KN Snp 5.7 upasiva's formless attainment - why my translation is better

Frankk translation of the formless part of sutta

“Ākiñcaññaṁ pekkhamāno satimā,	“[In the dimension of] nothingness, equanimously-observing, Remembering-and-applying-☸Dharma ,”
(upasīvāti bhagavā)	(replied the Buddha),
Natthīti nissāya tarassu oghaṁ;	depending [on the perception] ‘there is nothing’, cross the flood.
Kāme pahāya virato kathāhi,	Giving up sensual pleasures, refraining from chatter,
Taṇhak-khayaṁ nattam-ah-ābhi-passa”.	watch day and night for the ending of craving.”

 

B. Bodhi has

1070. “Contemplating nothingness, mindful,
(Upasīva,” said the Blessed One),
“supported by ‘there is not,’ cross over the flood.
[206]
Having abandoned sensual pleasures, refraining from perplexity,
night and day see into the destruction of craving.

Thanissaro has

Mindfully focused on nothingness,

relying on ‘There isn’t,’

you should cross over the flood.

Abandoning sensuality,

abstaining from conversations,

keep watch for the ending of

craving, night & day.

Ven. Sunyo has

https://discourse.suttacentral.net/t/the-ineffable-goal-of-the-upasiva-sutta/41614

“Upasīva, mindfully observe [the state of] nothingness,
relying on the awareness that there isn’t anything,
and you should be able to cross the flood.
Renounce sensual pleasures, refrain from chatter,
look for the end of craving day and night.”

Why Frankk's translation (on the passage of formless attainment above) is better

1. Because mine does not cause loss of generality.

2. I retain the generality and full functionality of sati as "Remembering and applying [any relevant] Dharma", not arbitrarily restricted to "mindfully focused on nothing"

3. I retain the generality and full functionality of upekkha. Every other English translator always treats upekkha as a Sophie's choice, either it's being "equanimous", or it's "contemplating/seeing/observing". 

I translate upekkha everywhere in the suttas consistently as "equanimous-observation".

Just as a peanut-butter-jelly sandwich is not sometimes a jelly sandwich,

sometimes a peanut butter sandwich depending on the translator's whim.

It's always packed with the full goodness of both peanut butter and jelly.

Upekkha (in samādhi context) always has both "equanimity" and "vipassana seeing/observation" baked in.

4. My translation with the bracketed [] comment explicitly shows this is the formless dimension of nothingness, whereas for example Ven. Bodhi's "Contemplating nothingness, mindful," 

you have no idea nothingness is referring to a deep meditative state,

and you have no idea of what "mindfulness" is doing with that "nothingness". 

I hope translators of the future will also adopt this principle of not causing unnecessary loss of generality.

AN 9.36 for example, explains that from the first 3 formless attainments (nothingness is the 3rd),

one can equanimously-observe any of the 4 formless aggregates (rūpa is excluded in formless),

using any Dhamma technique from 4 satipaṭṭhāna that  sati ("mindfulness") chooses to employ.

Now MAYBE in this case Snp 5.7 is being more specific in what sati and upekkha are doing in the nothingness formless attainment, Niddessa seems to think so.

But I doubt it.

Based on these reasons:

1. looking at my translation of that passage above, you can see references to both formless attainment nothingness, 

and first jhāna (sensuality abandoned in standard first jhāna formula, speech ceases in first jhāna SN 36.11).

2. Ākiñcaññaṁ pekkhamāno satimā - that's just a concise way of the standard formula for dimension of nothingness. 

Just as Snp 5.14 similarly has a concise way to refer to 5 hindrances, 4 jhānas,

and Snp 5.15 has a concise way to refer to the first formless attainment,

those were general cases,

so there's no reason  Ākiñcaññaṁ pekkhamāno satimā here in Snp 5.6 is referring to some weirdly specific usage of nothingless dimenson where upekkha and sati have weirdly specific roles different from the general case.

KN Snp 5.7 Upasīva-māṇava-pucchā: The Questions of Upasiva

(2023 SP-FLUENT translation by frankk‍ derived from B. Sujato‍ )

“Eko ahaṁ sakka mahantam-oghaṁ,	“Alone and independent, O Sakyan,”
(iccāyasmā upasīvo)	(said Venerable Upasiva,)
Anissito no visahāmi tārituṁ;	“I am not able to cross the great flood.
Ārammaṇaṁ brūhi samanta-cakkhu,	Tell me a support, All-seer,
Yaṁ nissito ogham-imaṁ tareyyaṁ”.	depending on which I may cross this flood.”

(Buddha says:)

“Ākiñcaññaṁ pekkhamāno satimā,	“[In the dimension of] nothingness, equanimously-observing, Remembering-and-applying-☸Dharma ,”
(upasīvāti bhagavā)	(replied the Buddha),
Natthīti nissāya tarassu oghaṁ;	depending [on the perception] ‘there is nothing’, cross the flood.
Kāme pahāya virato kathāhi,	Giving up sensual pleasures, refraining from chatter,
Taṇhak-khayaṁ nattam-ah-ābhi-passa”.	watch day and night for the ending of craving.”

(questioner:)

“Sabbesu kāmesu yo vīta-rāgo,	“One who is free of sensual desire,”
(iccāyasmā upasīvo)	(said Venerable Upasiva,)
Ākiñcaññaṁ nissito hitvā maññaṁ;	“depending on [the dimension of] nothingness, all else left behind,
Saññā-vimokkhe parame vimutto,	liberated in the highest [of the seven] perception-liberations:
Tiṭṭhe nu so tattha anānuyāyī”.	would they remain there without travelling on?”

(Buddha says:)

“Sabbesu kāmesu yo vītarāgo,	“One free of sensual desire,”
(upasīvāti bhagavā)	(replied the Buddha),
Ākiñcaññaṁ nissito hitvā maññaṁ;	“depending on [the dimension of] nothingness, all else left behind,
Saññā-vimokkhe parame vimutto,	liberated in the highest [of the seven] perception-liberations:
Tiṭṭheyya so tattha anānuyāyī”.	they would remain there without travelling on.”

(questioner:)

“Tiṭṭhe ce so tattha anānuyāyī,	“If they were to remain there without travelling on,
Pūgampi vassānaṁ samanta-cakkhu;	even for many years, All-seer,
Tattheva so sīti-siyā vimutto,	and, growing cool right there, were freed,
Cavetha viññāṇaṁ tathā-vidhassa”.	would the consciousness of such a one pass away?”

(Buddha says:)

“Accī yathā vāta-vegena khittā,	“As a flame tossed by a gust of wind,”
(upasīvāti bhagavā)	(replied the Buddha),
Atthaṁ paleti na upeti saṅkhaṁ;	“comes to an end and no longer counts;
Evaṁ munī nāma-kāyā vimutto,	so too, a sage freed from the mental-body
Atthaṁ paleti na upeti saṅkhaṁ”.	comes to an end and is no longer classified.”

(questioner:)

“Atthaṅ-gato so uda vā so natthi,	“One who has comes to an end—do they not exist?
Udāhu ve sassatiyā a-rogo;	Or are they eternally well?
Taṁ me munī sādhu viyākarohi,	Please, sage, answer me clearly,
Tathā hi te vidito esa dhammo”.	for truly you understand this Dharma.”

(Buddha says:)

“Atthaṅ-gatassa na pamāṇamatthi,	“One who’s come to an end cannot be measured,”
(upasīvāti bhagavā)	(replied the Buddha).
Yena naṁ vajjuṁ taṁ tassa natthi;	“They have nothing by which one might describe them.
Sabbesu dhammesu samohatesu,	When all dharmas have been eradicated,
Samūhatā vādapathāpi sabbe”ti.	eradicated, too, are all ways of speech.”
(Upasīva-māṇava-pucchā chaṭṭhī.)	(end of sutta⏹️)