Nanigoto mo munashiki nori no kokoro nite tsumi aru mi to wa tsuyu mo omowaji

何事もむなしき法の心にて
罪ある身とは露も思はじ

Roma-ji: Nanigoto mo munashiki nori no kokoro nite tsumi aru mi to wa tsuyu mo omowaji
English Translation: All things are empty,
holding to that Law's heart, so
I will never think,
not the least drop of a thought,
that I bear a sinful self.
Meaning: Holding to the Law that all things are empty, I will not think, not in the least, that I am a being burdened with sin.
Commentary: Miscellaneous Poems 894

Headnote: "The Heart Sutra"
The topic is the Heart Sutra, which teaches that all things are empty, without substance. Standing on the Law that all is empty, sin too is empty, and so I will not think myself a sinful being in the least, the poet says, expressing a heart freed from the sense of sin by the teaching of emptiness.

First line, “nanigoto mo”: all things.
Second line, “munashiki nori no”: munashi is empty, without substance, the teaching of emptiness in the Heart Sutra.
Third line, “kokoro nite”: by its heart.
Fourth line, “tsumi aru mi to wa”: that I am a sinful being.
Fifth line, “tsuyu mo omowaji”: tsuyu mo is not in the least; ji is negative intention; I will not think it.
Author: Saigyō
Source: Sankashu
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