2006-09-20

Superman

I would have thought it was already there, but Aozora Bunku have just put up MIYAZAWA Kenji's beloved untitled poem commonly known as "Ame ni mo makezu". Here's my translation:

Bowed not before rain
Nor bowed before wind
Nor bowed before snow nor summer's heat;
With a strong body
Free of desire
Never angering;
Always calmly smiling;
Twice daily, four scoops of unpolished rice
and miso and some vegetables;
By whatever rises
unmoved within;
Closely looking, closely hearing, understanding well
Not forgetting;
In the shade of a pine grove in a field
in a little hut of thatch;
When to the east a child is ill
Going to care for him on his sickbed;
When to the west a mother tires
Going to carry her burden of rice;
When to the south a man lies dying
Going to tell him, "Be not afraid";
When to the north a fight is brewing
Saying "This is folly; stop it at once";
When farmers labor off the land, weeping;
In summers of cold, wandering forlorn;
Called by everyone a fool;
Never praised
Nor worried over;
Such a man
I wish to be.

I trust in bodhisattva Boundless Practice.
I trust in bodhisattva Superior Practice.
I trust in tathagata Abundant Treasures.
I trust in the Wonderful Dharma Lotus Sutra.
I trust in Shakyamuni Buddha.
I trust in bodhisattva Pure Practice.
I trust in bodhisattva Secure Practice.

There appears to be some debate about the ヒドリ (hidori) towards the end there, a good summary of which is here. Some people think it should be ヒデリ (日照り, hideri), "dry weather", which Miyazawa apparently changed it to in an early printing; others think that it's a writo for or dialect version of ヒトリ (一人, hitori), "alone"; others, think that ヒドリ is right, and refers to when farmers, unable to support themselves due to poor harvest, hire themselves out by the day as labor (日取り). I've gone along with the latter theory since it involves the least fiddling with Miyazawa's original.

Popularity factor: 1

Morgan:

That was really beautiful. Thank you.

Comment season is closed.