この身をば空しきものと知りぬれば
罪得むこともあらじとぞ思ふ
罪得むこともあらじとぞ思ふ
- Roma-ji
-
Kono mi o ba munashiki mono to shirinureba tsumi emu koto mo araji to zo omou
- English Translation
-
Now that I have learned
that this self of mine is but
an empty, hollow thing,
I believe there can be no
sin that I shall come to bear
- Meaning
- Now that I know this self is empty and without substance, I think there can be no sin for me to incur.
- Commentary
-
Book Ten Miscellaneous Poems II 364
Having realized that his own self is empty and without substance, the poet says he will incur no sin. Drawing on the Buddhist teaching that all things are empty, the poem states a heart freed from sin through understanding.
The first line, "kono mi o ba," singles out this self with "o ba," "o" followed by a voiced "wa."
The second line, "munashiki mono to" (an empty thing), means without substance, drawing on the Buddhist idea of emptiness.
The third line, "shirinureba," is a conditional of certainty with the perfective "nu": since I have realized it.
The fourth line, "tsumi emu koto mo," uses the attributive conjectural "mu": that I should incur sin.
The final line, "araji to zo omou," combines the negative conjectural "ji" and a kakari-musubi of "zo" with the attributive "omou": I think there will be none.
- Author
- Unknown Poet
- Source
- Shika Wakashu
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