Sarazu tote iku yo mo araji iza ya sawa nori ni kaetsuru inochi to omowan - Shin Kokin Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

さらずとていく世もあらじいざやさは
法にかへつる命と思はん

Roma-ji: Sarazu tote iku yo mo araji iza ya sawa nori ni kaetsuru inochi to omowan
English Translation: Even were it not,
I would not live for ages—
come then, if that's so,
exchanged for the holy Law
I'll think this life of mine.
Meaning: Even otherwise, I would not live for ages; come, then, let me think of this as a life exchanged for the Law.
Commentary: Book Twenty Buddhist Poems 1948

Headnote: "The Encouraging Devotion chapter."
This is the fourth poem in the sequence of poems by various poets on phrases from the scriptures. Since life cannot last long anyway, the poet resolves: come, then, let me think of it as a life exchanged for the Law. According to the headnote, the topic is the Encouraging Devotion chapter of the Lotus Sutra.
Rather than clinging in vain to a limited life, the poet resolves to regard it as offered up for the Buddha's Law, showing a clear-hearted determination.
The author, "Shōsanmi Tsuneie," is Fujiwara no Tsuneie. Son of Fujiwara no Shigeie of the Rokujō Fujiwara house, he was a poet who rose to Senior Third Rank.
The Encouraging Devotion chapter sets out verses vowing that those who spread the Lotus Sutra in the evil age after the Buddha's passing will endure persecution without sparing body or life.

The first line, "sarazu tote," means "even if it were not so," setting the premise: even without giving up one's life for the Law.
The second line, "iku yo mo araji," uses the negative conjecture "ji" to declare that one cannot live on forever. The poem breaks after it.
The third line, "iza ya sawa," means "come, then," adding "ya" to the interjection "iza" to turn the mood toward resolve.
The fourth line, "nori ni kaetsuru," means "exchanged for the Law," using the attributive of the perfective "tsu." Poem 1928 in this book also treats the Encouraging Devotion chapter, with the same resolve to give one's life for the Law.
The last line, "inochi to omowan," closes with the volitional "n": I will resolve to think so. It turns a fleeting life, by choice, into something precious.
Author: Fujiwara no Tsuneie
Source: Shin Kokin Wakashu
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