Dear Prof. Kapstein,

I'm so grateful for this reference, or rather reminder, since I read the Bodhicaryāvatāra so long ago I had forgotten. I'm not sure what catalytic would mean here; I think this verse lends credence to Dominik's reading of "transmuted", and this is also how Vesna Wallace translates this BCA verse. But at the same time it's mysterious, because surely rasajāta is what transmutes, not what must be transmuted!  So the Tibetan rephrase makes sense; the translator thought the same thing.

gratefully,

Christopher Wallis, M.A. (Cal), M.Phil. (Oxon), Ph.D. (ABD, Cal)



On 7 July 2014 07:25, Matthew Kapstein <mkapstei@uchicago.edu> wrote:
You may be interested to compare Bodhicaryāvatāra 1.10, which uses a similar metaphor.
In this case, in the line
rasajātam atīva vedhanīyam,

vedhanīyam must mean something like "catalytic."

The Tibetan in this case paraphrases, saying "the finest form of the gold-transmuting essence"
(gser 'gyur rtsi yi rnam pa) and the available Skt. commentator, Prajñākaramati, is not very helpful.
In his gloss on vedhanīyam he writes  only:
kartari anīya.h kara.ne

Matthew


Matthew Kapstein
Directeur d'études,
Ecole Pratique des Hautes Etudes

Numata Visiting Pro
fessor of Buddhist Studies,
The University of Chicago