Kazu naranu inochi wa nani ka oshikaran nori toku hodo o shinobu bakari zo - Shin Kokin Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

数ならぬ命は何か惜しからん
法説くほどを忍ぶばかりぞ

Roma-ji: Kazu naranu inochi wa nani ka oshikaran nori toku hodo o shinobu bakari zo
English Translation: This life of no worth—
why should I hold it dear, then,
why should I regret?
While I preach the Law, I only
endure and bear it all.
Meaning: Why should I cling to a life of no account? While I preach the Law, I have only to endure.
Commentary: Book Twenty Buddhist Poems 1928

Headnote: "On the meaning of the Encouraging Devotion chapter."
This is the third poem in the sequence on sacred sites and Buddhist services. It declares that a worthless life is not in the least to be regretted, and that one simply endures persecution while preaching the Law. According to the headnote, it was composed on the meaning of the Encouraging Devotion chapter of the Lotus Sutra.
The poet voices as his own the bodhisattva's resolve to spread the Law with no regard for body or life.
The author, "Dainagon Tadanobu," is Fujiwara no Tadanobu. Son of Chancellor Fujiwara no Tamemitsu, he rose to Senior Second Rank and Major Counselor and was counted among the Four Counselors of Emperor Ichijō's reign.
The Encouraging Devotion chapter contains verses vowing that those who spread the Lotus Sutra in the evil age after the Buddha's passing will endure abuse and attacks with swords and staves, including the line "I do not cherish body or life; I cherish only the unsurpassed Way."

The first line, "kazu naranu," means "of no account," humbly describing his own life.
The second line, "inochi wa nani ka," is a rhetorical question with the particle "ka," strongly denying that there is anything to regret.
The third line, "oshikaran," closes the kakari-musubi of "ka" with the attributive "n," and the poem breaks here. It gently transposes the Encouraging Devotion chapter's "I do not cherish body or life."
The fourth line, "nori toku hodo o," means "while preaching the Law." Following the preceding poem's "kono mi nagara ni," which dwells on the body, this poem advances to the resolve to give one's life for the Law.
The last line, "shinobu bakari zo," declares "I simply endure." It draws on the chapter's vow to spread the Law while enduring persecution. Poem 1948 in this book also treats the Encouraging Devotion chapter and speaks of giving one's life for the Law.
Author: Fujiwara no Tadanobu
Source: Shin Kokin Wakashu
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