Other Translations: Deutsch , Srpski
From: ,
UdÄna 1.4 Heartfelt Sayings 1.4
Huį¹huį¹
kasutta The Mystic Syllable Huį¹
Evaį¹ me sutaį¹āSo I have heard. This episode also appears at Kd 1:2.1.1. Sharing three distinctive termsāhuį¹, brahmavÄda, kÄsÄvaāwith the ChÄndogya Upaniį¹£ad, it can be read as a rebuttal of the ChÄndogyaās special emphasis on the mystic power of Vedic ritual utterances (sÄman).
ekaį¹ samayaį¹ bhagavÄ uruvelÄyaį¹ viharati najjÄ neraƱjarÄya tÄ«re ajapÄlanigrodhe paį¹hamÄbhisambuddho. At one time, when he was first awakened, the Buddha was staying in UruvelÄ at the goatherdās banyan tree on the bank of the NeraƱjarÄ River.
Tena kho pana samayena bhagavÄ sattÄhaį¹ ekapallaį¹
kena nisinno hoti vimuttisukhapaį¹isaį¹vedÄ«. There the Buddha sat cross-legged for seven days without moving, experiencing the bliss of freedom.
Atha kho bhagavÄ tassa sattÄhassa accayena tamhÄ samÄdhimhÄ vuį¹į¹hÄsi. When seven days had passed, the Buddha emerged from that state of immersion.
Atha kho aƱƱataro huį¹huį¹
kajÄtiko brÄhmaį¹o yena bhagavÄ tenupasaį¹
kami; upasaį¹
kamitvÄ bhagavatÄ saddhiį¹ sammodi. Then a certain brahmin, one of those who murmured the mystic syllable huį¹, huį¹, went up to the Buddha and exchanged greetings with him. Huį¹huį¹
kajÄtiko brÄhmaį¹o is literally, āa brahmin of the huį¹, huį¹ sortā. The significance of this is revealed in ChÄndogya Upaniį¹£ad 1.13, which lists twelve mystic syllables (stobha) that are uttered during the recitation of the sÄman hymn. The thirteenth and final syllable is huį¹, said to be variable and āindistinctā (anirukta). It contains the last and most closed-off of the cardinal vowels (u), which creates an indistinct mumble, reflecting the undefined nature of the primordial divinity. Its significance is underlined by the fact that it is called it the upaniį¹£ad, the āhidden connectionā (1.14). Huį¹ is found fairly often in later Hindu texts, even receiving its own HÅ«į¹
kÄra Tantra; occasionally we find the redoubled form as here (eg. Bį¹hatkathÄÅlokasaį¹graha 21.146). It made its way into such Tibetan texts as the įøÄkÄrį¹ava Tantra, where it is said to be recited at the end, reflecting its phonetic quality exactly as in the Upaniį¹£ad. It is recognizable today as the final syllable in the mantra, om mani padme hum.
SammodanÄ«yaį¹ kathaį¹ sÄraį¹Ä«yaį¹ vÄ«tisÄretvÄ ekamantaį¹ aį¹į¹hÄsi. Ekamantaį¹ į¹hito kho so brÄhmaį¹o bhagavantaį¹ etadavoca: When the greetings and polite conversation were over, he stood to one side and said,
ākittÄvatÄ nu kho, bho gotama, brÄhmaį¹o hoti, katame ca pana brÄhmaį¹akaraį¹Ä dhammÄāti? āWorthy Gotama, how do you define a brahmin? And what are the things that make one a brahmin?ā
Atha kho bhagavÄ etamatthaį¹ viditvÄ tÄyaį¹ velÄyaį¹ imaį¹ udÄnaį¹ udÄnesi: Then, understanding this matter, on that occasion the Buddha expressed this heartfelt sentiment:
āYo brÄhmaį¹o bÄhitapÄpadhammo, āAny brahmin who has banished bad qualitiesāThis pun is explained at MN 39:24.2.
Nihuį¹huį¹
ko nikkasÄvo yatatto; not murmuring the mystic syllable huį¹, unstained, self-controlled, āUnstainedā is from kasÄva, which occurs in the same sense at ChÄndogya Upaniį¹£ad 7.26.2 (mį¹ditakaį¹£ÄyÄya).
VedantagÅ« vÅ«sitabrahmacariyo, a complete knowledge master who has completed the spiritual journeyāThe āknowledgeā in vedagÅ« is the Vedas in Brahmanism and the three knowledges in Buddhism. It is not an attested term in Brahmanical texts. | For vÅ«sitabrahmacariyo (ācompleted the spiritual journeyā) compare uį¹£itvÄ brahmacaryaį¹ at Bį¹hadÄraį¹yaka Upaniį¹£ad 5.2.1.
Dhammena so brahmavÄdaį¹ vadeyya; they may legitimately proclaim the divine doctrine; This, the only occurrence of brahmavÄda in Pali, harks back to the brahminās role as a reciter of the sÄman. In Brahmanical texts it has the sense of āorthodox Vedic doctrineā (Atharva Veda 11.3.26a, 15.1.8a; Bį¹hadÄraį¹yaka Upaniį¹£ad 14.7.3.1; ChÄndogya Upaniį¹£ad 2.24.1), comparable to the sense of TheravÄda (ādoctrine of the eldersā). Here the Buddha, as so often, adapts the meaning to his own ends.
YassussadÄ natthi kuhiƱci lokeāti. who have no pretensions about anything in the world.ā āPretensionsā renders ussadÄ. This line is found in the earlier Aį¹į¹havagga (Snp 4.3:4.4 and note), from where I suspect it has been imported. Here it dangles as the last line of the only five-line stanza in the UdÄna, following a line that is already grammatically complete (the demonstrative so answers the relative yo in the opening line). Perhaps it was added to downplay the importance of the term brahmavÄda.
Catutthaį¹.