Tsuranarishi mukashi ni tsuyu mo kawaraji to omoishirareshi nori no niwa kana

連なりし昔に露も変はらじと
思ひ知られし法の庭かな

Roma-ji: Tsuranarishi mukashi ni tsuyu mo kawaraji to omoishirareshi nori no niwa kana
English Translation: Not in the least changed
from the days of old when they
sat in rows to hear,
so I came to realize
in that garden of the Law.
Meaning: A garden of the Law where I came to know that it could be no different, not in the least, from the days of old when many sat together to hear the Buddha.
Commentary: Miscellaneous Poems 860

Headnote: "When the ajari Shōmyō gathered a thousand people to form a bond with the Lotus Sutra, I sent this the following day"
The day after the ajari Shōmyō gathered a thousand people for a Lotus Sutra service, Saigyō sent him this. It was a service that made one realize it could be no different, not in the least, from the days of old when crowds sat in rows to hear the Buddha preach the Lotus Sutra on the Vulture Peak, he says, praising the grandeur of the gathering.

First line, “tsuranarishi”: who sat in rows, the listeners at the Buddha's preaching.
Second line, “mukashi ni tsuyu mo”: mukashi is the time of the Buddha; tsuyu mo, not in the least.
Third line, “kawaraji to”: ji is negative conjecture, that it would be no different.
Fourth line, “omoishirareshi”: re is spontaneous; I came to realize.
Fifth line, “nori no niwa kana”: nori no niwa is the place of a Buddhist service; kana is exclamatory.
Author: Saigyō
Source: Sankashu
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