(11) Examination of the Termination of Beginning and End (8 verses)
1. Before noticing the end of his life,
The great saint Gautama Buddha has never say anything at all.
Because our usual daily life is never inferior, but excellent,
Even rains, and so forth, can never be placed behind.
2. Belonging to not the highest, or belonging to not to the lowest,
They belong to the middle class without reason.
Therefore without reason miscellaneous things and phenomena manifest themselves.
And so before and after, there are only strong progresses.
3. Before the time when birth has existed,
Aging and death had belonged to future.
There are young ages, death, or birth.
,
There are expectations of birth, and even expectation of eternity.
4. After a birth has existed,
Aging and death, and so forth, exist.
Because it might be impossible for anything illogical to exist really,
What is the real meaning of becoming older, or death?
5. Never completely the same as the cases of aging, or death,
The cases of birth, and so forth, might be exactly governed ,
Therefore perhaps in the case of death, or the birth of babies,
They might be both unreasonable probably together.
.
6. In such situations, anything does not appear in this world,
Before being not so far, but common progress.
However at the same time, miscellaneous things and phenomena, have been born,
And so what is the reason, why those aging and death are produced?
7. Something, which has been produced, and the reason, why it was produced, are
commonly the same,
And what has been produced, and the characteristics, which has been accomplished, are
absolutely similar to.
Sense perception and the efforts to transmit it to others, are also constructed perfectly
as the same,
Even though there is some kind of aim, but at the same time it is just something. which
can not be described with words.
8. Before the time hasn't been grasped in its true meaning yet,
Wandering in our daily life is never lonely at all yet.
All things and phenomena seem to be exist really,
Before we do not recognize the existence of time.
The great saint Gautama Buddha has never say anything at all.
Because our usual daily life is never inferior, but excellent,
Even rains, and so forth, can never be placed behind.
2. Belonging to not the highest, or belonging to not to the lowest,
They belong to the middle class without reason.
Therefore without reason miscellaneous things and phenomena manifest themselves.
And so before and after, there are only strong progresses.
3. Before the time when birth has existed,
Aging and death had belonged to future.
There are young ages, death, or birth.
,
There are expectations of birth, and even expectation of eternity.
4. After a birth has existed,
Aging and death, and so forth, exist.
Because it might be impossible for anything illogical to exist really,
What is the real meaning of becoming older, or death?
5. Never completely the same as the cases of aging, or death,
The cases of birth, and so forth, might be exactly governed ,
Therefore perhaps in the case of death, or the birth of babies,
They might be both unreasonable probably together.
.
6. In such situations, anything does not appear in this world,
Before being not so far, but common progress.
However at the same time, miscellaneous things and phenomena, have been born,
And so what is the reason, why those aging and death are produced?
7. Something, which has been produced, and the reason, why it was produced, are
commonly the same,
And what has been produced, and the characteristics, which has been accomplished, are
absolutely similar to.
Sense perception and the efforts to transmit it to others, are also constructed perfectly
as the same,
Even though there is some kind of aim, but at the same time it is just something. which
can not be described with words.
8. Before the time hasn't been grasped in its true meaning yet,
Wandering in our daily life is never lonely at all yet.
All things and phenomena seem to be exist really,
Before we do not recognize the existence of time.
posted by GUDO NISHIJIMA | 4:46 PM
3 Comments:
Dear Nishijima,
In an attempt to understant MMK much more, I suddenly remembered that I've read an article of yours a very long time ago.
You see, I wanted to study the buddhist lineage from Gautama to Nargarjuna to determine MMK's legitmacy. What I understand is that many early buddhist schools had differed on certain metaphysical philosophies and that Nargarjuna disputed them through MMK.
How are we to know that the philosophy of action is that of the Buddha?
I beleive you probably explained this in that article. I remember you explaining once that the philosophy of action survived through Zen and that Japanese buddhism had a similar climate to early buddism for they too had somewhat diluted that idea until Dogen.
You wouldn't happen to know where to find this article? I would appreciate it if I could read it again.
Thanks
Dear Ven. Jiryu02 San,
Thank you very much for your important question.
If we want to know the theory that Buddhist philosophy is the three philosophies and one reality, I would like to recommend you my book entitled 'Three Philosophies and One Reality & NHK Radio Talks' by Gudo Wafu Nishijima.
Recently one of my Dharma Successor called Ven. Peter Rocca has published for me a book entitled above.
The book can be bought through Amazon too.
I interpret that Gautama Buddha has established his fundamental philosophy of 'the three philosophies and one Reality,'and then Master Nagarjna explained his Buddhist theory as 'Idealism, Materialism, Philosophy of Action, and Reality.'
Therefore I wrote my Buddhist book 'Three Philosophies and One Reality' in such an interpretation.
And in such meaning I think that originally speaking Buddhism has been a philosophy of Action from its beginning.
So I think that my booklet, which you are looking for might be 'Three Philosophies and One Reality.'
Therefore we can think that the book, which you are looking for now, can be got by Amazon smoothly.
Thank you Nishijima,
I will certainly purchase that book very soon.
On the issue of the philosophy of Buddha, it is hard to beleive that the tradition has kept this philosophy alive since the writing of his teachings came a good time after his death. I am just skeptical of anything that was once an oral tradition which eventually led to many sects.
It is difficult to beleive, even though I find MMK to be brilliant, that Nargarjuna ggot it right.
Definitely looking forward to reading "Three Philosophies and One Reality" because of that/
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