The opening preamble of Yogasthāna III — the practitioner-teacher relationship that must be in place before the nine-stage śamatha of sbh3.1 can begin. Covers the qualifications of a kalyāṇamitra who actually knows the yoga (yoga-jña) and the four roles such a teacher plays; the teacher's examination of the practitioner by lineage / faculty / conduct; the daily routine the disciple takes up under instruction; and the kāya-viveka / citta-viveka (bodily and mental withdrawal) that prepare the ground for the dhyānas. Closes with a fourfold definition of samādhi that grounds the cittasthiti analysis at sbh3.1.
id
Sanskrit
English
evaṁ kṛte pudgalavyavasthāne, ālambanavyavasthāne, yāvadbhāvanāphalavyavasthāne ātmakāmena pudgalena svārthamanuprāptukāmena ādikarmikena ṇa |
Thus, when the establishment of persons, of objects, on up to the establishment of the fruit of cultivation has been made — a person desiring his own benefit, wishing to attain his own goal, a beginner,
tatprathamakarmikena ṇa yogajña, ācāryo vā, upādhyāyo vā, puruṣo, gurusthānīyo vā, caturṣu sthāneṣu smṛtimupasthāpya upasaṁkramitavyaḥ |
a first-time worker, should approach a knower of yoga — a preceptor, an instructor, a person occupying the place of a teacher — establishing mindfulness in four respects.
abhijñābhiprāyeṇa, nopālambhacittatayā, sagauraveṇa, na samānastambhatayā |
With intention to gain higher knowledge, not with a fault-finding mind, with reverence, not with the haughtiness of equality.
ātmānaṁ parāṁśca kuśalamūlena yojayiṣyāmīti |
‘I will yoke myself and others to wholesome roots,’ thinking thus.
na lābhasatkārārthamevaṁ ca punarupasaṁkramya kālenāvakāśaṁ kṛtvā, ekāṁsamuttarāsaṁgaṁ kṛtvā, dakṣiṇaṁ jānumaṇḍalaṁ pṛthivyāṁ pratiṣṭhāpya, nīcataramevāsane niṣadya, sapratīśena yoga āyācitavyaḥ |
Not for the sake of gain and honor. And having so approached, in due time making an opportunity, baring one shoulder, placing the right knee-circle upon the earth, sitting on a yet lower seat, with all respect, he should make request for yoga:
ahamasmiṁ smi yogenārthī, yogaṁ ādikṣvānukampāmupādāya |
‘I am one in need of yoga; teach me yoga, out of compassion.’
ityevañca punarāyācitena yoginā yogajñena sa ādikarmikaḥ, tatprathamakarmikaḥ yogamanasikāre prayoktukāmaḥ |
And the yogin who knows yoga, thus requested, that beginner, first-time worker, desirous of applying himself in yoga and mental engagement,
sādhu, sādhu, durmukha, yastvāṁ stvaṁ pramādāpagatāyāṁ prajāyāṁ, viṣayanimnāyāṁ, viṣayādhyavasitāyāṁ apramādāya prayoktukāmaḥ |
[Damaged/Conjectural]: ‘Good, good, friend, that you, in a populace gone to heedlessness, fallen toward sense-objects, attached to sense-objects, wish to apply yourself to heedfulness;
The printed/root vocative durmukha ('bad-faced' / 'bad-mouthed') is incoherent in the praise formula sādhu, sādhu... and the following encouragement. The English reads the expected friendly vocative contextually and marks the sentence conjectural/corrupt; the Sanskrit root is left unchanged.
apāyadhārakapraviṣṭāyāmapāyadhārakānnirgantukāmaḥ |
you who, in a current entering the lower realms, wish to issue forth from that current of the lower realms.
rāgadveṣamohavigatabandhanāyāṁ bandhanāni kṣeptukāmaḥ |
You who wish to cast off the bonds of lust, hatred, and delusion into freedom from bondage.
The encouragement sequence at 1.13–24 is a chain of rescue metaphors: escape from heedlessness, lower-realm current, saṃsāra wilderness, famine of wholesome roots, defilement-thieves, illness, flood, and ignorance-darkness. At 1.15, bandhanāni kṣeptu-kāmaḥ is therefore rendered as 'wish to cast off the bonds' rather than a literal 'throw bonds into bondage.'
saṁsāramahādāvīdugamārgapraviṣṭānāṁ yāṁ nistarttukāmaḥ |
You who wish to cross the great forest-thicket of saṁsāra’s difficult path.
kleśakuśalamūlamahādurbhikṣaprāptāyāṁ kuśalamūlasubhikṣamanuprāptukāmaḥ |
You who wish to attain the prosperity of wholesome roots amid the great famine of wholesome roots caused by defilements.
kleśataskaramahābhayānugatāyāṁ |
You who, where great fear of the defilement-thieves has come,
kleśamahāvyādhigrastāyāṁ paramamāno nirvāṇamanuprāptukāmaḥ |
You who, gripped by the great illness of defilement, wish to attain the supreme medicine that is nirvāṇa.
caturotmā ghā nusrotopahatāyāmoghānutarttukāmaḥ |
You who, in a current swept by the four floods, wish to cross over the flood.
mahāvidyānukārapraviṣṭāyāṁ mahājñānālokamanuprāptukāmaḥ |
[Damaged/Conjectural]: You who, having entered the great darkness of ignorance, wish to attain the great light of knowledge.
The printed/root mahāvidyānukāra-praviṣṭāyām is not coherent in context. The surrounding metaphor and the contrast with mahā-jñāna-āloka ('great light of knowledge') require 'great darkness of ignorance,' likely reflecting an extraction or transmission corruption of mahā-avidyā-andhakāra. The English marks the repair as conjectural while leaving the Sanskrit root unchanged.
samohaṁ ca rāṣṭrapiṇḍaṁ paribhokṣyate |
[Damaged/Conjectural]: you will partake of the kingdom’s alms without delusion.
The printed/root samohaṁ rāṣṭra-piṇḍaṁ paribhokṣyate would mean consuming the kingdom's alms 'with delusion,' contradicting the praise sequence for one rightly applying himself. The English follows the expected a-sammoha / non-delusion sense and marks the repair conjectural.
anirākṛtadhyāyī, vipaśyanayā samanvāgataḥ |
an unrejected meditator, endowed with insight.
bṛṁhayitā śūnyāgārāṇāṁ svakāyayogamanuyuktaḥ |
An augmenter of empty huts, applied to one’s own bodily yoga.
sabrahmacāribhistulyahitāya pratipannaḥ |
Practiced for the equal welfare of fellow brahma-farers.
parahitāya, bahujanahitāya, lokānukampāyai, arthāya, hitāya, sukhāya devamanuṣyāṇāmityevaṁbhāgīyaiḥ ślakṣṇairvacanapathaiḥ |
For the welfare of others, for the welfare of many, out of compassion for the world, for the benefit, welfare, and happiness of gods and humans’ — thus by such gentle words
saṁharṣayitvā saṁharṣya prahāṇe cānuśaṁsaṁ darśayitvā, caturṣu paripṛcchāsthānīyeṣu dharmeṣu paripraṣṭavyaḥ |
having gladdened, showing the benefit of abandonment, he should be inquired of with respect to four matters of inquiry.
kaści cci dāyuṣmānekāntena buddhaśaraṇaṁ gato, dharmaṁ, saṁghaṁ, no cetobahirdhānyaṁ śāstāraṁ vā, dakṣiṇīyamvā saṁjānāti, kaccitte ādipariśodhitādbrahmacaryasya bhāvanāyai śīlaṁ ca te saviśuddhaṁ, dṛṣṭiśca ṛjvī kaccitte āryasatyānāmuddeśavibhaṁgamāramya nirvāṇābhiprāyaśca pravrajitaḥ |
‘Has the friend, single-mindedly, gone for refuge to the Buddha, the dharma, the saṅgha — does he not perceive any other teacher or worthy of offerings outside? Is your brahma-faring initially purified for cultivation, and is your virtue thoroughly pure, your view upright? Have you gone forth with the intention of nirvāṇa, based on the summary and analysis of the noble truths?’
Uddesa-vibhaṅga is rendered as 'summary and analysis' of the noble truths. The prior 'recitation-division' over-read uddeśa as recitation here; the construction points to the concise statement/headings of the truths together with their analytic division.
tata uttari caturṣu sthāneṣu caturbhiḥ kāraṇaiḥ samanveṣitavyaḥ |
Beyond this, in four respects he should be examined by four causes.
caritataśca samanveṣitavyaḥ kathayā, ceṣṭayā, cetaḥ paryāyasthānena paryeṣitavyaḥ |
and conduct he should be examined; by speech, by behavior, by mind-investigation-method he should be inquired into.
tatra kathaṁ pṛcchayā praṇidhānataḥ samanveṣitavyaḥ |
There, how, by question, is he examined as to vow?
śrāvakayāne, pratyekabuddhayāne mahāyāne |
In the disciple-vehicle, the solitary-buddha-vehicle, the great-vehicle.
kathaṁ pṛcchayā gotramindriyaṁ caritaṁ ca |
How by question are lineage, faculty, and conduct
āyuṣmānātmano gotramvā, indriyamvā, caritaṁ vā |
‘Friend, your own lineage, faculty, conduct —
kīdṛśāni me indriyāṇi mṛdūni, madhyāni, tīkṣṇāni, kiṁ rāgacaritaḥ |
What kind are my faculties — mild, middling, sharp? Am I of lust-conduct?
evaṁ tāvad vitarkavicārita vicāracarita iti |
Likewise, of applied-thought-conduct, of sustained-thought-conduct?’
pū pau rvāparyeṇa cāmuno gotramindriyaṁ, caritañcopalakṣitaṁ bhavati |
and from his prior and later, his lineage, faculty, conduct has been observed,
na cānena paurvāparyeṇa yāvannimittīkṛtaṁ bhavati |
but he has not, from prior and later, noted,
tasya tata uttarakālaṁ kathayā tāvattrīṇi samanveṣitavyāni |
For him, subsequent to that, by speech, three are examined.
tasya purastācchrāvakayānapratisaṁyuktā kathā karaṇīyā |
Before him a talk connected with the disciple-vehicle is to be made.
citrairgamakaidhurairvacanapathaiḥsa tasyāṁ kathāyāṁ kathyamānāyāṁ sa cecchrāvakagotro bhavatyatyarthaṁ tayā kathayā prīyate |
By varied, ample, fluent ways of speaking — when that talk is being spoken, if he is of disciple-lineage, he is exceedingly delighted by that talk.
na prasīdati nādhi adhi mucyate |
[Damaged/Conjectural]: He is pleased, resolves.
The lineage-diagnosis passage tests whether the student responds to śrāvaka-vehicle or Mahāyāna discourse. At 1.63–64 a śrāvaka-lineage person is delighted by śrāvaka talk; the printed/root 1.65 then says he is not pleased and does not resolve, contradicting the diagnostic pattern and the parallel Mahāyāna line at 1.66–68. The English treats the negative as corrupt and restores the positive response with a conjectural marker.
mahāyānapratisaṁyuktāyāmvā punaḥ kathāyāṁ kathyamānāyāṁ yo mahāyānagotraḥ so ’tyarthaṁ prīyate |
Or again, in the talk connected with the great-vehicle, when spoken, the one of great-vehicle-lineage is exceedingly delighted.
śrāvakapratyekabuddhastu na tathā |
The disciple-and-solitary-buddha-lineage one is not so.
sa cetpunaḥ mṛdvindriyo bhavati |
If, again, he is of mild faculties,
The faculty-diagnosis passage is terse: the mild-faculty person is delighted by profound teaching but is not yet fit for noting the dharma and meaning, grasping, or penetration; the middle-faculty person does not do so quickly; the sharp-faculty person quickly notes, grasps, and penetrates even profound discourse. The English supplies bracketed ellipses around madhyendriyo na to keep the contrast readable.
dharmasya cārthasya copalakṣaṇāya |
but he is not [yet fit] for noting the dharma and meaning,
madhyendriyo na, tīkṣṇendriyastu |
The middle-faculty person [does] not [do so quickly]; the sharp-faculty person, however,
pratividhyati gambhīrāyāmapi kathāyāṁ kathyamānāyāṁ |
and penetrates it, even when a deep talk is being spoken.
sa prasadanīyāyāṁ kathāyāṁ kathyamānāyā matyarthaṁ prasīdati ramate |
when a clarifying talk is spoken, he is exceedingly pleased, delights.
cāptā ca magru aśru prapātaṁ ca snigdhasantānatāṁ, mṛducittatāṁ, dravacittatāṁ copadarśayati |
And he displays tears, smooth continuity, softness of mind, fluidity of mind.
nirvedhikāyāṁ kathāyāṁ kathyamānāyāṁ nirvāṇapratisaṁyuktāyāṁ nirāmiṣamu t trasya saṁtrāsamāpadyate |
when a penetrative talk is spoken, connected with nirvāṇa, free from worldly attachments, he is alarmed, falls into alarm.
Nirvedhikā kathā is kept in the 'penetrative' register already used for nirvāṇa-conducive feeling at 73.30. The hatred-conduct diagnostic is that such penetrative, nirvāṇa-connected, non-worldly talk alarms him.
yathā mṛdvindriyasyoktaṁ tathātrāpi veditavyam |
As stated for weak faculty, so it is to be understood here.
sa cetsa dharmānucarito bhavati |
[Damaged/Conjectural]: If he is of applied-thought-conduct [vitarka-carita],
The conduct-diagnosis list at 1.77–94 should cover lust-conduct, hatred-conduct, applied-thought-conduct, and sustained-thought-conduct, matching the question at 1.52 and the earlier conduct taxonomy. The printed/root dharmānucarita at 1.84 does not fit that list; the English follows the expected vitarka-carita and marks the repair conjectural.
jānātyarthaṁ śuśrūṣate |
he understands the meaning and wants to listen.
Śuśrūṣate is rendered desideratively as 'wants to listen.' This avoids the contradiction created by reading it as simple 'listens,' since the next line says he does not lend ear or set his mind on knowledge.
āvarjito ’pi na tathā sānukāramanuprayacchati |
Even when directed [toward it], he does not apply himself with corresponding engagement.
sa cetpunarvicarito rvicārānucarito bhavati |
If, again, he is of sustained-thought-conduct,
na puna ḥ kaya tha yā paripṛcchana kaśca bhavati |
Not again by talk does he become someone to be questioned and instructed.
śrāvakagotrasya, rāgacaritānāṁ ca pudgalānāṁ tāni ceṣṭetyucyate |
of the disciple-lineage and of lust-conduct persons — those are called ‘behavior.’
tayā ca ceṣṭayā yathāyogaṁ gotramindriyaṁ caritaṁ ca samanveṣitavyaṁ |
By that behavior, as appropriate, lineage, faculty, conduct should be examined.
tatra kathaṁ cetaḥparyāyajñānena gotrendriyacaritāni samanveṣitavyāni |
There, how by mind-reading knowledge are lineage, faculty, conduct examined?
yathāpi sa yogī yogajño lābhī bhavati cetaḥ paryāyajñānasya |
As when the yogin who knows yoga is a possessor of the knowledge of mind-reading.
sa tena paracittajñānena gotramindriyaṁ, caritaṁ ca yathābhūtaṁ prajānāti |
By that knowledge of others’ minds, he knows lineage, faculty, conduct as they truly are.
etāni catvāri sthānānyebhiścaturbhiḥ kāraṇaissamanveṣya pañcasu sthāneṣu vinayate |
Examining these four matters by these four causes, in five matters he disciplines him.
tadyathā samādhisaṁbhārarakṣopacaye, prāvivekye, cittaikāgratāyāḥ yāṁ , āvaraṇaviśuddhau, manaskārabhāvanāyāṁ ca |
Namely, in the protection-and-accumulation of the concentration-requisites, in seclusion, in mental one-pointedness, in purification of hindrances, in cultivation of mental engagement.
Samādhi-saṁbhāra-rakṣopacaya is parsed as protection-and-accumulation of the requisites for concentration. The point is not an 'accumulation of protection' but the guarding and further increasing of whatever concentration-supporting dharma-section has already been gained.
tatra samādhisaṁbhārarakṣopacayaḥ yāvatā śīlasamvareṇa samanvāgato bhavati |
There, protection-and-accumulation of the concentration-requisites: as long as he is endowed with restraint of virtue.
tatra cāpramādavihārī bhavatyapapariṇāya buddhānuśiṣṭasya ca buddhānujñātasya pudgalasya, śīlaskandhasya śikśāpadapratipattyā vīryaṁ na sransa sraṁsa yati |
And there he dwells heedfully; not abandoning, as instructed and authorized by the Buddha, the energy in the practice of training-precepts in the virtue-aggregate,
evamayamavigatācchīlapratisamvarācchi kṣāmārgānna parihīyate |
thus he, not departing from the restraint of virtue, does not fall away from the training-path.
anadhigataṁ ca śikṣāmārgamadhigacchati |
And he attains the not-yet-attained training-path.
yathā śīlasamvara evamindriyasamvaraḥ, bhojane mātrajñatā, pūrvarātrāpararātraṁ jāgarikānuyogaḥ, saṁprajānadvihāritā, evaṁ yāvacchramaṇālaṁkāra iti |
As with restraint of virtue, so restraint of senses, knowing right measure in food, application to wakefulness in the early and late night, dwelling with full awareness, on up to the ornaments of a recluse.
yasya yasya saṁbhāraparigṛhītasya dharmapravibhāgasya lābhī bhavati |
Whatever requisite-comprised dharma-section he gains,
sa taṁ vā rakṣatyuttari raṁ ca pravibhāgasya pāripūraye |
he protects it and further, for the fullness of the section,
yathoktādbhūrādhikakasamudācārāya c chandajāto viherayu ret mu mū kajāta ārubdhavīryaścāyamucyate samādhisaṁbhārarakṣopacayaḥ |
with eagerness for further-augmentation he becomes, free of distress, of aroused energy — this is called protection-and-accumulation of the concentration-requisites.
sa evaṁ hānabhāgīyāṁśca dharmān virajyati, śeṣabhāgīyāṁśca dharmān pratiṣevamāṇaḥ praviviktavihārī bhavati |
Thus, becoming dispassionate toward dharmas on the side of decline and cultivating the remaining dharmas, he becomes a dweller-in-seclusion.
The closing seclusion line turns on a decline-side / remaining-side contrast. Hānabhāgīya dharmāḥ are dharmas on the side of decline or falling back; śeṣabhāgīyān dharmān pratiṣevamāṇaḥ means cultivating or practicing the remaining dharmas, not merely 'continuing to use' them.
araṇyamvā, vṛkṣamūlamvā, śūnyāgāramvā-tatra parvatakandaraṁ vā, giriguhā vā, palālapuṁjāni vā śūnyāgāramityucyate |
the forest, the foot of a tree, the empty hut — there the mountain-cave, mountain-cavern, straw-heaps are called ‘empty hut.’
tatrābhyavakāśaṁ, śmaśānaṁ, prāntaśca śayanāsanamaraṇyamityucyate |
There, the open air, the cemetery, remote dwellings are called ‘forest.’
tadidamabhisamasya sthānaṁ veditavyaṁ |
All this summed up is the ‘place’ to be understood.
yadutāraṇyavṛkṣamūlaśūnyāgāraparvatagiriguhāpalālapuṁjābhyavakāśaśmaśānavanaprasthāni prāntāni śayanāsanāni |
Namely: forest, foot of tree, empty hut, mountain, mountain-cavern, straw-heap, open air, cemetery, woodland — remote dwellings.
darśanīyaṁ prāsādikamārāmasampannaṁ, vanasampannaṁ, puṣkariṇīsampannaṁ, śubhaṁ, ramaṇīyaṁ, notkūlanikūlaṁ, na sthāṇukaṇṭakadhānaṁ |
Pleasant to behold, agreeable, well-supplied with park, forest, lotus-pond, beautiful, charming, not steep and rugged, not full of stumps and thorns,
na bahupāṣāṇaśarkarakapālaṁ |
not full of stones, gravel, and potsherds;
In the place-fullness terrain list, kapāla is rendered as 'potsherds,' not 'pots.' The point is rough ground littered with fragments, alongside stones and gravel.
prahāṇaṁ pradadhāti iyaṁ prathamā sthānasampat |
he undertakes abandonment — this is the first fullness of place.
punarayaṁ ridaṁ na divā alpavilokaṁ bhavati |
Again, this is not, by day, of much disturbance.
rātrāvalpaśabdavanyanirghoṣamalpadaṁśamaśakavātātapasarīsṛpasaṁsparśamiyaṁdvitīyā sthānasampat |
At night, of little sound, with little forest-clamor, little gnats, mosquitoes, wind, sun, creeping creature contact — this is the second fullness of place.
yatpunaraparaṁ siṁhavyāghradvīpitaskaraparacakramanuṣyāmanuṣyabhayabhairavāpagataṁbhavati |
Again further, free from lions, tigers, leopards, robbers, enemy armies, fear of humans and non-humans,
yatra viśvasto niḥśaṁkitamānasaḥ |
where he dwells trusting, with mind free of suspicion,
punaraparaṁ ye te ānulomikā jīvitapariṣkārāścī varādayaḥ |
Again further, the life-requisites conforming, robes etc.,
yatrāsamvidhāna iyaṁ caturthī sthānasampat |
Where provisions are not lacking — this is the fourth fullness of place.
The fourth fullness of place concerns requisites: robes and other life-supports are obtained with little difficulty, and the practitioner is not worn out by alms-seeking. The extracted yatrāsamvidhāna is therefore rendered contextually as 'where provisions are not lacking.'
punarapatraṁ raṁ kalyāṇamitraparigṛhītaṁ bhavati |
Again further, it is supported by good friends.
tadrūpā atra vijñāḥ sabrahmacāriṇaḥ prativasanti |
Such wise fellow brahma-farers dwell there
yesyākṛtāni nottānīkurvanti |
who make clear what has not been made clear.
In the fifth fullness of place, the place is kalyāṇa-mitra-parigṛhīta — supported by good friends — because wise fellow practitioners clarify what has not been made clear and explain deep statements of meaning for purification of knowledge-and-vision. The extracted yesyākṛtāni nottānīkurvanti is best understood as a damaged form of the standard 'make clear / make manifest' idiom, not as 'make the unmade manifest.'
gaṁbhīraṁ cārthapadaṁ prajñayā pratividhya suṣṭhu ca prakāśayanti |
And having penetrated a deep statement of meaning with wisdom, they explain it well.
niṣadya yāvatā evaṁ rātryāḥ prathamaṁ yāmaṁ, madhyame na ca yāme dakṣiṇena pārśvena ṇa śayyāṁ kalpayati |
by sitting; in the first watch of the night thus, in the middle watch he lies down on the right side;
paścime ca yāme laghulaghvevottiṣṭhate |
in the last watch he rises lightly, very lightly.
tasminnidaṁ sampanne śayanāsane, tathā buddhānujñāte mañce vā, pīṭhe vā, tṛṇe vā, saṁstaraṇe vā niṣīdati |
In that complete lodging, as authorized by the Buddha, he sits on a cot, a stool, grass, or a mat.
The sitting-posture passage lists acceptable supports authorized by the Buddha: cot, stool/seat, grass, or a mat/spread. The prior 'spread-out' was an over-literal rendering of saṁstaraṇa.
kena kāraṇena pañca kāraṇāni samanupaśyan saṁpiṇḍitena kāyena praśrabdhirutpadyate |
For what reason? Seeing five reasons: with the body gathered compactly, tranquillity arises.
praśrabdhyutpattaye anukūloyamīryāpatha iti |
This posture is favorable to the arising of tranquillity.
tathā cārikā kā laṁ niṣadyayāśakto vyatināmayituṁ |
Likewise in long-time sitting, he is able to pass the time.
nā cāsyāneneryāpathena kāyakleśo bhavati |
And by this posture, no bodily affliction arises in him.
tathā asādhāraṇoyamīryāpathonyatīrthikaiḥ |
Likewise, this posture is uncommon with other sectarians,
tathā pare aneneryāpathena niṣaṇṇaṁ dṛṣṭvā atyarthamabhiprasīdanti buddhaiśca buddhaśrāvakaiścāyaṁ īryāpatho niṣevitaścānujñātaśca |
Likewise others, seeing one seated in this posture, are exceedingly cleared in mind; this posture is resorted to and authorized by the Buddhas and the Buddha-disciples.
paryaṅkamābhujya ṛjuṁ kāyaṁ praṇidhāya |
Having folded the legs, he sets the body upright.
tatra katamā kāyasaṁjñatā |
[Damaged/Conjectural]: There, what is bodily uprightness?
The printed/root heading has kāya-saṁjñatā ('body-perception-ness'), but the framing line at 1.164 and the definition at 1.166 require bodily uprightness: the body clearly raised and set straight. The English marks the heading conjectural/corrupt while leaving the Sanskrit root unchanged.
cittena na niḥśocyena kuhanāpagatenārjavena |
Not with a dejected mind, but with sincerity free of pretense.
tatra ṛjunā kāyena pragṛhītena styānamiddhaṁ cittaṁ na paryādāya tiṣṭhati |
There, with the body upright and held alert, sloth-and-torpor of mind does not overpower [him] and remain.
niṣkuhakena citte bahirdhā vikṣepo na paryādāya tiṣṭhati |
When the mind is free of pretense, outward distraction of mind does not overpower [him] and remain.
pratimukhāṁ khīṁ smṛtimupasthāpya |
Having established mindfulness to the fore.
Pratimukhī smṛti is rendered as 'mindfulness to the fore.' The source is visibly split/extracted as pratimukhāṁ khīṁ / pratimukhe khī, but the definition explains the term by pramukhatā ('standing foremost') toward the dark side and toward the concentration-plane object. 'Fronting-before' was too wooden to function as a meditation instruction.
yāmupasthāpayati yoniśo manasikārasaṁprayuktā smṛtiḥ pra ti mukhe khī tyucyate |
The mindfulness which he establishes, associated with wise attention, is called ‘to the fore,’
sarvakṛṣṇapakṣapramukhatayā, prativilomatayā |
because it stands foremost before all the dark side and runs counter to it.
api ca samādhinimittālambanā pratibhālambanā smṛtiḥ pratimukhe khī tyucyate |
Further, mindfulness whose object is the concentration-sign, an image-object, is called ‘to the fore,’
sarvasamāhitabhūmikālambanapramukhatayā iyamucyate īryāpathasampat |
because it stands foremost before all concentration-plane objects. This is called fullness of posture.
tatra kāyavyapakarṣo yo gṛhasthapravrajitaiḥ sārdhamavihāritā |
There, bodily withdrawal: not dwelling together with householders or renunciants.
tatra cittavyapakarṣaḥ yaḥ kliṣṭamavyākṛtaṁ ca manaskāraṁ ca varjayitvā |
There, mental withdrawal: avoiding defiled and indeterminate mental engagement,
samāhitabhūmikaṁ vā samādhisaṁbhāraprāyogikaṁ vā manaskāraṁ bhāvayati |
he cultivates a mental engagement belonging to the concentration-plane or preparatory for the requisites of concentration.
kuśalamarthopasaṁhitamayamucyate cittavyapakarṣaḥ |
Wholesome, connected with the goal — this is called mental withdrawal.
tatra sthānasampat yā ceyamīryāpathasampat |
There, the fullness of place, this fullness of posture,
yaśca cittavyapakarṣaḥ yaścittavyapakarṣas tadekatyamabhisaṁkṣipya prāvivekyamityucyate |
this mental withdrawal — these gathered into one are called ‘seclusion.’
punaḥ punaḥ smṛtisabhāgālambanā pravāhānavadyaratiyuktā |
the mental continuum of recurrent mindfulness with a conformable object, yoked to continuity and blameless delight,
Pravāha in the concentration definition is rendered as 'continuity' rather than 'flow' here because the passage is defining unbroken, gapless recurrence of mindfulness with a conformable object. This also avoids the clumsy phrase 'yoked to flow.'
ye dharmā udgṛhītā ḥ śrutā, yā cāvavādānuśāsanī pratilabdhā bhavati |
the dharmas grasped, heard, and the admonition-instruction received.
gurubhyastāmadhipatiṁ kṛtvā samāhitabhūmikanimittaṁ saṁmukhīkṛtya tadālambanāṁ pravāhayuktāṁ smṛtimanuvarttayati |
Taking the instruction received from teachers as authoritative, bringing the sign pertaining to the concentration-plane into presence, he follows mindfulness yoked to continuity with that as object.
yatkiṁcitsamāhitabhūmikamālambanamanekavidhaṁ |
Whatever concentration-plane object — manifold,
yenālambane cittaṁ paraṁ samāhitamidamucyate |
by which the mind is supremely concentrated on the object, this is called
kasyaitat |
To what is this
The question kasyaitat sabhāgam? asks 'To what is this conformable?' The answer is given at 2.25: it is conformable because it is a likeness of the cessation event. The prior 'Whose is this conformable? Conformable.' preserved the segmentation but not the sense.
kṣayasya vastunaḥ pratirūpakametattasmātsabhāgamityucyate |
it is a likeness of the cessation event [kṣaya-vastu]. Therefore it is called conformable.
Kṣaya-vastu — literally 'the destruction-substance' or 'object of cessation.' Rendered as 'cessation event' to capture the practice-experiential sense: in meditation, the cessation event is the moment when the mind becomes truly still and habitual subconscious-to-conscious cognitive activity drops away. The samādhi-image (pratibimba) is sabhāga ('conformable') because it serves as a pratirūpaka (likeness/foretaste) of that event — the meditator cultivates a stable mental image as preparation for the actual cessation. Parallel construction at [sbh2.1:14.8](sbh2.1.html#sbh2.1:14.8), where pratirūpaka names the same kind of representation-relationship between meditation-image and its referent.
yā punarabhikṣayākārānichidrā niśchidrā nirantarā smṛtiḥ pravartate |
The continuous, gapless, uninterrupted mindfulness that proceeds
tenālambanena satataṁ ca satkṛtya ceyaṁ pravāhayuktatā |
with that object, constantly and respectfully — this is being yoked to continuity.
yatpunastasminnevālambane abhiratasyāsaṁkliṣṭavihāritā |
As for dwelling undefiled while delighting in that very object,
vāhimārgatā smṛtiriyamavadyaratiyuktatā |
the path-conductive quality of mindfulness — this is being yoked to blameless delight.
The printed/root Sanskrit has avadyaratiyuktatā ('being yoked to blameworthy delight'), but the enclosing formula at 2.9 and 2.30 is anavadya-rati-yuktā ('yoked to blameless delight'). The missing an- is therefore treated as a transparent scribal or extraction loss in the explanatory line. The Sanskrit JSON is left unchanged; the English translates the intended formula and this comment records the issue.
tenāha punaḥ punaraparānusmṛtisabhāgālambanapravāhānavadyaratiyuktā citta santatiḥ |
Hence: ‘again and again, mindfulness with a conformable object, a mental continuum yoked to continuity and blameless delight,’