我だにもまづ極楽にむまなれば
知るも知らぬもみな迎へてん
知るも知らぬもみな迎へてん
- Roma-ji
-
Ware dani mo mazu gokuraku ni mumanareba shiru mo shiranu mo mina mukaeten
- English Translation
-
If I, at the least,
should first in paradise be
born, then all of them,
those I know and those I know not,
I shall go forth to welcome.
- Meaning
- If I, at least, am born first into paradise, I will welcome everyone there, those I know and those I do not.
- Commentary
-
Book Twenty Buddhist Poems 1925
Headnote: "Topic unknown."
This is the tenth poem in the opening sequence of poems attributed to deities and eminent monks, closing that sequence. The poet vows that if he is first reborn in paradise, he will welcome everyone, known and unknown. The headnote says the topic is unknown, and the circumstances of composition are not recorded.
It expresses the compassion of the Great Vehicle: not stopping at one's own rebirth, but returning after rebirth to save the people of this world.
The author, "Sōzu Genshin," was a Tendai monk of the mid-Heian period, called Eshin Sōzu because he lived at the Eshin-in at Yokawa on Mount Hiei. He wrote the Ōjō Yōshū (Essentials of Rebirth), which greatly influenced the spread of Pure Land Buddhism.
The first line, "ware dani mo," limits the subject with the particle "dani": "at least I myself."
In the second line, "mazu gokuraku ni," "mazu" means "ahead of others," placing his own rebirth as the first step toward saving people.
The third line, "mumanareba," means "if I am born in paradise," setting out a hypothetical condition.
The fourth line, "shiru mo shiranu mo," means "those I know and those I do not," embracing everyone regardless of any bond.
In the last line, "mina mukaeten," "ten" joins the irrealis of the intensive auxiliary "tsu" with the volitional "n," a firm vow to welcome all without fail. While the preceding poem prays for the poet's own death, this poem stands on the side of one who, after rebirth, welcomes others.
- Author
- Genshin
- Source
- Shin Kokin Wakashu
- Prev Poem
-
Namu amida hotoke no mite ni kakuru ito no owari midarenu kokoro to mo gana
- Next Poem
-
Nigori naki kamei no mizu o musubiagete kokoro no chiri o susugitsuru kana