dharma<\/a> literature, tends to get it about 85% correct.<\/p>\nThat might not seem too bad, a solid \u201cB,\u201d but when a whole religion, peoples\u2019 practices, and teachers\u2019 teachings, are based (in part) on something that\u2019s 85% correct, well, we have a problem here. Now, of course, there is zazen and direct experience \u2013 but here I\u2019m just talking about the dharma literature that\u2019s been translated into English and used for various purposes, including inspiring and guiding the practice and experience.<\/p>\n
Touched by the suspicion that the aforementioned scholar is correct and having a long-time interest in the Chinese language, I\u2019ve been working with a student at translating the original Chinese koans into a version of English that is explicitly directed for practitioners, and particularly for those engaged in studying or teaching koan.<\/p>\n
And although I have concerns about various translations, I also want to acknowledge that we now have several sound English translations of many of the core teachings, including the various koan collections. In our translation work, we consult\u00a0these and sometimes depend on\u00a0them for aspects beyond our knowledge and skill. Seeing how others have solved various knotty translation problems is an important part of our process. For most issues there isn\u2019t one right answer but a field of possibilities.<\/p>\n
Another scholar that we sometimes consult, someone who is really trained in classical Chinese, often looks at what we\u2019ve come up with and says, \u201cYes, it could<\/em> be that way.\u201d<\/p>\nSo after being at it for a couple years, and more aware of the enormity of the task, I\u2019d be delighted to find that we get 85% correct!<\/p>\n
As is well known, the Chinese written language, and especially the ancient Ch\u2019an texts, use words differently than does the English language.\u00a0Relationships within sentences are often not spelled out in a definitive way and Chinese characters often have a wide range of meanings, wider than the usual English word. Both of these factors make translation a projective test \u2013 what you see in English is to a large extent based on the interaction between the Chinese and the translator (their cultural and personal backgrounds as well as their dharma understanding).<\/p>\n
One passage that I\u2019ve worked with, Rujing\u2019s comment on the mu koan (coming soon to this blog), has about 65 characters in the original. One scholarly translation has over 100 words, mostly about specifying relationships and pinning down what is open to interpretation in the original. For our koan work, though, the possibility of thick and various interpretations is just the point, so narrowing the possibilities for play limits the utility of the text as awakening practice.<\/p>\n
Therefore, in our translation work we try to stay as close to the original as possible (\u201cbare-bones translation\u201d), adding as few things into the text as we can get by with and still have a vague resemblance to the English language. And we remember, of course, that we\u2019re working with a koan \u2013 so the koan point is vital \u2013 and that our readers are likely people with some fluency in the koan perspective.<\/p>\n
For myself, I find that translating is a wonderfully rich activity, an art practice, that exercises a part of the brain reminiscent of Go (\u570d\u68cb or \u201cencircling game\u201d). The mind needs to rest in openness and let the solution (various meanings with unclear relationships) come together. \u00a0In addition, working with a koan character-by-character opens up the koan in multiple directions.<\/p>\n
I shared some of our work with the first above-mentioned scholar and he seemed to like what we\u2019d done, at least, he didn\u2019t insist that we give up the project immediately due to our hopeless ignorance. He did have some constructive feedback and thought that we were a bit course and literal \u2013 just what we were going for.<\/p>\n
Now for a taste of what we\u2019ve come up with. I\u2019ve selected the verse from the first case of the Gateless Barrier<\/em> for the mu koan. The first translation (lacking of a better way of putting it) is the Wild Fox rendition and the second is by Aitken Roshi, one of the standard translations.<\/p>\nWumen\u2019s Verse<\/strong><\/p>\n(Wild Fox Version)
\nDog! Buddha Nature!
\nThe whole put forward, the exact imperative.
\nOnly enter yes and no
\nlose self, lose life.<\/p>\n
(Aitken Roshi Version)
\nDog, Buddha nature\u2014
\nthe full presentation of the whole;
\nwith a bit of \u201chas\u201d or \u201chas not\u201d
\nbody is lost, life is lost.<\/p>\n
The first line is the basically the same in both, so not much to bark about.<\/p>\n
In the second line, it seems that Aitken Roshi left out a part or conflated it with the first phrase. \u201cFull presentation of the whole\u201d is there but nothing that seems to directly translate \u201cexact imperative.\u201d We\u2019ve discovered that this is pretty common. Not only do translators often add elements, they also drop them. In this case, it doesn\u2019t do much with the meaning, as the second phrase,\u00a0\u201cexact imperative,\u201d mostly emphasizes the significance of \u201cthe whole put forward.\u201d<\/p>\n
The third line, though, is significantly different in these two versions: \u201cWith a bit of \u2018has\u2019 or \u2018has not'\u201d and \u201cOnly enter yes and no.\u201d What we\u2019re talking about here is the central issue in this koan \u2013 \u6709\u00a0<\/span>\u201cu\u201d and \u7121\u00a0\u201cmu\u201d or \u201cexistence\u201d and \u201cabsence.\u201d \u201cHas\u201d\/\u201dyes\u201d as well as \u201chas not\u201d\/\u201dno\u201d are both legitimate ways of translating these characters.<\/p>\nAitken Roshi\u2019s \u201cwith a bit of\u201d has added something to the verse that doesn\u2019t show up in the characters and makes what follows \u2013 \u201closing self, losing life\u201d \u2013 something that the verse seems to be suggesting we ought to avoid, as if there is some pure place or state of mind where there\u2019s no yes and no! So these two lines in Aitken Roshi\u2019s translation can be read as a moral injunction.<\/p>\n
By the way,\u00a0I don\u2019t think that Aitken Roshi thought this (I have deep respect for the old teacher) \u2013 just that his translation is open to this (mis)interpretation of the mu koan.<\/p>\n
Staying more closely to the characters, \u201cOnly enter yes and no\/lose self, lose life\u201d offers up a practice instruction \u2013 just one doing! Fully enter this one great life of yes and no, have and have not.<\/p>\n
More to come on translations, so you\u2019ve got that to look forward to, at least.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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These two characters, read\u00a0f\u0101n<\/span>