Wednesday, July 20, 2022

AN 5.162 meaning of pasāda - I don't think it means 'confident' here


AN 5.162 the 5th type of person


I think all 3 of these translations are wrong, or maybe not completely wrong, since pasāda is a very ambiguous word, but focusing on the wrong aspect. 

thanissaro: An entirely inspiring individual can make the mind grow serene.

bodhi: Friends, by means of a person who inspires confidence in every way, the mind gains confidence.1159

sujato:  Relying on a person who is impressive all around, the mind becomes confident. 


The reason I think it's wrong

Look at the 3rd, 4th, and 5th type of person. 

cetaso pasāda is being grouped with whether bodily action and verbal action is pure (pari-suddha). 

So the meaning of pasāda here should be the same sense as Dhammapada verse 2, which every English translator I've seen interprets 'pasannena' as "purity" (of mind).

♦ 2.
♦ mano-pubbaṅgamā dhammā,
Mind precedes dharma [which are raw mental sensory data to the mind, or fully formed concepts like the Buddha's Dharma].
mano-seṭṭhā mano-mayā.
Mind is their chief; they are all mind-made.
♦ manasā ce pasannena,
If the mind is pure when it
bhāsati vā karoti vā.
speaks or acts,
♦ tato naṃ sukham-anveti,
then pleasure follows him,
chāyāva an-apāyinī VAR.
like his shadow never-departing.    


This is what I think the 5th person ending section should be

frankk:

Evaṃ tasmiṃ puggale āghāto paṭivinetabbo.
That’s how to get rid of resentment for that person.
Samantapāsādikaṃ, āvuso, puggalaṃ āgamma cittaṃ pasīdati. (5)
Relying on a person who is pure all around [in bodily, verbal, and mental activity], the mind becomes pure.

sujato has:

Evaṃ tasmiṃ puggale āghāto paṭivinetabbo.
That’s how to get rid of resentment for that person.
Samantapāsādikaṃ, āvuso, puggalaṃ āgamma cittaṃ pasīdati. (5)
Relying on a person who is impressive all around, the mind becomes confident. [confident in what? the person you resent? the Buddha's teaching? your own mind's inspirational qualities?]


Caveat: maybe pun and double meaning applies

Since the sutta is focused on how to remove hatred/loathing/resentment towards a person, maybe the Buddha was being punny and also including Bodhi's translation as a secondary meaning.

Bodhi:  Friends, by means of a person who inspires confidence in every way, the mind gains confidence.1159

But I do believe the primary meaning of pasāda here is in the context of how mudita works (previous sutta AN 5.161 establishes we're dealing with 'mudita' as brahmavihara in AN 5.162) , and how rejoicing in mental purity tends to promote our own mental purity. We are all animals who mimic each other after all.

Perhaps the Buddha intended this:

Evaṃ tasmiṃ puggale āghāto paṭivinetabbo.
That’s how to get rid of resentment for that person.
Samantapāsādikaṃ, āvuso, puggalaṃ āgamma cittaṃ pasīdati. (5)
Relying on a person who is pure all around [in bodily, verbal, and mental activity], the mind becomes pure. [And one gains confidence in that person who we formerly resented but we are overcome by their confidence inspiring conduct.]



(this is the full sutta,  99.9% sujato's translation)

 


References

Thanissaro article comparing saṁvega and pasāda.

He says pasāda is a complex emotion encompassing many meanings, including 'confidence' that the Buddha's teaching on the Deathless works. 

https://www.dhammatalks.org/books/NobleStrategy/Section0004.html

Thanissaro said elsewhere:

Pasanno/pasāda is one of those Pali words that has a range of meaning that can’t be captured in a single English word.
Pasanno is used to describe water that’s clear and bright. Applied to the mind, it means not only clear and bright, but also, in some contexts, confident.



Forum discussion


Thank you, we are working with AN 5.162 right now, and glad you brought up the question about pasāda.
About translating pasanna as "pure" in Dhp2, that seems to come down from Daniel Gogerly's 1840 translation, which was "based on an interpretation of it made by monks, or ex-monks, who were teaching Gogerly Pāli. ... his translation represents the way the text was understood before the Buddhist revival in Sri Lanka". [This from an interesting academic article, PETER GERARD FRIEDLANDER, Dhammapada Traditions and Translations.] Cone gives a full four columns to "pasīdati" with the primary meanings "1. grows clear and bright, becomes calm, serene; — 2. is pleased, glad; is won over; is gracious, kind, well-disposed towards." No meaning is given anywhere close to "pure". Some of the modern translations that do not translate it as "pure" are: Sarada, Thanissaro, Fronsdal, and the Chinese Version of the Dhammapada tr. Dhammajoti.
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pure seems to be right along the lines of clear, bright, serene. And the nice thing about 'pure' in english, it also can imply an ethical quality, whereas even an evil criminal mastermind with samādhi can be 'clear, bright, serene' in carrying out evil deeds.



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