Ofudesaki 02:025

Ofudesaki
Author: Miki Nakayama Date Published: 1998 Pages: 486 (English ed.) Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Part 8 Part 9 Part 10 Part 11 Part 12 Part 13 Part 14 Part 15 Part 16 Part 17 unnumbered set

Ofudesaki 02:025 is a verse from the Ofudesaki. The English translation below is the sixth edition translation.

Content

Though it is springwater that fills the pond in the high mountains,	takayama no ike ni waita mizu naredo	高山の　をいけにハいた　水なれど
yet at its spout, it is mixed with mud.	debana wa nigori gomoku majiri de	てバなハにこり　ごもくまぢりで

Alternate English translations

Third Edition

Though it is the water that springs forth in a pond in the high mountains, yet as it gushes out it is mixed with dirt.

Inoue/Eynon

Even the water that springs out of the high mountain lakes becomes muddy and full of dirt as it flows down.

Commentary

This section contains translated material that has not yet been subjected to peer-review to check for accuracy and clarity. While the translator(s) have given their best effort to render Japanese text into English, we would like readers to keep in mind that the present translation may require further revising and refining. Any input to improve the present translation is greatly welcomed. Translator(s): Roy Forbes

Ofudesaki chushaku

2:25 The water that springs forth in the ponds deep in the mountains ought not to be cloudy but clear and pure. Yet at its spout this water is mixed with dirt (chiri), making it cloudy and turbid. *Note: The phrase “springwater that fills the pond in the high mountains” is a metaphor regarding human beings. Although all humans possess minds that are clear and pure when they are first born, human minds become cloudy after accumulating dust that originate from selfishness. Unusual Japanese expression—debana (“spout”) is literally “outset,” “start,” or “beginning.” It refers to the water springing forth that is being mixed with dirt and is understood as the state of a person’s mind when beginning one’s faith.

『おふでさき註釈』、p. 23 二五、山奥の池に沸く水は、清らかで濁って無いはずであるのに、出端は濁って塵が混じっている。 註　高山のをいけにハいた水とは、人間をたとえて諭されたもので、人間は最初に生み下ろされた時は、だれもみな清浄な心の持ち主であるのに、今では自分の慾のためにほこりを罪心が濁って来ている。 てバなは、出端で、先ず湧き出る塵あい混じりの水の事で、入信当初の事を仰せられたものと解する。

Commentary by Yoshitaro Ueda (2008)

From Michi no dai: Foundation of the Path 32:52

[Verses 25 and 26] use water as a metaphor for the human mind. Although water that fills a pond in the high mountains should be clear at its source, it tends to become clouded and mixed with mud and other sediment that it agitates as it gushes forth. Yet as one calms the mind and ponders, the water will change into clear water.

The Ofudesaki likens the mind of one who has not yet embraced faith to muddy water and says that such a mind can become increasingly clear as one comes to understand the teachings.

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