Nisidati pallankam abhujitva ujum kayam panidhaya...

Explore the ancient language of the Tipitaka and Theravāda commentaries
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Assaji
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Re: Nisidati pallankam abhujitva ujum kayam panidhaya...

Post by Assaji »

David N. Snyder wrote:Thanks for that, Dmytro; that is interesting. So would you say lotus is required based on that Commentary? Or just recommended?
I would say - recommended.

Original Pali, from the Atthakatha to another sutta, clarifies some details:

Pallaṅkanti samantato ūrubaddhāsanaṃ. Ābhujitvāti bandhitvā. Ujuṃ kāyaṃ paṇidhāyāti uparimaṃ sarīraṃ ujukaṃ ṭhapetvā, aṭṭhārasa piṭṭhikaṇṭake koṭiyā koṭiṃ paṭipādetvā. Parimukhaṃ satiṃ upaṭṭhapetvāti kammaṭṭhānābhimukhaṃ satiṃ ṭhapayitvā, mukhasamīpe vā katvāti attho. Teneva vibhaṅge vuttaṃ – ‘‘ayaṃ sati upaṭṭhitā hoti sūpaṭṭhitā nāsikagge vā mukhanimitte vā, tena vuccati parimukhaṃ satiṃ upaṭṭhapetvā’’ti (vibha. 537). Atha vā ‘‘parīti pariggahaṭṭho. Mukhanti niyyānaṭṭho. Satīti upaṭṭhānaṭṭho. Tena vuccati parimukhaṃ satiṃ upaṭṭhapetvā’’ti evaṃ paṭisambhidāyaṃ (paṭi. ma. 1.164) vuttanayenapettha attho daṭṭhabbo. Tatrāyaṃ saṅkhepo – ‘‘pariggahitaniyyānaṃ satiṃ katvā’’ti. Evaṃ nisīdanto ca pana chabbaṇṇā ghanabuddharasmiyo vissajjetvā nisīdi.

It gives a reference to Vibhanga, where 'parimukhaṃ' is explained as 'at the tip of the nose or at the lip'.

As for the other sources, Monier-Williams dictionary gives:

palyaṅka
(H1) paly-aṅka
m. = pary-aṅka ( Pa1n2. 8-2 , 22) a bed , couch , bedstead Sin6ha7s. Pan5cad.
a cloth wound round the loins while sitting on the heels and hams L.
so sitting , squatting (cf. pary-aṅka) L.

http://www.sanskrit-lexicon.uni-koeln.de/mwquery/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
alan...
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Re: Nisidati pallankam abhujitva ujum kayam panidhaya...

Post by alan... »

Dmytro wrote:Hi Alan,

The Commentary eclucidates this:

Nisidati pallankam abhujitva ujum kayam panidhaya parimukham satim upatthapetva so satova assasati sato passasati = "Sits down, bends in his legs crosswise on his lap, keeps is body erect, and arouses mindfulness in the object of meditation, namely, the breath which is in front of him. Mindful he breathes in, and mindful he breathes out."

"Bends in his legs crosswise on his lap." Three things pertaining to the sitting posture of the yogi are pointed out by that: firmness of the posture; easefulness of breathing due to the posture; and the expediency of the posture for laying hold of the subject of meditation.

One sits in this posture having locked in the legs. It is the entirely thigh-bound sitting posture, and is known as the lotus, and the immovable posture too.

"Keeps his body erect." Keeps the vertebrae in such a position that every segment of the backbone is said to be placed upright, and end to end throughout. The body, waist upwards, is held straight.

"Arouses mindfulness in front." Fixes the attention by directing it towards the breath which is in front.

"Mindful he breathes in and mindful he breathes out." Breathes in and out without abandoning mindfulness.

http://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/auth ... wayof.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
lol, this is exactly what i was reading the day i created this thread. the pali in my OP is actually a copy/paste of that page. i was wondering if the pali translates like the commentary says "bends his legs crosswise on his lap", as far as i can tell based on what people are saying on here, it does not. but i don't know pali, hence the OP.
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Assaji
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Re: Nisidati pallankam abhujitva ujum kayam panidhaya...

Post by Assaji »

alan... wrote:i was wondering if the pali translates like the commentary says "bends his legs crosswise on his lap", as far as i can tell based on what people are saying on here, it does not.
Well, that's an English work. I have not found the Pali original for this paragraph. Perhaps this is a compilation of Pali bits and pieces.
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Re: Nisidati pallankam abhujitva ujum kayam panidhaya...

Post by alan... »

Dmytro wrote:
alan... wrote:i was wondering if the pali translates like the commentary says "bends his legs crosswise on his lap", as far as i can tell based on what people are saying on here, it does not.
Well, that's an English work. I have not found the Pali original for this paragraph. Perhaps this is a compilation of Pali bits and pieces.
assuming citta and david know enough pali, they have translated the words and did not translate it like that. however i don't know it enough to decide for myself, someday perhaps...
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Re: Nisidati pallankam abhujitva ujum kayam panidhaya...

Post by Cittasanto »

Hi Alan,
Venerable Anandajoti (who I used the pali text of) renders it like this
suññāgāragato vā, nisīdati.
or has gone to an empty place, sits down.
Pallaṅkaṁ ābhujitvā, ujuṁ kāyaṁ paṇidhāya,
After folding his legs crosswise, setting his body straight,
parimukhaṁ satiṁ upaṭṭhapetvā,
and establishing mindfulness at the front,
I doubt the Buddha actually meant only one specific posture, it seams strange considering he never mentions how to stand, walk, or laydown in instructions, he only mentions to use these postures.
but just to note there is mention of how the Buddha lay down, walked... but to assume he was strict regarding posture when there are reasons not to adopt certain sitting postures seams to tight when it comes to here.
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alan...
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Re: Nisidati pallankam abhujitva ujum kayam panidhaya...

Post by alan... »

Cittasanto wrote:Hi Alan,
Venerable Anandajoti (who I used the pali text of) renders it like this
suññāgāragato vā, nisīdati.
or has gone to an empty place, sits down.
Pallaṅkaṁ ābhujitvā, ujuṁ kāyaṁ paṇidhāya,
After folding his legs crosswise, setting his body straight,
parimukhaṁ satiṁ upaṭṭhapetvā,
and establishing mindfulness at the front,
I doubt the Buddha actually meant only one specific posture, it seams strange considering he never mentions how to stand, walk, or laydown in instructions, he only mentions to use these postures.
but just to note there is mention of how the Buddha lay down, walked... but to assume he was strict regarding posture when there are reasons not to adopt certain sitting postures seams to tight when it comes to here.
great thanks!
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Re: Nisidati pallankam abhujitva ujum kayam panidhaya...

Post by Cittasanto »

Cittasanto wrote:Hi Alan,
Venerable Anandajoti (who I used the pali text of) renders it like this
suññāgāragato vā, nisīdati.
or has gone to an empty place, sits down.
Pallaṅkaṁ ābhujitvā, ujuṁ kāyaṁ paṇidhāya,
After folding his legs crosswise, setting his body straight,
parimukhaṁ satiṁ upaṭṭhapetvā,
and establishing mindfulness at the front,
I doubt the Buddha actually meant only one specific posture, it seams strange considering he never mentions how to stand, walk, or laydown in instructions, he only mentions to use these postures.
but just to note there is mention of how the Buddha lay down, walked... but to assume he was strict regarding posture when there are reasons not to adopt certain sitting postures seams to tight when it comes to here.
Actually just to contrast this with the precepts.
With the precepts the Buddha is very clear as to what is meant, and expands, rewords, incorporates allowances... for the rules so they can be understood exactly what is meant. when a rule says don't wear jewellery, he means it, it isn't a case that he means exept in X, Y, or Z when he didn't say that. and the same is true elsewhere the Buddha says what he means sometimes a general principle can be applied, at another time a literal principle is meant.

so in essance you have to decide if it is a general or litteral principle that is needed to understand these things.
Blog, Suttas, Aj Chah, Facebook.

He who knows only his own side of the case knows little of that. His reasons may be good, and no one may have been able to refute them.
But if he is equally unable to refute the reasons on the opposite side, if he does not so much as know what they are, he has no ground for preferring either opinion …
...
He must be able to hear them from persons who actually believe them … he must know them in their most plausible and persuasive form.
John Stuart Mill
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Re: Nisidati pallankam abhujitva ujum kayam panidhaya...

Post by Sekha »

I believe this would have been helpful:

http://www.buddha-vacana.org/formulae/vivitta.html#b" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Where knowledge ends, religion begins. - B. Disraeli

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Re: Nisidati pallankam abhujitva ujum kayam panidhaya...

Post by alktheone »

Another good occurrence of pallankam posture, meaning something rather firm and needed to be "split up" to release from. In the Mahāgosiṅga Sutta Buddha speaks about a monk determined to attain the final goal:

na tāvāhaṃ imaṃ pallaṅkaṃ bhindissāmi yāva me nānupādāya āsavehi cittaṃ vimuccissati.

I will not split up this pallanka position until my heart is freed from taints through not clinging.
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