[Buddha-l] the benefits of Jayarava's discussion

[Richard P. Hayes]

On Wednesday 20 August 2008 08:03:48 Jayarava wrote:

> The Pāli in this case (from the Buddha's last words in the Mahāparinibbāna
> Sutta DN 16; PTS Dii 155-6; p.231ff in Walsh's translation) is vayadhammā
> saṅkhārā - all things (saṅkhārā) have the nature (dhamma) of disappointment
> (vaya - literally to decay, to die).

A small quibble seems in order here. Saṅkhārā doesn't mean just any old thing, 
but specifies conditioned things. Most, but not all Buddhists, of course, 
hold the view that all things are conditioned. (I hold that view, but I do so 
out of dogmatism and intellectual laziness; I can't prove it.) 

Vaya (Sanskrit vyaya) usually means something like mutable, liable to change, 
(literally, vi+i likely to go away.) In grammar vyaya refers to the 
alterations that words undergo through the application of conjugational or 
declensional endings. Bearing all that in mind, I think a good translated 
would be "all conditioned things are of the nature that they should be 
declined." So when someone offers you a conditioned thing, just say no. 
That's the heart of Buddhist practice.

> Of course experiences are
> disappointing _because_ they are impermanent.

That seems a bit categorical to me, and even false. The vast majority of 
experiences, I would argue, are actually fulfilling precisely because they 
are impermanent. A toothache, for example, eventually goes away, which is an 
occasion of considerable satisfaction. The inconsiderate boor behind you in 
the movie theatre chomping on popcorn eventually discovers that his supply of 
popcorn is impermanent, which brings you great joy. You get a box a 
chocolates and discover after eating one that you can't stop; what a 
tremendous relief you feel when you find you've eaten the last one without 
exploding. (That explains why your sweetheart is happy when given a pound of 
chocolates but is irked when given a shipload.)

All things considered, I'd say that impermanence in itself is neither 
disappointing nor, er, appointing. It's only when viewed with an expectation 
or hope that things be other than they are that anything becomes 
disappointing. So I vote against translating or interpreting vaya as 
disappointing. I trust this does not disappoint anyone. If it does, it's your 
old damn fault. (I belong to the "tough compassion" school of Buddhism.)

-- 
Dayamati
Department of Correctional Services
Buddha-hell
http://dayamati.blogspot.com