If “Unitary” is taken as “aiming toward unity” (which is one of its primary meaning) - then “Unitary” looks fine to me.
Unity occurs as Ekodi (eka-udi).
In the case of MN 121, the bhikkhu ekaggachati(zes), to udeti(ze) the ekatta and the remnant.
Eka & √ gam
GATA
Sanskrit:
¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨
√ गम् gam
- to cause to go to any condition , cause to become TS. ŚBr.
- to go with the mind , observe RV.
- to go to any state or condition , undergo , partake of , participate in , receive , obtain RV. AV.
- to strive to obtain ŚBr. ChUp.
- to wish to bring ( to light) TS.
- to go , move , go away , set out , come Lit. RV.
- to go to or towards , approach RV.
- to cause to go or come, lead or conduct towards , send to AV. - bring to a place RV.
- to impart , grant MBh.
- to cause to understand , make clear or intelligible , explain MBh. VarBṛS.
- to visit RV.
- to approach carnally , have sexual intercourse with ĀśvGṛ.
¨¨
See also गत gata - noun.
Gacchati = third present of gam.
Pali:
¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨
As in ekaggatā > eka + gata = arrived at one - directed to one.
Gata，[pp．of gacchati ] gone (away)，arrived at，directed to. [PTS]
EKA
Sanskrit:
¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨
एक Eka:
- One RV.
- the same , one and the same , identical ŚBr. KātyŚr.
- one of two or many, the one - the other, some, some - others ŚBr. KātyŚr. MBh.
- alone , solitary , single , happening only once , that one only RV.
“Eka-g-gachati” in sanskrit, would then take the somewhat meaning of: “he strives with the mind, to cause to become one and the same”.
Trying to get to Eka-Udi
__
Eka+udi (transcend - escape)
उदि udi [ ud-√ i ]
See उद् Ud: (var. uc, uj, un, ut) - particle and prefix to verbs and nouns. (As implying superiority in place , rank , station , or power) up , upwards upon , on over , above. - and √ इ i : appear (BṛĀrUp.), arise from (ChUp.), escape (RV. AV. ŚBr.)
- to come out or arise from RV. AV. ŚBr.
- to escape ChUp.
- to go up to , proceed or move up , proceed RV. AV. VS.
- to rise (as the sun or a star ) RV. VS. ŚBr. ChUp. VarBṛS.
- rise up against , march off AV. MBh.
Pali
¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨
Ekodi
Eka: [PTS]
- “one” as number，either with or without contrast to two or more； often also “single” opp．to nānā various，many.
- one，by oneself，one only，alone，solitary.
3．a certain one，some one，some.
Udi (or udī) - artificial adj．form． fr．udeti，meaning “rising，excelling”.
Also, ekatta cannot be equated with the Vedic ekatā.
एकता ekatā: oneness , unity , union , coincidence , identity ŚBr.(BṛĀrUp.) ChUp. MBh.
In BṛĀrUp. 1.5.17, the dying father tells his son that he is the Brahman, the sacrifice and the world:
yad vai kiñcānūktaṃ tasya sarvasya brahmety ekatā |
ye vai ke ca yajñās teṣāṃ sarveṣāṃ yajña ity ekatā |
ye vai ke ca lokās teṣāṃ sarveṣāṃ loka ity ekatā |
All the vedic learning that has been acquired is subsumed under “brahman”;
all the sacrifices are subsumed under “sacrifice”;
and all the worlds are subsumed under “world.”
In ChUP 6.9.1, bees make honey by collecting juices from different trees, and reduce them into one essence (a homogenous whole).
(yathā somya madhu madhukṛto nistiṣṭhanti nānātyayānāṃ vṛkṣāṇāmrasānsamavahāramekatāmrasaṃ gamayanti.)
We have ekatā as the unification, (as the perfect unity,) that represent the doctrine of the Upanishads. That is to say, the final coalescence of everything into a unified whole.
Man is the god, man is the world - and also the sacrifice. The honey is the result of the union of diverse juices.
But this unification, this onenes is not Buddha’s conception of oneness.
Apart from the fact that sacrifice is banned from Buddhism, and that there is no Self/self (Brahman) in man; nor does this “I” is the world. In Buddhism, ekatta is not unity (oneness) per se. In Buddhism, unity is transcendence (ekodi). Ekatta is just a means to attain ekodi.
In Buddhism, it is not about conflating many into a whole. In Buddhism, it is about neither, nor. About transcendence.
In MN 121, ekatta is not unity. It still has to deal with daratha (scattering). It is just a “state of oneness,” but not perfect Oneness. It is a transitional “state of oneness,” towards a stark and accomplished Unity of transcendence.