he sorrows for the clinging, object-needy world. //
vasañ śūnyāgāre yadi satatam eko ‘bhiramate
yadi kleśotpādaiḥ saha na ramate śatrubhir iva
carann ātmārāmo yadi ca pibati prīti-salilaṁ
tato bhuṅkte śreṣṭhaṁ tridaśa-pati-rājyād api sukham
[Saundarananda 14.52] //
If, abiding in an empty place, he loves ever to be one, / If he fools with arisings of afflictions no more than he fools with enemies, / And if, going around enjoying his own self, he drinks the water of grace, / Then the facility he enjoys is greater than the sovereignty of Indra, over the thirty others.//
loke prakṛti-bhinne ‘smin na kaś-cit kasya-cit priyaḥ
kārya-kāraṇa-sambaddhaṁ bālukā-muṣṭivaj jagat
[Saundarananda 15.35]
Here where original nature has been shattered, nobody is the beloved of anybody. / Bound together by cause and effect, the world is like a fistful of sand. //
Eko hensho no taiho o gaku subeshi, shinjin jinnen ni datsuraku shite honrai no menmoku genzen sen. [Fukan-zazengi]
Learn the backward step of turning light and letting it shine; body and mind will naturally drop off and your original features will appear.
vīrya
sabba-pāpassa akaraṇaṁ, kusalassa upasampadā /
sacitta-pariyodapanaṁ etaṁ buddhāna’ sāsanaṁ //
sarva-pāpasyākaraṇaṁ kuśalasyopasaṁpadaḥ
svacitta-paryavadanam etad buddhasya śāsanam
The not doing of any evil, letting happen what is good,
Cleansing one’s own mind – this is the teaching of buddhas.
√dā, dai = to purify, cleanse
tiṣṭhaty anuśayas teṣāṁ channo ‘gnir iva bhasmanā
sa te bhāvanayā saumya praśāmyo ‘gnir ivāmbunā
[Saundarananda 15.5]
Underlying those desires a tendency persists, like a fire covered over with ashes; / You are to extinguish it, my friend, by the practice of letting happen, as if quenching a fire with water. //
The seven tendencies are (in Pali):
kāma-rāga (craving love), paṭigha (resentment), diṭṭhi (view), vicikicchā (doubt), māna (conceit), bhava-rāga (craving becoming), and avijjā (ignorance/unwittingness/denial).
Little by little, as a smith in this world takes gold washed with water, gradually separated from dirt, and in the fire he melts the gold, and then he turns it over and over, / So does a practitioner in this world cause to melt away the mind to be cleansed of afflictions; he causes the mind, separated with delicacy and accuracy from harm, to melt, and then he collects it.//
And as the smith guides gold with easy workability as freely as he likes, into a wide choice of beautiful designs, / So does the mind-cleansed bhikkhu cause to melt, and then direct the softened mind as he wishes wherever he wishes, among the powers of knowing. //
ataḥ paraṁ tattva-parīkṣaṇena mano dadhāty āsrava-saṁkṣayāya /
tato hi duḥkha-prabhṛtīni samyak catvāri satyāni padāny avaiti // 16.3 //
From then on, exploring what really is, he applies his mind to eradicating the polluting
influences, / For on this basis he fully understands suffering and the rest, the four true
standpoints: // 16.3 //
bādhātmakaṁ duḥkham idaṁ prasaktaṁ duḥkhasya hetuḥ prabhavātmako ‘yam /
duḥkha-kṣayo niḥsaraṇātmako ‘yaṃ trāṇātmako ‘yaṃ praśamāya mārgaḥ // 16.4 //
This is suffering, which is constant and akin to trouble; this is the cause of suffering, akin to starting it; / This is cessation of suffering, akin to walking away. And this, akin to a refuge, is a peaceable path. // 16.4 //
ity ārya-satyāny avabudhya buddhyā catvāri samyak pratividhya caiva / sarvāsravān bhāvanayābhibhūya na jāyate śāntim avāpya bhūyaḥ // 16.5 //
Understanding these noble truths, by a process of reasoning, while getting to know the four as one, /
He prevails over all pollutants, by the practice of letting happen, and, on finding peace, is not reborn again. // 16.5 /
−−⏑−¦−⏑⏑¦−⏑−−¦¦⏑−⏑−¦−⏑⏑¦−⏑−− Buddhi [?]
⏑−⏑−¦−⏑⏑¦−⏑−−¦¦⏑−⏑−¦−⏑⏑¦−⏑−−
yaṁ vikramaṁ yoga-vidhāv akurvaṁs
tam eva śīghraṁ vidhivat kuruṣva
tataḥ padaṁ prāpsyasi tair avāptaṁ
[sukhāvṛtais] tvaṁ niyataṁ yaśaś ca
[Saundarananda 16.92]
Be quick to show the courage that they have shown in their practice, working to principle. / Then you will assuredly take the step that they took and will realise the splendour that [the easeful] realised. //
−−⏑−¦−⏑⏑¦−⏑−⏑¦¦−−⏑−¦−⏑⏑¦−⏑−− Sāla
⏑−⏑−¦−⏑⏑¦−⏑−⏑¦¦−−⏑−¦−⏑⏑¦−⏑−−
dravyaṁ yathā syat kaṭukaṁ rasena
tac copayuktaṁ madhuraṁ vipāke
tathaiva vīryaṁ kaṭukaṁ śrameṇa
tasyārtha-siddhau madhuro vipākaḥ
[Saundarananda 16.93]
Just as a substance as it's tasted may be bitter but, consumed during its maturation, sweet, / So heroic effort is bitter as a striving but, in accomplishment of the aim, its maturing is sweet.
−−⏑−¦−⏑⏑¦−⏑−−¦¦−−⏑−¦−⏑⏑¦−⏑−− Sāla
⏑−⏑−¦−⏑⏑¦−⏑−−¦¦−−⏑−¦−⏑⏑¦−⏑−−
vīryaṁ paraṁ kārya-kṛtau hi mūlaṁ
vīryād-ṛte kā-cana nāsti siddhiḥ
udeti vīryād iha sarva-saṁpan
nirvīryatā cet sakalaś ca pāpmā
[Saundarananda 16.94]
Directed energy is paramount: for, in doing what needs to be done, it is the foundation; without directed energy there is no accomplishment at all; / All success in this world arises from directed energy – and in the absence of directed energy wrongdoing is rampant. //
No gaining of what is yet to be gained, certain loss of what has been gained; / In that way contempt for oneself, wretchedness, disdain from seniors; /Darkness, lack of spirit, and the breakdown of listening, restraint and contentment -- / When [all this] befalls heroes who lack heroic endeavour, a great fall befalls them. //
When an able man hears the plan but gains no growth, / When he knows the supreme teaching but wins no higher repose, / When he leaves home but in freedom finds no peace: / The cause happening there is the man's own laziness, not an enemy. //
prasaktaṁ vyāmathnan jvalanam araṇibhyāṁ janayati
prayuktā yoge tu dhruvam upalabhante śrama-phalaṁ
drutaṁ nityaṁ yāntyo girim api hi bhindanti saritaḥ
[Saundarananda 16.97]
A man obtains water if he digs the ground with unflagging exertion, / And produces fire from fire-sticks by continuous twirling. / But those are sure to reap the fruit of their effort whose energies are harnessed to practice, / For rivers that flow swiftly and constantly cut through even a mountain. //
After ploughing the earth and protecting it with a hundred pains, one gains the treasure of grain; / After diving diligently into the sea, one revels in its treasure of coral and pearls; / After shaking off, with arrows, the effort of usurpers, one enjoys the treasure of royal sovereignty. / So make an effort in the direction of softening, for in effort, assuredly, lies all growth”. //
tad vīryaṁ kuru
śāntaye
viniyataṁ vīrye hi
sarva-rddhayaḥ
"So work hard,
in the direction of softening,
for in hard work, assuredly,
lies all growth!”
−−⏑−¦−⏑⏑¦−⏑−−¦¦⏑−⏑−¦−⏑⏑¦−⏑−− Vāṇī
⏑−⏑−¦−⏑⏑¦−⏑−−¦¦−−⏑−¦−⏑⏑¦−⏑−−
agni-drumājyāmbuṣu yā hi vṛttiḥ
kavandha-vāyv-agni-divākarāṇām
doṣeṣu tāṁ vṛttim iyāya nando
nirvāpaṇotpāṭana-dāha-śoṣaiḥ
[Saundarananda 17.59]
The action which on fire, trees, ghee and water is exerted by rainclouds, wind, a flame and the sun, / Nanda exerted that action on the harms, quenching, uprooting, burning, and drying them up. //
smṛti
dvārādhyakṣa iva dvāri yasya praṇihitā smṛtiḥ
dharṣayanti na taṁ doṣāḥ puraṁ guptam ivārayaḥ
[Saundarananda 14.36]
One like a gatekeeper at a gateway, whose thinking is directed, / The harms do not venture to attack, any more than enemies would attack a guarded city.
na tasyotpadyate kleśo yasya kāya-gatā smṛtiḥ
cittaṁ sarvāsv avasthāsu bālaṁ dhātrīva rakṣati
[Saundarananda 14.37]
No affliction arises in one whose thinking pervades the body – / Guarding the mind in all situations, as a nurse protects a child.
śaravyaḥ sa tu doṣāṇāṁ yo hīnaḥ smṛti-varmaṇā
raṇa-sthaḥ pratiśatrūṇāṁ vihīna iva varmaṇā
[Saundarananda 14.38]
But one is a target for the harms who lacks the armour of thinking: / As for enemies is one who delights, without armour, in battle.//
⏑−⏑−¦−⏑⏑¦−⏑−−¦¦−−⏑−¦−⏑⏑¦−⏑−− Haṁsī
⏑−⏑−¦−⏑⏑¦−⏑−−¦¦−−⏑−¦−⏑⏑¦−⏑−−
asau munir niścaya-varma bibhrat
sattvāyudhaṁ buddhi-śaraṁ vikṛṣya
jigīṣur āste viṣayān madīyān
tasmād ayaṁ me manaso viṣādaḥ
[Buddhacarita 13.4]
“Over there a certain sage, wearing the armour of resolve, and drawing the bow of strength of mind, with its arrow of sharpness, / Is sitting, with the intention to conquer realms that belong to me – that is the reason for this despondency of my mind. //
Ānāpāna-satiṁ Rāhula bhāvanaṁ bhāvehi.
Ānāpāna-sati Rāhula
Thinking in the activity of breathing in & out, Rāhula,
bhāvitā bahulī-katā
when allowed to happen, when made much of,
mahapphalā hoti mahāni-saṁshappens enormously fruitfully, with great benefits.
Kathaṁ bhāvitā ca Rāhula
And how when it is allowed to happen, Rāhula,
ānāpāna-sati kathaṁ bahulī-katā
how when it is made much of, does thinking in the activity of breathing in & out
mahapphalā hoti mahāni-saṁsā?
happen enormously fruitfully, with great benefits?
Idha Rāhula bhikkhu arañña-gato vā, rukkha-mūla-gato vā,
Here, Rāhula, as a mendicant gone to the forest, or gone to the root of a tree,
suññāgāra-gato vā, nisīdati.
or gone to an empty place, one sits.
Pallaṅkaṁ ābhujitvā,
With legs folded crosswise,
ujuṁ kāyaṁ paṇidhāya,
directing the body up,
parimukhaṁ satiṁ upaṭṭhapetvā,
having stationed thinking to the fore,
so sato va assasati, sato passasati.
one breathes out -- yes! -- thinking, and breathes in, thinking. [MN62]
Let kind thinking be channeled here.
Divine remembering bring stillness near.
Like two grandmothers who loved us dear,
[And don't forget Lake Windermere,
Or the road to Stratford on a bike.
"I could call a college, if you like."
An old flame came, I punched the bed;
She said No, I shaved my head.]
Because we care, we lose our back;
Now that's one dharma we can win back --
Seeing what happens, in a friendly way,
Sending the knees forwards and away,
With a golden key to a door
Where two plus two equals four.
As if in ripples, have no doubt,
This happiness will spread out.
And so, please God, before too old,
May we find this treasure of buried gold.
Of golden sitting, of sovereignty,
That Asvaghosa praised, emptily,
Of leaving home, without a sound,
Of hooves not seeming to touch the ground,
Of letting go of me and mine --
Of wondrous acts of the divine,
Like something holding water still,
Rejoicingly, be caught thy will.
This royal war-horse, also, as he went, did not touch the ground, the tips of his hooves seeming to dangle separately in midair. / His mouth was sealed as if, again, by a divine force; he neither neighed nor made a sound with his jaws [neither neighed nor sounded the warning of death and disease].
Karuṇaṁ Rāhula bhāvanaṁ bhāvehi,
Let happen, Rāhula, the kind practice of letting happen,
karuṇaṁ hi te Rāhula bhāvanaṁ bhāvayato
for from letting happen, Rāhula, the kindness of letting happen
yā vihesā sā pahīyissati.
any aggression will be let go.
samādhi
−−⏑−¦−⏑⏑¦−⏑−⏑¦¦−−⏑−¦−⏑⏑¦−⏑−− Indravajrā
−−⏑−¦−⏑⏑¦−⏑−−¦¦−−⏑−¦−⏑⏑¦−⏑−−
dhīra-prasannāmbu-vahasya sindhoḥ
ekāgra-bhūtasya tathormi-bhūtāś
cittāmbhasaḥ kṣobha-karā vitarkāḥ
[Saundarananda 17.45]
khinnasya suptasya ca nirvṛtasya
bādhaṁ yathā saṁjanayanti śabdāḥ
adyātmam aikāgryam upāgatasya
bhavanti bādhāya tathā vitarkāḥ
[Saundarananda 17.46]
And just as noises are a source of bother to one who is weary, and fallen fast asleep, / So do ideas become bothersome to one who has come to inner one-pointedness. //
−⏑−¦−⏑⏑¦−⏑−⏑¦¦−−⏑−¦−⏑⏑¦−⏑−− Haṁsī
⏑−⏑−¦−⏑⏑¦−⏑−−¦¦−−⏑−¦−⏑⏑¦−⏑−−
athāvitarkaṁ kramaśo ‘vicāram
ekāgra-bhāvān manasaḥ prasannam
samādhi-jaṁ prīti-sukhaṁ dvitīyaṁ
dhyānaṁ tad-ādhyātma-śivaṁ sa dadhyau
[Saundarananda 17.47]
And so gradually bereft of idea and thought, his mind tranquil from one-pointedness, / He realised the joy and ease born of balanced stillness – that inner wellbeing which is the second stage of meditation.//
Muditaṁ Rāhula bhāvanaṁ bhāvehi,
Let happen, Rāhula, the joyful practice of letting happen,
muditaṁ hi te Rāhula bhāvanaṁ bhāvayato
for from letting happen, Rāhula, the joy of letting happen,
yā arati sā pahīyissati.
any unhappiness will be let go.
Abhippamodayaṁ cittaṁ assasissāmī ti sikkhati.
One trains like this: gladdening the mind I will breathe out.
Abhippamodayaṁ cittaṁ passasissāmī ti sikkhati.
One trains like this: gladdening the mind I will breathe in.
Samādahaṁ cittaṁ assasissāmī ti sikkhati.
One trains like this: composing the mind I will breathe out.
Samādahaṁ cittaṁ passasissāmī ti sikkhati.
One trains like this: composing the mind I will breathe in.
Vimocayaṁ cittaṁ assasissāmī ti sikkhati.
One trains like this: freeing the mind I will breathe out.
Vimocayaṁ cittaṁ passasissāmī ti sikkhati.
One trains like this: freeing the mind I will breathe in.
prajñā
Testicular torsion
And heartbreak times two
Were a tough education
In what not to do.
Through pain goes the I
To one rule that's viable --
Do not rely
On the unreliable.
−−⏑−¦−⏑⏑¦−⏑−−¦¦−−⏑−¦−⏑⏑¦−⏑−− Indravajrā
−−⏑−¦−⏑⏑¦−⏑−⏑¦¦−−⏑−¦−⏑⏑¦−⏑−−
nirmokṣa-bījaṁ hi dadarśa tasya
jñānaṁ mṛdu kleśa-rajaś ca tīvram
kleśānukūlaṁ viṣayātmakaṁ ca
nandaṁ yatas taṁ munir ācakarṣa
[Saundarananda 5.15]
For he saw that in Nanda the seed of liberation,/ which is wisdom, was tenuous; while the fog of the afflictions was terribly thick; / And since he was susceptible to the afflictions and sensual by nature, therefore the Sage reined him in. //
Like a ferry:
⏑⏑−⏑−⏑⏑⏑−−¦¦⏑⏑⏑⏑⏑−⏑−⏑− [Addhasamavutta]
−⏑⏑⏑⏑⏑⏑−⏑⏑− ⏑⏑−⏑−⏑⏑⏑−⏑−⏑−
sa hi doṣa-sāgaram agādham
upadhi-jalam ādhi-jantukaṁ
krodha-mada-bhaya-taraṅga-calaṁ
pratatāra lokam api ca vyatārayat
[Saundarananda 3.14]
For the unfordable sea of harm, whose water is falsity, where fish are anxious thoughts, / And which is disturbed by waves of anger, lust, and fear; he had crossed, and he ferried the world across too. //
Like an axe:
anupadaya cittam asavehi vimuttan
−−⏑−¦−⏑⏑¦−⏑−−¦¦−−⏑−¦−⏑⏑¦−⏑−− Indravajrā
−−⏑−¦−⏑⏑¦−⏑−⏑¦¦−−⏑−¦−⏑⏑¦−⏑−−
ciccheda kārtsnyena tataḥ sa pañca
prajñāsinā bhāvanayeritena
ūrdhvaṁ gamāny uttama-bandhanāni
saṁyojanāny uttama-bandhanāni
[Saundarananda 17.57]
Then he cut the five upper fetters: with the sword of wisdom which is wielded by letting it happen, / He completely severed the five aspirational fetters, which are bound up with superiority, and tied to the first person.
Like a light:
“Netaṁ mama, nesoham asmi, na meso attā” ti,
“It does not belong to a me. This doesn't mean I am. A self of mine, this is not.”
evam etaṁ yathā-bhūtaṁ sammappaññāya daṭṭhabban”-ti.
It should be seen like this, with true wisdom, as happening."
yaḥ pratītya-samutpādaṃ paśyatīdaṃ sa paśyati
duḥkhaṃ samudayaṃ caiva nirodhaṃ mārgam eva ca
[MMK24.40]
One who sees dependent arising sees this: suffering, its coming together, its cessation and the path itself.
avidyāyāṁ niruddhāyāṁ saṁskārāṇām asaṁbhavaḥ
avidyāyā nirodhas tu jñānasyāsyaiva bhāvanāt
[MMK26.11]
Where the denial is being stopped, fabrications do not happen. But stopping of the denial is, in light of all the above, through letting happen.
Like medicine:
tasmād eṣāṁ vitarkāṇāṁ prahāṇārthaṁ samāsataḥ
ānāpāna-smṛtiṁ saumya viṣayī-kartum arhasi
[Saundarananda 15.64]
So for the giving up, in short, of all these ideas, / Thinking in the activity of breathing in and out, my friend, you should make into your own possession.
ity anena prayogeṇa kāle sevitum arhasi
pratipakṣān vitarkāṇāṁ gadānām agadān iva
[Saundarananda 15.65]
Using this device you should take in good time
Counter-measures against ideas, like cures for illnesses.
sarva-duḥkhāpahaṁ tat tu hasta-stham amṛtaṁ tava
viṣaṁ pītvā yad agadaṁ samaye pātum icchasi [Saundarananda 12.25]
But that deathless nectar which prevents all suffering you have in your hands: / It is an antidote which, having drunk poison, you are going in good time to drink. //
apa-ha = keeping back
−−⏑−¦−⏑⏑¦−⏑−⏑¦¦−−⏑−¦−⏑⏑¦−⏑−− Bālā
yat pītam āsvāda-vaśendriyeṇa
darpeṇa kandarpa-viṣaṁ mayāsīt
tan me hataṁ tvad-vacanāgadena
viṣaṁ vināśīva mahāgadena
[Saundarananda 18.9]
With senses ruled by relishing, I madly drank the drug of love; / Its action was blocked in me by the antidote of your words, as a deadly poison is by a great remedy. //
śūnyatā sarva-dṛṣṭīnāṃ proktā niḥsaraṇaṃ jinaiḥ
yeṣāṃ tu śūnyatā-dṛṣṭis tān asādhyān babhāṣire
[MMK13.8|]
Emptiness is taught by the victors as a remedy to get rid of all views. But those possessed of the emptiness-view have been called incurable.
−−−,⏑⏑⏑⏑−⏑−⏑−− Praharṣiṇī
−−−,⏑⏑⏑⏑−⏑−⏑−−
−−−,⏑⏑⏑⏑−⏑−⏑−−
−−−,⏑⏑⏑⏑−⏑−⏑−−
taṁ vande param anukampakaṁ maharṣim
mūrdhnāhaṁ prakṛti-guṇa-jñam āśaya-jñam
saṁbuddhaṁ daśa-balinaṁ bhiṣak-pradhānaṁ
trātāraṁ punar api cāsmi saṁnatas tam
[Saundarananda 17.73]
I salute the great supremely compassionate Seer, bowing my head to him, the knower of types, the knower of hearts, / The fully awakened one, the holder of the ten powers, the best of healers, the deliverer: again, I bow to him. //
niṣprapañca
tasmāt sarveṣu bhūteṣu maitrīṁ kāruṇyameva ca
na vyāpādaṁ vihiṁsāṁ vā vikalpayitum arhasi // [Saundarananda 15.17]
On this basis, towards all happenings, it is friendliness and compassion, / Not hating or aggression, that you should opt for.
tan mṛṣā moṣa-dharmaṃ yad bhagavān ity abhāṣata |
sarve ca moṣa-dharmāṇaḥ saṁskārās tena te mṛṣā
[MMK13.1]
The Glorious One said that whatever constitutes theft is deceit; and all fabrications constitute theft and are therefore deceit.
ya ājavaṃjavī-bhāva upādāya pratītya vā
so ’pratītyānupādāya nirvāṇam upadiśyate
[MMK 25.9]
Whatever the hell is happening, due to clinging or due to conditioning, that, without the clinging and conditioning, is taught as nirvāṇa
nirmamo nirahaṃkāro yaś ca so ’pi na vidyate
nirmamaṃ nirahaṃkāraṃ yaḥ paśyati na paśyati
||MMK 18.3||
Again, one who is free of me and mine, one free of I-making, also is not witnessed. One who sees freedom from me-and-mine and sees freedom from I-making – he does not see.
mamety aham iti kṣīṇe bahiś cādhyātmam eva ca
nirudhyata upādānaṃ tat-kṣayāj janmanaḥ kṣayaḥ
||MMK18.4||
In the fading away, without and within, of me and mine, clinging is stopped. From the ending of that, there is the ending of rebirth.
karma-kleśa-kṣayān mokṣaḥ karma-kleśā vikalpataḥ
te prapañcāt prapañcas tu śūnyatāyāṃ nirudhyate
||MMK18.5||
From the ending of karma and afflictions, there is release. Karma and afflictions result from false conception; they result from othering. In emptiness, however, othering is stopped.
Uppekhaṁ Rāhula bhāvanaṁ bhāvehi,
Let happen, Rāhula, the transcendent practice of letting happen,
uppekhaṁ hi te Rāhula bhāvanaṁ bhāvayato
for from letting happen, Rāhula, the transcendence of letting happen,
yo paṭigho so pahīyissati.
any resentment will be let go.
a-nirodham an-utpādam an-ucchedam a-śāśvatam
an-ekārtham a-nānārtham an-āgamam a-nirgamam ||
Beyond death and birth; beyond annihilation and eternity;
Beyond identity and difference; beyond coming and going away,
yaḥ pratītya-samutpādaṁ prapañcopaśamaṁ śivam
deśayām āsa saṁbuddhas taṁ vande vadatāṁ varam
The fully awakened Buddha taught, as a causally grounded springing up -- an integral happening -- the bliss of a rest from othering. I praise him, best of speakers.
[MMK Dedicatory Verses]
That's lovely and resonates with me, and I have only just discovered it.
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