Ada naranu yagate satori ni kaerikeri hito no tame ni mo sutsuru inochi wa

あだならぬやがて悟りに返りけり
人のためにも捨つる命は

Roma-ji: Ada naranu yagate satori ni kaerikeri hito no tame ni mo sutsuru inochi wa
English Translation: Never spent in vain,
it returns at once to the
way of enlightenment,
the life that one casts away
even for the sake of others.
Meaning: It is not in vain; it returns at once to enlightenment, the life that one casts away even for the sake of others.
Commentary: Miscellaneous Poems 874

Headnote: "On the passage in the Treatise on the Mind of Enlightenment, 'not begrudging even body and life'"
The topic is the phrase in the esoteric Treatise on the Mind of Enlightenment, 'not begrudging even body and life.' The life cast away for others is never wasted but returns at once to enlightenment, the poet says, praising the bodhisattva's deed of giving oneself for others.

First line, “ada naranu”: not in vain.
Second line, “yagate satori ni”: yagate is at once, directly.
Third line, “kaerikeri”: keri marks realization; it returns; the poem breaks here.
Fourth line, “hito no tame ni mo”: even for the sake of others.
Fifth line, “sutsuru inochi wa”: the life one casts away, answering the topic, inverted to follow the first three lines.
Author: Saigyō
Source: Sankashu
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