Translation of MMK in English
Recently I have finished a Japanese translation of Mulamadhyamakakarikah (MMK), and so I would like to translate it into English too. But thinking my old age (89 years old), I suppose that it might be adequate for me to express it directly in this blog. Therefore I would like to write it openly in this blog from today.
A Song of The Fundamental Truth on The Middle Way
[1] Examination of The Real Truth (14 Verse)
1. The Real Truth is different from subjective ideas, which have been produced in human brain,
but, at the same time, the Real Truth is never sense stimuli, which have entered from the
external world.
The Real Truth is not mixture of subjective idea and objective stimuli, but the Real Truth is
never something illogical.
Miscellaneous things and phenomena are only manifesting themselves as they are,
And what is called existence does never exist really anywhere, and it does not exist in
anything.
2. The four kinds of the Real Truth are Reason, which is pervading through the Universe,
The External World, which is spreading in front of us, and the Present Monment, at which
our Action is done,
And Reality, which seems to be the Ruler of the Universe.
But the Real Truth, as the Number Five, does never really exist anywhere at all.
3. The Subjective Existences, that is, ideas, can never be thought as the Real Existense,
Therefore, miscellaneous kinds of Real Truth must be the diarect objects of Real
Recognition.
And it is impossible for us to grasp what we think actually,
And also it is impossible for us to recognize that what we have perceived really exists, or not.
4. But our Action can never be other than the True Reality itself.
It is perfectly impossible for the different entity other than the Real Truth is Action itself.
The Real Truth can never be an imitation of Action,
And what is just the same as Action exists clearly here exactly.
5. This world, which is so clear, manifests itself just in front of us,
Things and fenomena are just showing themselves as miscellaneous true teachings.
When those things and fenomena do not manifests themselves, following such a degree of concealling,
The true teachings, which do not manifest themselves, might not exist actually at all in the real world.
6. In the case of being abstract, or being concrete,
The facts, that the true teachings are governed, or bound by the different aim from themselves, can never exist at all.
It is impossible for any abstract true teaching belongs to different other teachings at all,
And it is also completely impossible for a concrete thing, following some true teachings, to produce something new at all.
7. When the Universe, which is combination between the stable and the unstable, or combination between the concrete and the abstract, hasn't appeared in front of us,
Even things and phenomena, which are manifested in front of us accidentally, are not so reasonable.
Because even the situaions, which are seen as if being natural, are not always reasonable.
8. The world, which is manifested just in front of us, is the real world, and just the Real Universe is exhibiting in front of us actually.
How is it necessary for us to pile up one more other world on the Universe, which has been manifested itself in front of us really.
9. In the case, when the real situations of the Universe hasn't been regulated yet by itself, because our autonomic nervous systems haven't been regulated,
The situations of our daily life, which can never be stopped voluntarily by ourselves at all, might be a kind of severe restriction.
However it is perfectly impossible for true teachings, which are not combined with self-regulation, to exist on the earth at all.
10. Because miscellaneous existences do not have any kind of unique characteristics,
In the case, when it is impossible for us to grasp the Reality itself directly,
It is impossible for us to recognize concretely that this real world really exists as the real world actually as a simple fact.
11. In the real situations that because of real exitences of miscellaneous things and phenomena at random, miscellaneous true teachings can be cotinuing to exist as the miscellaneous true teachings,
Therefore how is it possible for real result to exist actually at all?
Relying upon miscellaneous true teachings, how is it possible for real result to exist really at all?
Furthermore without relyig upon miscellaneous true teachings, how is it possble for real result really to exist at all?
12. Actually there, something real, and even somthing concrete, are going on following miscellaneous concrete things and miscellaneous true teachings.
In the case of wrong teachings, all things and phenomena will vanish,
And it is perfectly impossible for result to go ahead at all.
13. The concept of result always hurts true teachings, and at the same time miscellaneous true teachings have tendency to destroy poverty.
Even though result has tendency to bring up poverty, how is it possible for result to have power to destroy true teachings at all?
14. Therefore result can never have any power to destroy true teachings,
And at the same time result does never have any power to destroy wrong teachings at all.
When we have got out from the synthetic point of view that result does never actually exist at all,
Where can we find the Real World, which is constructed from the combination of true teachings and wrong teachings together totally.
A Song of The Fundamental Truth on The Middle Way
[1] Examination of The Real Truth (14 Verse)
1. The Real Truth is different from subjective ideas, which have been produced in human brain,
but, at the same time, the Real Truth is never sense stimuli, which have entered from the
external world.
The Real Truth is not mixture of subjective idea and objective stimuli, but the Real Truth is
never something illogical.
Miscellaneous things and phenomena are only manifesting themselves as they are,
And what is called existence does never exist really anywhere, and it does not exist in
anything.
2. The four kinds of the Real Truth are Reason, which is pervading through the Universe,
The External World, which is spreading in front of us, and the Present Monment, at which
our Action is done,
And Reality, which seems to be the Ruler of the Universe.
But the Real Truth, as the Number Five, does never really exist anywhere at all.
3. The Subjective Existences, that is, ideas, can never be thought as the Real Existense,
Therefore, miscellaneous kinds of Real Truth must be the diarect objects of Real
Recognition.
And it is impossible for us to grasp what we think actually,
And also it is impossible for us to recognize that what we have perceived really exists, or not.
4. But our Action can never be other than the True Reality itself.
It is perfectly impossible for the different entity other than the Real Truth is Action itself.
The Real Truth can never be an imitation of Action,
And what is just the same as Action exists clearly here exactly.
5. This world, which is so clear, manifests itself just in front of us,
Things and fenomena are just showing themselves as miscellaneous true teachings.
When those things and fenomena do not manifests themselves, following such a degree of concealling,
The true teachings, which do not manifest themselves, might not exist actually at all in the real world.
6. In the case of being abstract, or being concrete,
The facts, that the true teachings are governed, or bound by the different aim from themselves, can never exist at all.
It is impossible for any abstract true teaching belongs to different other teachings at all,
And it is also completely impossible for a concrete thing, following some true teachings, to produce something new at all.
7. When the Universe, which is combination between the stable and the unstable, or combination between the concrete and the abstract, hasn't appeared in front of us,
Even things and phenomena, which are manifested in front of us accidentally, are not so reasonable.
Because even the situaions, which are seen as if being natural, are not always reasonable.
8. The world, which is manifested just in front of us, is the real world, and just the Real Universe is exhibiting in front of us actually.
How is it necessary for us to pile up one more other world on the Universe, which has been manifested itself in front of us really.
9. In the case, when the real situations of the Universe hasn't been regulated yet by itself, because our autonomic nervous systems haven't been regulated,
The situations of our daily life, which can never be stopped voluntarily by ourselves at all, might be a kind of severe restriction.
However it is perfectly impossible for true teachings, which are not combined with self-regulation, to exist on the earth at all.
10. Because miscellaneous existences do not have any kind of unique characteristics,
In the case, when it is impossible for us to grasp the Reality itself directly,
It is impossible for us to recognize concretely that this real world really exists as the real world actually as a simple fact.
11. In the real situations that because of real exitences of miscellaneous things and phenomena at random, miscellaneous true teachings can be cotinuing to exist as the miscellaneous true teachings,
Therefore how is it possible for real result to exist actually at all?
Relying upon miscellaneous true teachings, how is it possible for real result to exist really at all?
Furthermore without relyig upon miscellaneous true teachings, how is it possble for real result really to exist at all?
12. Actually there, something real, and even somthing concrete, are going on following miscellaneous concrete things and miscellaneous true teachings.
In the case of wrong teachings, all things and phenomena will vanish,
And it is perfectly impossible for result to go ahead at all.
13. The concept of result always hurts true teachings, and at the same time miscellaneous true teachings have tendency to destroy poverty.
Even though result has tendency to bring up poverty, how is it possible for result to have power to destroy true teachings at all?
14. Therefore result can never have any power to destroy true teachings,
And at the same time result does never have any power to destroy wrong teachings at all.
When we have got out from the synthetic point of view that result does never actually exist at all,
Where can we find the Real World, which is constructed from the combination of true teachings and wrong teachings together totally.
posted by GUDO NISHIJIMA | 11:00 AM
4 Comments:
Dear Nishijima Sensei,
Thank you for your explanations. Your teachings on this blog and on Dogen Sangha's website have cleared up a lot of philosophical problems for me.
- Phil
I appreciate your efforts at MMK translation. MMK rocks my world.
Dear Nishijima Roshi,
what I have grasped from this text is:
- real truth, exisstence and result do not exist anywhere,
- the appearance of real truth can not be hindered by right or wrong teachings.
Is this the same expression as I found in the teachings of Dogen, that
-a right man with right intentions will do the right things and they turn out to be right
and
- a wrong man with wrong intentions who does wrong things, these things will also turn out to be right?
Would you clarify this further?
Best regards
Regina
Master Nishijima Roshi, does this mean that there can be no right or wrong because of conditioned existence; things "just are?"
We operate in the world with this conditioning, either blindly, or in awareness; awareness that we are operating from that state. We are always living with our conditioning, so it is very important to understand this when we act, rather than react. Then, we do not get caught up in the differences.
I've been wondering this for a while and would like to hear your comments.
With respect,
Valerie
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