O Ananda!

I recently returned to Phnom Penh after my first week living in the countryside. I do have pictures, but I am unable to post them at the moment because I forgot the USB cable in Kompong Speu. I will also post more later about my experiences in the countryside, but in this post I will share a little more about smote.

The following is a translation and transliteration of a smote song called "Pacchimbuddhavacanak." The song is sung from the perspective of the Buddha as he is dying. Ananda was the Buddha's faithful attendant throughout his teaching career and was known for his remarkable memory; indeed, it is said that he had memorized every one of his teacher's sermons. Considering that the oral teachings of the Buddha fill over forty volumes of text, this is an impressive feat.

The Buddha referred to himself as "the Tathagata," which means "the one who comes from suchness". Tathagata could also be translated as "coming from nowhere, going nowhere". He used this appellation to emphasize his realization that living beings do have separate souls or selves and eventually return to emptiness.

This song, like all smote songs, is actually more of a poem set to a standard melody. The poem can be recited as well as sung. Each stanza consists of four lines, and the metric pattern for each stanza is five syllables, six syllables, five, six. The rhyme scheme is such that that the last syllable of the second and third lines of each stanza rhyme with the last syllable of the fourth line of the preceeding stanza. The last syllable of the first line of each stanza also rhymes will the third syllable of the second line of each stanza.

The translation does not reflect the meter or rhyme scheme, but the transliteration of the Khmer which follows the translation should make this more clear. Because smote songs often contain many Pali words (e.g. Tathagata, Ananda), I have chosen to use a transliteration system that reflects the standard way of Pali romanization, so that the Pali roots are more clear, although much phonetic representation is lost. For example, "Tathagata" is transliterated as "tathāgat," but the actual Khmer pronounciation is closer to "dahk-ta-koot."

As the most common context of smote is a funeral ceremony, this particular song is representative of many works in the genre, as it recalls the deathbed of the Buddha himself. It is also typical in its recounting of a famous Buddhist story, its frequent use of Pali words, its poetic meter, and its lamenting tone charged with exhortations to practice Buddhist teachings.

O Ananda, do not delay!

Come here immediately,

For the Tathagata will pass away.

Abandon yourself without fail.

Please dwell in happiness.

Do not be miserable, dear friend!

The Tathagata will now depart

Do not grieve, O Ananda!

Within the body of the Tathagata

The five aggregates will all be extinguished.

Please stay, O Ananda!

Try to look deeply into your body.

Every day your body

Is like a fragile plate.

It does not last long

And will surely be destroyed.

For this reason, Ananda,

Please reflect deeply,

Not about the passing of the Tathagata,

But about your own salvation.

The teaching of the Tathagata

Will surely last long

And whoever has a pure mind

Can practice the path accordingly.

Now the Tathagata

Will be extinguished in Nirvana.

Old age moves in by force,

Crushing and cutting off all life.

yo vo ānand 'aoey

nae pā 'aoey mak 'āy rā

tathāgat niṅ maranā

câk col pā min khan ḷoey

cūr pā nau 'auy sukh

kuṃ jā dukkh ṇā pā 'aoey

tathāgat lā pā hoey

kuṃ sok loey ṇā ānand

aṅg añ tathāgat

niṅ ram lát 'ás pañcakkhanth

nau cuḥ nā ānand

khaṃ gne gnân knuṅ aṅg prāṇ

kluan 'anak nau sabv thṅai

mān upameyy ṭūc jā cān

min shtit ster punmān

guṇ niṅ pān vinās dau

hetu neḥ pān ānand

cūr gne gnân git 'auy jrau

it bī tathāgat dau

'anak eṅ nau thae sāsanā

sāsanā tathāgat

sthit prākat niṅ 'anak ṇā

ṭael mān citt jrah thlā

prabrẏtt truv tām laṃ 'ān

grā neḥ tathāgat

niṅ raṃ lát khanthanibbān

ṭoy jarā cūl ruk rān

dandrān mak phtâc saṅkhār