AllegroTrans Jun 12, 2020:

Agree 100% with last comment and I see no reason not to use the literal translation "to adopt the inner/inward posture"

SafeTex May 30, 2020:

@ all (embracing the mndset) Hello

It's not for me to criticize a choice made by the asker but we now know that this is an Eastern Religion.

So the chattering monkey as it is sometimes called (the mind) is an objective to be overcome/discarded/non-identified with in one way or another (various techniques)

Mindset is a very Western concept and dictionaries says

the established set of attitudes held by someone.

or

a person's way of thinking and their opinions

or

an attitude, disposition, or mood

Embracing the mindset is IMHO is the absolute opposite of what is meant by the writer !!!

Regards

SafeTex

Hugues Roumier (asker) May 30, 2020:

@Wolf Thanks. "Outlook" is actually very good.

Wolf Draeger May 30, 2020:

Context rules & literal drools @Asker, thanks for the context, two quick points:

1) Context is always crucial, and no less so in this case. Now that we know the text relates to Gaudiya Vaishnavism, it helps us understand what the sage means by God and suffering. It also raises the question of whether the conversation between the two was originally in French or another language, and whether words like posture, bonheur and condition humaine are the sage's own or themselves translated from the language he spoke in. All this matters.

2) A deliberately literal translation is almost always poor, especially for texts that deal with complex ideas. "Inner posture" and "inner stance" might be OK if yoga were a metaphor or if the text dealt with prayer or meditation, but otherwise they don't really work here.

If you want an equivalent for posture, you're better off with something like "attitude" or "outlook", or "mentality/mindset" as suggested by others. But in my opinion those words don't pair too well with "seeker/seeking" and so it might be best to reword the sentence in translation.

Hugues Roumier (asker) May 29, 2020:

Context So much context is not really needed here. Because I need something that really stick to the source, as much as possible, anyway. "Posture" is important, because it implies that you are in a certain position from which you can look at things (from a certain angle) or receive, ect. So anything that can stay close to what "posture" conveys in french would be perfect for me.

@wolf draeger
Briefly, it's an interview of a sage, from the Gaudiya Vaisnava tradition, namely theistic current of Hinduism. Written (more transcribed actually) by a pilgrim from Europe who walked 7000 km to meet this tradition. It's general substance, and the distinction between spiritual and religious is a new fashionable concept from the west, that doesn't really make sense in india.
But again, the only thing I'm asking here is a way to render the most faithfully possible the source text , keeping the idea of a "posture". No need to go for super tricky phrases

Wolf Draeger May 29, 2020:

Context @Asker, please tell us more about the text. Is it religious? If so, which religion and denomination? Or is it a spiritual/esoteric text? What are its themes and ideas? When was it written and who is it addressed to?

You can never have too much context.

Eliza Hall May 29, 2020:

Don't like "stance" It's associated with arguments and intellectual conflict: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhetorical_stance

That's not the right feeling here. And I speak as someone who reads this kind of stuff all the time, uses apps like Calm and Insight Timer and Headspace, etc. -- I know "wellness" and spirituality language, and "stance" is not it.

Hugues Roumier (asker) May 28, 2020:

stance Thank you very much all.
The word "stance" (in Cathy's answer) seems to stick to the source (posture). Could you please tell me what you think about it, before I choose one answer? (I also like very much to "embrace the mindset" from Rebecca).

Hugues Roumier (asker) May 27, 2020:

@SafeTex Hello, yes, it basically explain that this "inner posture" is to be more seeking for the core reason of humans suffering, rather than just trying to adjust our current situation on an external and superficial level, believing that doing so could ever relieve us in depth. (let's say this is the substance, I can't really summarize more)

SafeTex May 27, 2020:

@ Hugues Hello

does the text go on to explain how to achieve this state or what it is?

Hugues Roumier (asker) May 27, 2020:

@AllegroTrans Hello,
none, but English is not my native language, so I think any suggestion will be helpful :)

AllegroTrans May 27, 2020:

Any reason for rejecting 'interior posture'