4.6 · Leaving No Trace

Of these, the mind born of meditation leaves no residue.

Word by word

tatra

of these

dhyāna-jam

born of meditation

anāśayam

without residue, leaving no deposit

Where it fits

Of the five kinds of perfected mind from 4.1, only the one born of meditation leaves no residue. Vyāsa says it does not act from passion, so it has no tie to merit or sin, while the others do carry a store of karma. He then introduces 4.7 with 'for': it gives the reason.

Reading

This is the turning point of the book's opening. Of the five sources of power in 4.1, Vyāsa explains, only the meditative mind no longer acts out of passion, so it lays down no store of karma (the karmāśaya of 2.12). Minds shaped by birth, herbs, mantras or austerity still leave traces that will ripen. So the question that matters is not what a mind can do, but whether its acting leaves anything behind.

Vyāsa

“Constructed minds are of five kinds. … Of these, only the mind born of meditation leaves no residue. It alone has no residue, that is, no activity driven by attachment and the like. So it has no tie to merit or sin, because the yogi's afflictions have dwindled away.”

Vyāsa's Yoga-bhāṣya, the oldest commentary. New translation from the Sanskrit, with reference to Woods (1914), p. 304.

Practice

Do one ordinary task today, washing up or answering a message, as cleanly as you can: no grudge, no wish for thanks, no replaying it afterwards. When it is done, notice whether anything of it stays with you.

A question to sit with

What are you doing that leaves a residue?

Key ideas

karma (action and its residue), citta (the mind-field), kleśa (afflictions)