Kyunyŏ-jŏn : The life, Times and Songs of a Tenth Century Korean Monk by CHŎNG HYŎNGNYŎN - HTML preview

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9. Constantly According with Sentient Beings


恆順眾生歌


Line 1 覺樹王焉

2        迷火隱乙根中沙音赐焉逸良

3        大悲叱水留潤良只

4        不冬萎玉内平留叱等耶


5        法界居得丘物叱丘物叱

6        為乙吾置同生同死

7        念念相續无間斷

8        佛體為尸如敬叱好叱等耶


9        打心 眾生安為飛等

10      佛體頓叱喜賜以留也


23.1.1-3:     UD + UD + UD; “Enlightenment-tree-sovereign”. The reference is to the Bodhi-tree as a symbol for Bodhi (Enlightenment) itself.

23.1.4:       UG; TP.


Line 1:       “The Majestic Tree of Enlightenment...”

23.2.1:       HD; “deceive, delude”.

23.2.2:       HG; FS for 23.2.1.

23.2.3:       UG; attributive VE for 23.2.1-2 [+“ones”].

23.2.4:       HD; “roots”.

23.2.5:       HD; LP “at”.

23.2.6-7:       UG + UG; “regard”.

23.2.8-11;  HD + UG + UG + UG; honorific, exclamatory VE for 23.2.6-7.


Line 2:       “... regards the deluded ones at its roots.”

23.3.1-2:    UD + UD; “Great Compassion”.

23.3.3:       UG; PP.

23.3.4:       HD; “water”.

23.3.5:       UG; FC for 23.3.4 + IP “as”.

23.3.6:       HD; “soak”.

23.3.7-8:    UG + UG; VE for 23.3.6.


Line 3:       “Soaked by the waters of Great Compassion...”

23.4.1-2:    HD + UG; negative verbal prefix.

23.4.3:       HD; “wither”.

23.4.4:       UG; FV for 23.4.3.

23.4.5-10:  UG + UG + UG + UG + UG + UG; exclamatory VE for 23.4.3-4.


Line 4:       “... they will never wither.”

23.5.1-2:    UD + UD; “the Dharmarealm”.

23.5.3-4:    UG + UG; preposition “throughout”.

23.5.5-10:  UG + UG + UG + UG + UG + UG; “squirm, wriggle, teem”.


Line 5:       “... (those that) teem throughout the Dharmarealm.”

23.6.1:       HD; “do, act”, verbalizes 23.5.5-10.

23.6.2:       UG; attributive VE; “the ones (which)...”.

23.6.3:       HD; “I, we”.

23.6.4:       HG; adverb “also”.

23.6.5-8:    UD + UD + UD + UD; “same-live-same-die”.


Line 6:       “... (they) live and die (with) me…”

23.7.1-2:    UD + UD; “instant”.

23.7.3-7:    UD + UD + UD + UD + UD; “continually without interruption”.


Line 7:       “Without ceasing even for an instant...”

23.8.1:       UD + UG; “buddhas”.

23.8.3:       HD; “do, practise”.

23.8.4-5:    UG + HD; VE for 23.8.3, “as (I) do”.

23.8.6:       HD; “respect/revere”.

23.8.7-11:  UG + UG + UG + UG + UG; exclamatory VE for 23.8.6.


Line 8:       "... I revere them just as I do the buddhas.”

23.9.1-2:    HD; “Ah...”.

23.9.3-4:    UD + UD; “sentient beings”.

23.9.5:       HD; “peaceful”.

23.9.6:       HD; “do, practise”, verbalizer for 23.9.5.

23.9.7-8:    HG + UG; VE for 23.9.6, “when/if...”.


Line 9:       “Ah, when beings are at peace...”

23.10.1-2:   UD + UG; “the buddhas”.

23.10.3-4:   HG + UG; “also”.

23.10.5:      HD; “rejoice, be happy”.

23.10.6-9:   HD + UG + UG + UG; exclamatory VE for 23.10.5. 


Line 10:       "... the buddhas will also rejoice”

Here Kyunyŏ practically reverses the order of a relatively lengthy HYS text, beginning with the metaphor of the Bodhi Tree, and then returning to the point of the metaphor. Again, the tone is expository, the main stanzas are loosely parallel, and lyricism is absent; in fact, there are twelve consecutive UD readings between the middle of line 6 and the beginning of line 8.


The Majestic Tree of Enlightenment 

Has the deluded as its roots.

Nourished by the water of Great Compassion,

Indeed, they will never wither away.

In every single thought unceasingly

I shall revere as buddhas

The beings that teem throughout the Dharmarealm

And live and die as we all do.

Ah, when all beings are at peace 

Then the buddhas too will rejoice.