Hello r/zen
What do you think is the best translation of this line from Case 18 from the Book of Serenity? Do you have a better translation to offer?
Here’s the line:
為伊有業識在
Here are some translations:
John C H Wu: Because of its habit of discrimination.
Sanbô Kyôdan Society: Because it is in its karma-consciousness.
Gregory Wonderwheel: By it having karmic-activity consciousness present.
Thomas Cleary: Because he still has impulsive consciousness.
There is also this translation from Green's Recorded Sayings of Zen Master Joshu : Because he has the nature of karmic delusions.
Here are the characters. Please note that there are lots more meanings and uses with these characters than what I have listed.
為 because
伊 third person singular pronoun ("he" or "she") / second person singular pronoun (“you”)
有 to have / there is / there are / to exist / to be
業 karma
識 to know / knowledge
在 (located) at / (to be) in / to exist / in the middle of doing something / (indicating an action in progress)
Full case:
Book of Serenity: Case 18
Case: A monk asked Zhaozhou, "Does a dog have a buddha-nature or not?"(He blocks the alley chasing a clod of earth.) Zhaozhou said, "Yes." (Yet it's never been added.) The monk said, "Since it has, why is it then in this skin bag?"(Checking once, he beckons, coming out with what pertains to himself.) Zhaozhou said, "Because he knows yet deliberately transgresses."(Don't assume he's not talking about you.) Another monk asked Zhaozhou, "Does a dog have a buddha-nature or not?"(Born of the same mother.) Zhaozhou said, "No."(Yet it's never been removed.) The monk said, "All sentient beings have buddha-nature--why does a dog have none, then?"(Stupid dog chases a hawk.) Zhaozhou said, "Because he still has impulsive consciousness." (The foregoing is like before in every way--he settles the case on the basis of the facts.)
Thanks to anyone interested in sharing their thoughts on this one :)
Submitted May 01, 2020 at 10:13AM by madewithsticks https://ift.tt/3f6yqwM
No comments:
Post a Comment