Dogen’s Doei (道元道詠): Poems in the Way, 65

 

 

What smokes are they

Rising so immensely,

While there are not so many houses

Ranging in the divers’ village?

 

 

Nan-no keburi-no

Amata tatsu-ran

Ama-no sumu

Sato-ni-wa ie-mo

Tsuzuka-nu-ni

 

 

何のけぶりの

数多立つらん

海士のすむ

里には家も

つずかぬに

 

 

Note: This is gleaned from the Tsukubashû, 14Zôrenga, 3 (菟玖波集第十四雑連歌

三, Tsukuba Collection, 14, Uncategorized Continual Poems, 3). Originally this poem

was a part of Continuous Poems made by many poets gathering in the party in order

inspired by the preceding poet, which in turn inspire the succeeding poet to make the

poem in succession to make a long streamlining kaleidoscopic scenes. Thus, the

rhyme syllables are 7/7//5/7/5 unlike ordinary Waka (Japanese Poem) of

5/7/5//7/7. Are these smokes auspicious or ominous for a festivity or a funeral or

what happened? This reminds one of the Buddha giving the Sermon to the Fire

Serving Circle (Jika Gedô: 事火外道, three Kassapa brothers and their followers of

1200, recently converted to the Buddha’s Sangha, Community) on Fire, seeing

the fire on a village: “The world is on fire! …The eyes are on fire. The ears are on fire.

The nose is on fire. The tongue is on fire. The body is on fire. The mind is on fire.”

 

 

 

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http://blog.murablo.jp/tvw/archive/2010-10.html?page=3(touched)

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