神と言ひ仏と言ふも世の中の
人の心のほかのものかは
人の心のほかのものかは
- Roma-ji
-
Kami to ii hotoke to iu mo yo no naka no hito no kokoro no hoka no mono ka wa
- English Translation
-
Whether we call them
gods or call them buddhas,
are they anything
that lies outside the hearts
of the people of this world?
- Meaning
- Whether we speak of gods or of buddhas, are they anything outside the hearts of the people of this world?
- Commentary
-
Miscellaneous Poems 651
Headnote: "Composed on the heart of the heart"
On the theme of the heart itself, the poet says that gods and buddhas are not outside the human heart but within it, frankly stating a view that finds the divine within one's own mind.
Line 1 means "calling them gods."
Line 2 means "or calling them buddhas," gathering up the poems on the gods and the Buddhist poems before it.
Line 3 means "of this world."
Line 4 means "of people's hearts."
Line 5 means "are they something outside?" ka wa rhetorical.
- Author
- Minamoto no Sanetomo
- Source
- Kinkaishu
- Prev Poem
-
Yo no naka wa kagami ni utsuru kage ni are ya aru ni mo arazu naki ni mo arazu
- Next Poem
-
Himeshima no komatsu ga ure ni iru tazu no chitose furedomo toshi oizukeri