Even in a person
most times indifferent
to things around him
they waken feelings
the first winds of autumn
Saigyo’s poetry is characterized by sudden and unexpected insight. Here's the Buddhist attitude of discovering profound meaning in a single moment. This poem is very close to the following Saigyo's waka: Even a person free of passion would be moved to sadness— autumn evening in a marsh where snipes fly up.
here, too, with a little modification, the syllabic pattern in the translation of this tanka would be respected [= 5 6 5 5 6, and not 6 6 5 5 6 syllables] Still in a person most times indifferent to things around him they waken feelings the first winds of autumn
the buddhist monk Saigyo is not completely ''Zen-focused'' here.. A great Poet!
indeed, my reference to Zen is not correct, as Saigyo was an Amida Buddhist priest About AMIDISM: '' In part as a response to the esotericism of Heian Buddhism, and in part as a response to the collapse of the emperor's court at Kyoto and the subsequent rise of individual, feudal powers in Japan, medieval Japanese Buddhism moved towards more democratic and inclusive forms, of which the most important was Pure Land Buddhism. Pure Land or Amida Buddhism was oriented around the figure of Amida Buddha. Amida, the Buddha of Everlasting Light, was a previous incarnation of Siddhartha Gautama, the Buddha. In the previous incarnation, as a bodhisattva, he refused to accept Buddhahood unless he could grant eternal happiness in the Pure Land to whoever called on him; this compassionate promise was called the Original Vow. Anyone who calls his name, Namu Amida Butsu, with sincere faith, trust, and devotion, will be granted by Amida an eternal life of happiness in the Pure Land which has been set aside specifically for those who call on Amida. ''
This poem has not been translated into any other language yet.
I would like to translate this poem
Interesting depth and personification, layer upon layer in so few lines.